Rise of the Reds Update: Preserving Freedom Options

[The_Hunter]

The Philippines
February 2049

The sea trembled and thousands cheered along the coastline as the USS Spirit of Independence Mobile Offshore Base, the Pacific sister ship of the Atlantic-based Spirit of Freedom, slowly left the bay of Manila under the rising sun of a tranquil thursday morning. The surface area of this unfathomable leviathan with its complement of over 10.000 sailors, aviators and Marines spanned across several football fields and included three advanced catapult runways that matched the capabilities of any ground-based airfield. Independence's naval air wing consisted of nearly 500 aircraft, including F-22C 'Sea Raptor' fighter jets, transports, helicopters and even a number strategic bombers from the US Air Force. Now, the ship was about to head north together with a fleet of other American vessels - towards Russian territorial waters. Even though the United States had been formally at war with the Russian Federation since the last summer, the Pacific had been deceptively quiet until now. President Bradford hoped that the increased activity in the region would prompt the Russian leadership to redeploy some of its elite combat units away from Europe or, at the very least, provide a credible deterrent against any miscalculated military adventures on the Kremlin's part in a very literal example of gunboat diplomacy.

Meanwhile on the other side of the globe, the Spirit of Freedom was making its own contribution to America's involvement in the Third World War, launching coordinated air and missile strikes across the Scandinavian peninsula and into the Russian homeland. The fact that their gargantuan appearance made the two swimming fortresses a large, seemingly easy target was not an error of their design; it was the very intention. The mere notion that the United States deployed the Freedom and its task force of two dozen support vessels, including drone carriers, arsenal ships, submarines and destroyers, into the most heavily contested waters of the northern Atlantic served as a two-fold statement: That America would stand firm by the side of its former European allies and that Russia's military ambitions would be terminated. The Spirit of Independence was now ready to do the same in the Pacfic in the event that tense standoff between Chinese assault forces and Russian reserve divisions along the ancient Mongolian plain would erupt into an entirely new war by itself. If the ongoing series of ethnic clashes in the Russian Far-East and the ever-escalating rhetorics of the Chinese leadership were any indication of what to expect, the United States wanted to be prepared for the worst as they moved their most powerful pieces into position, for Freedom and Independence were not merely designed to sink other ships or even fleets - they were designed to end entire wars through the sheer gravity of their presence alone or, failing that, simply bombard the enemy into utter submission.

After the crisis years of the late 2020s and the drastic changes within the US military in the early 2030s, the troops stationed onboard this unparalleled class of capital ships often likened them to a 'Death Star': Thousands upon thousands of missiles, including surface-to-air, anti-ship, anti-satellite and high-capacity cruise missiles that carried everything from standard high-explosives over precision-guided intelligent submunitions to tactical nuclear warheads, multiple high-calibre railgun turrets and an entire deck filled with laser defence systems allowed the ship to engage and destroy any type of target multiple times over while its internal storages and housing quarters contained the amphibious vanguard of an invasion force. The sheer size of the flat vessel would help maintain sufficient buoyancy in the event of a hull breach, while the ship itself was constantly protected by a swarm of underwater drones that detected and intercepted enemy submarines and torpedos. With a multi-layered defence like this, the Americans were certain that their new flag ships would not suffer the same tragic fate as the USS Ronald Reagan, which was cut in half by a GLA-hijacked Particle Cannon 2027. As a matter of fact, the Freedom had already survived its own baptism of fire back in October 2048, when its deck withstood a solar burst from an ECA satellite that had been temporarily hacked by Russian commandos.

Now, the Spirit of Independence would be tested as well, for what laid ahead were the home waters of the Russian Pacific Fleet, outnumbered but unharmed by the fighting in Europe - and determined to sink every invading vessel to the bottom of the unforgiving sea...

Officially marketed as the Super-Intensity Chemical Laser Operations Protection System - or SICLOPS - but more sensibly referred to as the Cyclops by American troops, this tactical high-energy laser is widely regarded as the ultimate in anti-air defence systems. Its ability to annihilate enemy aircraft and ballistic missiles in flight is unparalleled, if only limited by its massive power consumption. A special naval version of the Cyclops has largely replaced the aging Phalanx CIWS on the newer generation of American warships while the ground-based version has also been delivered to close American allies such as Japan and Israel, where it cast a figurative shield of protection over major military facilities and cities during the Korean Unification War and the Great Middle Eastern War of the 2030s respectively.

The EAL-3 Guardian Angel entered service as part of the touted Tactical Missile Defense initiative in the early 2040s, which aimed to eliminate the risk of enemy missile systems including ATGMs, SAMs and even ballistic missiles in close coordination with American ground forces. After an extensive series of tests and evaluations, the Department of Defense signalled its approval for a plane whose distinct triple engine setup made it less susceptible to ground-based anti-aircraft fire than its more conventional competitors. The airframe went into serial production with a pinpoint accurate 150kW laser installed on its nose and an advanced sensor radome on its back. The Guardian Angel is also equipped with a sophisticated AI that can detect, identify, prioritise and neutralise missiles more quickly than a team of human operators as well as a large supply of infrared and radar countermeasures to protect itself. Due to its hefty pricetag of roughly 700 million dollars apiece, the EAL-3 can only be called into action by battlefield commanders with a full level 5 clearance.

And as always i would like to remind all of you out there that there will be an other stream on this Sunday (April 27th):


And ofc be sure to checkout last weeks stream with the battle between The_Hunter and Comr4de:

[Nemanja]

I like idea of buildable Heavy AA,if I remember correctly,it can take down Hind in one shot,right ? Cool design though.
Also about this GP plane,what is actually its purpose ? To circle around and cut missiles ?

