Black Eagle

The Black Eagle is a high speed VTOL armored fighter-bomber used by the Republic of Korea during the Third World War and its second iteration.

Background
Korean aeronautical engineers seeked to replace the under-armored Harrier used by the rest of the Allied nations with an indigenous design, emphasizing both survivability and firepower. This resulted in the advanced Black Eagle.

The Black Eagle is, according to the render, an advanced twin-engine VTOL two-seat fighter-bomber designed with forward-swept wing configuration and a characteristic black paintjob. It proved to be a huge improvement over the Harrier most Allied nations continued to trust on, and its avionics and weapons systems were state of the art. It uses Maverick II missiles which have a larger explosive - one or two Black Eagles can take out a tank. Its advanced construction makes it much less vulnerable to AA fire than typical Harriers, as they were normally able to stand up to 4-5 Patriot missiles compared to a mere 2 missiles that could completely destroy a Harrier. However, massed AA, especially Flak Cannons and Yuri's Gattling weaponry still poses a significant threat.

It was erased from the timeline after the Soviets meddled with the space-time continuum.

Usage
Black Eagles are useful in most combat situations except for air engagements, hence it's status as a heavy fighter-bomber. They can attack every target on the ground and eight can take out just about any structures. In Elite status, four will suffice, though losses can be expected. They were best known for their role in eliminating Yuri's Cloning Vats in Australia.

Black Eagles in squadrons of four to ten make for excellent harassment and raiding. They can also be used to intercept armour columns before they reach a base or destroy enemy ore miners in seconds. Their survivability is much better than Harriers, and if Elite, a Black Eagle can stand almost the same amount of Patriot missiles as the Paradrop C-130 before falling from the sky, likely 6 missiles.

Counters
It may be a large improvement over the standard Harriers, but it is still vulnerable to anti-air defenses, albeit to a lesser degree. The Gatling weapons in Yuri's arsenal are particularly dangerous, and should be avoided. Other weapons that can destroy Black Eagles, including very large amounts of Flak cannons or Patriot missile systems, if faced against rogue Allied enemies.

Pros

 * Strong against tanks and buildings.
 * Powerful in numbers
 * Less vulnerable to AA fire than Harriers.
 * Can be used to intercept armour columns.
 * Costs the same as regular Harriers ($1200).

Cons

 * Massed AA still a great problem.
 * Only available to the Republic of Korea.

Behind the Scenes
The Black Eagle is voiced by Gustavo Rex, who also voiced the Terrorist, French Newscaster and Cuban taunts in multiplayer.

The model of the plane is based on Sukhoi Su-47.

Trivia

 * The aircraft looks like a "mix" of two real world designs - an American F/A-18D Hornet fighter-bomber and Russian Su-47 Berkut experimental fighter. The design combines the forward fuselage and two-seat cockpit section from the F/A-18D with the inverted wings and black colour of the Su-47. Upon closer inspection, it seems that the aircraft from the render also borrows its vertical stabilizer from the Lockheed Martin F-16C Fighting Falcon.
 * In real life, few aircraft featuring forward-swept wings exist. These possess extraordinary agility, but at the cost of the wings being more fragile. Only two fighters ever employed this configuration, namely the American X-29A and the Russian Su-47. Both designs were constructed as prototypes and were tested extensively, but never reached the production lines. The RA2 Black Eagle combines forward-swept wings with VTOL technology, which is an almost impossible marvel in the real world, considering the instability and fragility of the design.
 * In real life, the Republic of Korea Air Force does use F-15K Strike Eagles as its main strike fighter. However, the Black Eagles depicted in the game bear no resemblance to the real F-15K Strike Eagle.
 * In real life, the Republic of Korea Air Force has a aerobatic squadron named the "Black Eagles". Its aircraft inventory consists of South Korean made T-50 Golden Eagles.
 * Sometimes, A bug occured into a bots which Black Eagles will not return to their own Airforce Command Headquarter (Skirmish only)