Wave Rider
At an altitude of about 20 kilometers, in the region known as the stratosphere, a group of aircraft was flying through the sky.
The high-altitude patrol aircraft developed by the Argoforce, the Lujanka, meaning ‘Thrush’. Escorting it in formation were a group of Coulson fighters.
In the early stages of the war on Planet Asia, Argoforce, having fallen behind in information warfare, found it urgent to deploy high-altitude patrol aircraft. Like the Eagle Eye of Metal Iris, they soon introduced their own high-altitude patrol units.
The first group had been wiped out. They were caught in the shockwave caused by the ‘Hanged Man’. Fortunately, this group had kept their distance from the Megareus, which spared them from the same fate.
「Enemy aircraft approaching! Unidentified fighters are descending!」
A communication from the Lujanka reached the escort unit.
「From above? From space?」
「It appears so. There’s a squad re-entering the atmosphere!」
The term ‘atmospheric re-entry’ refers to descending from space to a point about 120 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. From 100 kilometers above the surface, the area is considered space.
Objects re-entering at orbital speeds are engulfed in extreme heat due to a phenomenon known as adiabatic compression. The temperature at the front of the craft can reach tens of thousands of degrees. It was assumed that these were not conventional fighter aircraft.
「Are they from the spaceship that dropped that monster? We’ll intercept them. Right now, it should be impossible for them to open their weapon bays or equip air-to-air missiles on the external pylons. We’ll strike while they’re re-entering the atmosphere. Give me the coordinates!」
During atmospheric re-entry, aerodynamic heating causes the molecules of the aircraft and the atmosphere to collide, generating plasma. The craft is enveloped in heat caused by the shock and the plasma. If they were to open their weapon bays, the missiles inside would be scorched, and the same would happen to the missiles equipped on the external pylons, they would be subject to the full impact of re-entry, likely causing a catastrophic explosion.
「Roger! We’ve locked onto the enemy craft’s shape… What is this…? It’s transforming!」
The enemy craft descending from space initially resembled a sleek, elongated airplane. It had a large mouth, seemingly hiding a cone-shaped nose inside.
「What’s going on?」
「Transmitting the image now!」
The slender aircraft had transformed completely and now resembled a combat plane with small canard wings extending outward. Its wings formed a near-integrated double-delta configuration with the body. The nose protruded, taking on a sharp, pointed shape.
「Lock-on alert? From that descending enemy…? What the—!」
A scream came from a Coulson pilot. A missile had struck directly.
「A missile!? From where?」
「No… no way! The main wings! It’s launching missiles from its main wings and fuselage!」
The enemy fighter, still descending, had missiles mounted on top of its main wings. It had fired air-to-air missiles from a long distance.
「Something’s off about that fighter. The engines are in two vertical rows? Gah!」
The Lujanka, which they were supposed to protect, was finally shot down, and the remaining Coulson escort squadron scattered and fled.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
「The Red Sprite unit descending from the Eirene has successfully destroyed the enemy patrol aircraft unit.」
Nyanta reported over the comms, receiving a nod from Aimer.
「It looks like a normal aircraft. That is quite unusual coming from Abel-san.」
「That thing looks normal? You’ve got it all wrong, Aimer. It’s equipped with air-to-air missiles on the top of the wings and fuselage, has twin vertical jet engines, and a pair of rocket engines on the underbelly—a hybrid system.」
「Huh?」
「It’s a super-high-altitude fighter designed for combat in the thermosphere and mesosphere. The holes that look like a mouth are probably for plasma protection. Once it enters the atmosphere, the cone-shaped part extends forward, giving it the pointed appearance of a conventional fighter jet.」
Astraea, linked to the Red Sprite’s data, provided an explanation.
「The rocket engines on the underside of the fuselage are for atmospheric exit and acceleration assistance. It’s quite an eccentric design, being a hybrid of jet and rocket engines.」
「Can it go back into space on its own?」
「With auxiliary fuel tanks, yes.」
「That’s incredible. It transformed after entering Earth’s atmosphere, didn’t it?」
「During re-entry, it functions as a wave rider. Its fuselage adopts a blended wing body, allowing it to deflect shockwaves. Essentially, it rides the waves created by the shock.」
A blended wing body refers to an aircraft structure where the wings and fuselage are integrated into a single aerodynamic form. The classic wave rider minimizes or eliminates wings, using the fuselage to deflect shockwaves in a lifting body configuration. The blended wing body is a similar concept, functioning as a middle ground between conventional aircraft and all-wing designs.
The Red Sprite’s structure was designed to fulfill the role of a wave rider as well.
「So that’s why it has missiles mounted on top of the wings?」
「Exactly. If they were mounted beneath the fuselage, they would be directly exposed to the plasma generated by the shock during re-entry. They likely opted for the upper positioning to avoid that.」
Normally, hardpoints or pylons are mounted beneath the wings or fuselage. This positioning is standard for many reasons, primarily because they are designed to drop payloads from the aircraft.
The position of the air-to-air missiles of the Red Sprite was indeed unconventional, but it wasn’t completely new, similar concepts had been proposed in the past. Most of those ideas, especially for British aircraft, never moved beyond the planning stage.
「Wave riding, huh. Do you think it could carry a Silhouette too?」
「Eirene doesn’t have any Silhouettes on board, but it’s likely possible. While the nose is engulfed in plasma at temperatures reaching tens of thousands of degrees, the rest of the surface only reaches a few hundred degrees. With its hybrid propulsion system, it should have enough power to descend while carrying a Silhouette.」
Astraea speculated after analyzing the data. With the combined strength of Eirene and Abel, it could very well be feasible.
