Sea-Wing/Sky-Wing

"I've seen it all."

- Overheard from a battle-tested Sky/Sea Wing pilot

The Sea-Wing/Sky-Wing is a very unique unit in the Empire's arsenal. First seen in World War III, it is a powerful ground attack aircraft equipped with quadruple plasma relays. However, because of the influence from anime, it is far more advanced than the crude Soviet or the tested and tried Allied aircraft. It attacks by flying circles around its target, much like dogfighting. But the most important aspect of the Sea Wing is it's ability to transform into an anti-aircraft submarine. This makes it nearly invulnerable to most attacks. Because no vehicle in the Allied arsenal is able to hit subs and aircraft at the same time, it is mostly unchallenged in the battle field. Compared to the Allied and Soviet bombers, it is very undergunned, as a Kirov can deal far more damage in the same amount of time as the Sky-Wing.

History
Doubtlessly one of the more impressive feats of Japanese engineering to date, the sea-wing is a stealthy submersible whose sealed hull and specially-designed locomotors let it rise up and out of the water in the form of an anti-surface strike craft. This makes it perhaps the most maneuverable craft in the Imperial military, which, considering the extreme mobility of many of Japan's fighting forces, is saying a lot. What's more, neither the Soviet nor Allied military possesses a counterpart to this type of never-before-seen dual-role craft. With the discovery of the sea-wing, it seems not even the seas are safe from the Empire of the Rising Sun's ambush forces.

While lurking undersea, the sea-wing is nearly undetectable to scanners, and could almost be mistaken for a large mechanical devil ray. Once it has detected enemy aircraft, it surfaces to unleash a rapid seeking-rocket barrage against its foe. The rockets are disturbingly accurate even at range, and sea-wings seem to carry no shortage of them either. An entire top-ace squadron of Soviet MiG fighters once was decimated by a sea-wing patrol in only a matter of minutes.

While the MiG incident left Soviet air command in a state of near-panic, only later was the sea-wing connected to the sky-wing strike craft, which was previously assumed to be a completely different unit. In sky-wing form, the vehicle seems to use the propulsions from its rockets to help keep it aloft, while using a single swivel-mounted energy weapon to attack surface targets. The weapon causes intense burns, and has proven deadly against unarmored targets in particular--especially ones ill-equipped to take on a fast-moving aircraft like the sky-wing.

The way in which the sea-wing transitions to the sky-wing, and back again, is almost bizarre, in that the vehicle simply turns end over end like a coin-flip. How sea-wing pilots are able to withstand this, in addition to the G-forces of subsonic rises and submerges, is anyone's guess, though the cockpit of the vehicle is believed to be suspended in a sort of gyroscopic mounting. At any rate, piloting such a craft must take incredible skill, especially since the sea-wing's slender form means it is relatively fragile and dependent on its mobility for protection. The Empire of the Rising Sun, having a considerably smaller population than its rival world powers, must be training only the best of the best to commandeer these unusual vessels.

Usage
The Sea-Wing is an anti-air sub mainly used for air defense for Imperial fleets. While the Sky-Wing it is a close air support plane that is useful for taking out groups of infantry.

In large groups, the Sky-Wing is a dangerous opponent against infantry. However, it lacks the firepower to pierce the heavy armor of tanks and ships.

Tactics and Counters
"I survived worse."

- Sea/Sky Wing pilot, after evading enemy AA fire

But the Wings are not without their flaws. Being a ground attack plane, they are not able to hit flying targets unless they submerge. Air superiority fighters like the MiG Fighter and the Apollo Fighter are surprisingly effective against the Sky Wing. Bullfrogs, Hydrofoils, Flak Troopers, Multigunner IFVs and anything else able to hit flying targets is an immediate threat to it. To avoid this, the Sea Wing can dive under water. From there, they're safe from anti-aircraft attacks. But while under water, other naval vessels are a serious threat to the Sea Wing. The Sea Wing is only vulnerable to enemy units that can assault submerged units, like the Assault Destroyers,and Naginata Cruisers. Due to low armour and high construction prices, Imperial commanders shouldn't be reckless with these units.

Assault destroyers or Riptide ACVs escorted by Hydrofoils spell death for Sea-wings, as Do Akula submarines or Stingrays with Bullfrogs, or over the ground, Multigunner IFVs and again Bullfrogs, and if they go up against rogue imperial forces, other Sea-wings were a deadly threat to it.

Notes from the field
Battlefield reconnaissance has revealed at least these facts about the Sea-Wing:

• Air emerge -- In its base form, the Sea-Wing is a relatively quick-moving submarine armed with an anti-air rocket system specially designed to track and destroy flying targets. While it has no way of attacking other surface craft, it can burst from the waves into the flight-capable Sky-Wing form seemingly anytime.

• Sea submerge -- While in Sky-Wing form, this vehicle's kinetic pulse-shot weapon can rapidly overwhelm unarmored targets, with results arguably superior even to the machine guns of the Soviet Twinblade gunships. Unlike a helicopter, however, the Sky-Wing must remain constantly in flight, and unlike any known vehicle, it may simply dive back into the water to avoid harm.

• Nearly undetectable underwater -- While underwater, the Sea-Wing is undetectable to most radar scans, and cannot be attacked directly by common weapons. It does become vulnerable when surfacing to fire, though having first-attack advantage has proven to be essential to Imperial battle tactics.

• Target spotting -- While the Sea-Wing is extremely capable on its own, it seems designed to work even better in concert with other Imperial forces, including naval forces such as the feared Shogun-class battleships. In Sky-Wing form, these craft can help the Shoguns' main battery guns track inland targets.

The Sky-Wing/Sea-Wing requires a combination of units for the Allies and Soviets to effectively deal with. Using only fighter aircraft could lead to disaster, as an unfortunate ace-squadron of MiGs found out when they encountered a Sea-Wing patrol. Using only Assault Destroyers without Hydrofoil support would only lead to slow destruction at the hands of the Sky-Wing.

Behind the scenes
The circling method of attack is similar to the tactics of real-life modern gunships, such as the Lockheed Martin/Rockwell AC-130 Spectre.

This vehicle does not actually transform, but only spins and dives or flies out of the water when transforming.

In flight mode, the Sky-Wing is very similar to the Scrin Stormrider in TWIII, sharing the same attack profile and very similar weaponry. However, it is better against infantry, as it preformed poorly when put up against against tanks or buildings.