[wb21]

Gotta love that Guardian Angel. Serves as a nice choice between that (defense) and the Spectre (offense). I wonder how long would be its loiter time (60 seconds?).

[The_Hunter]

I like idea of buildable Heavy AA,if I remember correctly,it can take down Hind in one shot,right ? Cool design though.

2 Shots to be exact but it beeing hitscan obviously makes it a very powerful tool

Also about this GP plane,what is actually its purpose ? To circle around and cut missiles ?

Yes and it also drops alot of flares which will act kinda like anti air smoke grenades and durring the whole circling process (which takes quite abit) the plane cannot be actively targeted.
This basicly creates a (fairly) safe fly zone for you and your allies since all anti air in the area will not be able to target your aircraft effectively.

I wonder how long would be its loiter time (60 seconds?).

Nothing set in stone yet its still beeing tested but its pretty long. (long enough to do serious damage with aircraft)

[TornadoADV]

Just a bit of something to bring up with the Cyclops lore. You would never completely replace physical defenses with an optical based system on the ocean. A Laser/Gun or Laser/Missile combo is much more potent and enhance each others strengths while reducing their weaknesses.

[Nemanja]

2 Shots to be exact but it beeing hitscan obviously makes it a very powerful tool

That is really serious thing,turtlers dream come true

Yes and it also drops alot of flares which will act kinda like anti air smoke grenades and durring the whole circling process (which takes quite abit) the plane cannot be actively targeted.
This basicly creates a (fairly) safe fly zone for you and your allies since all anti air in the area will not be able to target your aircraft effectively.



Nothing set in stone yet its still beeing tested but its pretty long. (long enough to do serious damage with aircraft)

Sound like a lot of fun,but as for those flares,are they gonna trick gattlings and skyshields etc ? I mean it would be lot more useful if would.
I like idea of those ranks 5 GPs being included that are not about blowing whole opponents base up,rather having certain tactical value.

One more question about this G. Angel,is it based on some RL design ?

[Svea Rike]

Spirit of Independence, yeah! Taste freedom! I haven't watched the streams, just how big will the Cyclops be? Also, is this the start of the "countdown" updates until release?

[TheHellGeneral]

Democracy is coming XD

[Darky]

I think the Guardian Angel model has room for improvement as it looks a bit silly, and like a bottlenose dolphin.

[X1Destroy]

Certainly the USA will no longer be the second strongest faction anymore. It will be the strongest one!

About Russia and ECA, is everything done?

I'm hoping for more units.

This post has been edited by X1Destroy: 27 Apr 2014, 12:01

[Oliver]

I think the Guardian Angel model has room for improvement as it looks a bit silly, and like a bottlenose dolphin.

Check the airborne laser one and you will see that is not that silly

This post has been edited by Oliver: 27 Apr 2014, 12:39

[Seth]

*dreams about having huge US megaships as map assets at some time in the future*

[MARS]

This update basically served as a setup to that kind of scenario in the future. We'll definitely explore that possibility.

[DELETED MEMBER]

so we can assume one US ship will have a smaller less powerful cyclops when nations navies roll around do we?
also the ciclops looks like its making a face

[Knossos]

The G.A. would be Russia's living nightmare. G.A. + Raptors + Nighthawks = "Victory through Air Power" achievement

Just a little tidbit that I had to ask; would there be a three-way war between the U.S., Russia and China in the Far East, or a two-way war with U.S. allying with China?

The suspense is gripping.

[wb21]

also the ciclops looks like its making a face

This came to my mind:

[Svea Rike]

This came to my mind:

The Hunter posted this on ModDB:

[Cobretti]

Really cool update, both those units/structures are quite potent, as anyone who's played the internal betas can tell you!

Just a bit of something to bring up with the Cyclops lore. You would never completely replace physical defenses with an optical based system on the ocean. A Laser/Gun or Laser/Missile combo is much more potent and enhance each others strengths while reducing their weaknesses.

The Cyclops replaces the Phalanx, but that doesn't mean that the Rolling Airframe Missile and Standard missile haven't been replaced by it. In fact, you can have both on the ground in game with the Cyclops and Protector Missile System.

[Maelstrom]

eliminate the risk of enemy missile systems including ATGMs, SAMs and even ballistic missiles

So the Guardian Angel can destroy Topols and missiles which are launched by Russian Silos?

By the way, nice models.

[MARS]

No it can't, Topols, Silo missiles and superweapons are exempt from this due to design reasons (no faction should have a total counter to something that special), but the Cyclops can take out regular ballistic missiles such as the Tomahawk.

[Darky]

No it can't, Topols, Silo missiles and superweapons are exempt from this due to design reasons (no faction should have a total counter to something that special), but the Cyclops can take out regular ballistic missiles such as the Tomahawk.

But Tomahawk i-

Besides Tomahawk and the SCUD, are there even artillery units whose munitions can be shot down?

[Shiro]

Rocket Buggy, Grad, Buratino...

[Darky]

As far as I know they aren't considered ballistic missiles. Regular AA can fire on ballistic missiles and not just point defense, that's the difference.

[DELETED MEMBER]

As far as I know they aren't considered ballistic missiles. Regular AA can fire on ballistic missiles and not just point defense, that's the difference.

how is that related to "what artillery ammo can be shot down"?

[Darky]

Sorata mentioned the other three rocket equipped artillery units as ballistic missile users which isn't the case.