「It’s strange to think that no aircraft has carried a Silhouette before now.」
「That’s because there was never a need to mount one on top. It would make RCS (Radar Cross Section) ineffective and increase the target area. We already have aircraft like the Thunderstorm which can transport a Silhouette, and we have several models of transformable Silhouettes that can maintain sustained flight by themselves. These methods are more efficient than mounting a Silhouette on top of a plane. In the first place, the only reason the Red Sprite has such a particular design is to allow it combat capabilities after atmospheric re-entry.」
Given the prohibition on space combat, dropping both a fighter and a Silhouette from space would be an overwhelming strategic advantage. Eirene, always thinking ahead, has clearly envisioned this scenario. She is a terrifyingly clever younger sister.
「The Red Sprite squad has been ordered to participate in the assault on the Megareus. The enemy probably won’t expect a rapid descent from the mesosphere.」
Aimer received the communication from Eirene in space and communicated it to Kou and Astraea. She was right, the enemy would certainly not anticipate fighters arriving from space.
Aimer couldn’t help but concur with Astraea when she said that the weapons designed by Abel and Eirene seemed a bit too focused on catching the enemy off guard.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
A group of Silhouettes was engaged in battle, providing cover for the combat engineer units conducting sabotage operations. The enemies they faced were the transformable Silhouette Arular, their superior variant, the Seesava-Arular, and the newest model, the Bivoi-Ohotnik. These transformable Silhouettes had the mobility of aircraft coupled with high combat capabilities when in humanoid form, so they were formidable and troublesome opponents.
In comparison, the number of Silhouettes in Metal Iris capable of aerial combat was fewer than those of the Argoforce. However, those few Silhouettes were all ace units, each worth a thousand on the battlefield.
「Damn, there are too many of them!」
The transformable Silhouettes belonging to Metal Iris were equipped with metallic hydrogen reactors, most of which were reserved for ace pilots. Although Metal Iris also had transformable Silhouettes models using storage reactors, such as the Type 0 of Gogyou Heavy Industries and BAS’s Buzzard, their numbers were nothing compared to the enemy’s forces. The unique circumstances of Argoforce played in their favor, with no need for Familia or Therianthrope units, making Silhouette deployment more efficient and resources abundant.
「Don’t push yourself too hard.」
Unit 5, which had been surrounded, was saved by Kurt, who joined the fight in his Hrafnagud, cutting down an enemy with a single blow from his massive sword.
「Don’t worry, we’ve got your back too!」
Hyoue had also joined the battle in his Accipiter.
「Thanks for the help! We have to protect Fuyuki and the others no matter what!」
「It’s like a castle siege. We need to breach inside and take control!」
Though Hyoue compared it to a castle siege, the target was more akin to an immobile fortress. Still, the analogy held.
「Enemies are landing on the deck one after another. I’d love to storm up there, but… we’d be riddled with bullets if we tried that now. If only we could ride on top of one of the fighters…」
The enemy had prioritized securing the deck. Meanwhile, forces inside the ship were just beginning to mobilize.
「Need a taxi, Big Boss? We just came down from space, but we’re ready to help!」
At just the right moment, a transmission came in, and an unfamiliar dog-shaped Familia appeared.
「A taxi?」
「This is the Red Sprite unit from Albion. We’ve just re-entered from space, but we can carry Silhouettes for you! The rest of our squad is descending too!」
The Red Sprite unit descended in formation and began their attack. The Arulars received their attack from 20 kilometers above, and one by one they were shot down.
「From space? That’s incredible!」
A chicken-type Familia riding an Edge Swift shouted in admiration. The friendly aircraft engaged in battle were also astonished by their sudden appearance.
「Sorry, but can you take me up to the top?」
「Sure thing! This baby’s a VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) craft. It can hover too, so just hop on!」
「As expected from a unit designed by Abel-san, it’s very versatile.」
The Red Sprite hovered above Kou, and Unit 5 wasted no time in jumping on it. The rocket engines, originally designed for atmospheric exit, provided excellent auxiliary power when carrying Silhouettes.
「Climb fast!」
「You got it!」
Kurt and Hyoue quickly caught on to Ko’s plan.
「Take me too!」
「And me!」
「Leave it to me!」
「Roger that!」
A female white cat-type Familia and a hamster-type Familia descended, picking up the two of them as well.
As they ascended rapidly, all three pilots fired their weapons. Despite the Red Sprite’s large size, it was highly maneuverable.
「This is high enough. Thanks!」
At around 5,000 meters above, Unit 5 jumped off, followed by the Accipiter and the Hrafnagud.
On the deck of the Megareus, a swarm of Arular in their Silhouette forms had taken up defensive positions, poised to intercept the intruders. They were keeping a close watch on the enemies below from their vantage point.
But an attack from directly above was something they hadn’t anticipated. The three descending units fired suppressive shots while dodging incoming fire. Upon landing, three Arular were instantly sliced in half.
「From above?!」
「Eliminate them quickly!」
Panic spread among the Arular squad as their defensive line was breached. Unit 5, lowering its center of gravity, made a swift slash, severing another Arular at the waist.
This crouched fighting style of Unit 5 posed a significant challenge for the Arular, who were accustomed to fighting in upright positions.
「Now’s the time! Secure the deck!」
In the moment of confusion, Jamie seized the opportunity and gave the order. The Red Sprite unit provided support by deploying ground-attack missiles from its internal weapon bays, laying down suppressive fire.
The battle around the Megareus intensified, transforming into a battlefield that could only be described as a decisive confrontation.
Comment (0)