 UH-144 FALCON
Craft: Misriah Armory UH-144 Falcon Transport/Utility Helicopter
Type: Transport/Close air support aircraft
Scale: Speeder
Dimensions:
-Length: 13m
-Wingspan: 9.5m
Skill: Helicopter piloting: Falcon
Unskilled: Cannot use Maneuverability
Crew: 1/3 (pilot; 2 optional crew-hands/gunners)
-Gunners: 1/3 (pilot; 3 with side weapons)
Crew Skill: Aircraft operations 4D, firearms 3D, vehicle weapons 3D+2
Passengers: 3+; 5+ (without gunners)
Cargo Capacity: 4 tons
Cover:
-Pilot: Full
-Gunners/Passengers: 1/2
Altitude Range: 1,400ft
Cost: 50,000 cR (new), 30,500 cR (used)
Maneuverability: 3D
Move: 280; 800kmh
Body Strength: 4D
-Cockpit Canopy: 3D
WEAPONS:
M638 Autocannon
Location: Chin mounted
Fire Arc: Front
Crew: 1 (pilot)
Skill: Vehicle weapons
Scale: Speeder
Fire Control: 3D
Range: 3-30/60/150m
Damage: 5D
Ammo: 300 (20mm rounds)
Rate of Fire: 5
Special: Burst
WEAPONS (Optional Variants):
2 M247H Heavy Machine Guns (UH-144S):
Location: Mounted to either side of troop bay
Fire Arc: Partial turrets
-Right: Front/Right/Rear
-Left: Front/Left/Rear
Crew: 1 (gunners)
Skill: Firearms
Scale: Character
Fire Control: 2D
Range: 2-20/50/150m
Damage: 4D
Ammo: 200 (12.7mm rounds)
Rate of Fire: 3
Special: Automatic
2 M460 Automatic Grenade Launchers (UH-144A):
Location: Mounted to either side of troop bay
Fire Arc: Partial turrets
-Right: Front/Right/Rear
-Left: Front/Left/Rear
Crew: 1 (gunners)
Skill: Missile weapons
Scale: Character
Fire Control: 2D
Range: 5-10/20/50
Damage: 4D/3D/2D
Blast Radius: 0-1/2/4
Ammo: 24 (40mm grenades)
Rate of Fire:
-Semiautomatic: 1
-Automatic: 2
Special: Automatic; EMP; Manual detonation
DESCRIPTION:
The UH-144 Falcon is the primary air-to-ground support and troop transport
aircraft of the United Nations Space Command.
- - - - - - - - - -
-AUTOMATIC WEAPON: This weapon has an automatic fire (autofire) option and can increase its Rate of Fire with the flip of a switch to a higher number (listed above), at +1 Range Difficulty. The benefit of this is that the gunner can increase the Rate of Fire further, at +1 shot for every +1 Range Difficulty level. If the attack misses the intended Range Difficulty but hits the normal Difficulty, then one shot hits and the others miss and are wasted.
--Optional: The GM can require a player to call how many shots they wish to fire, with a missed attack losing all intended grenades. Otherwise, only 1 round will be lost.
-BURST WEAPON: The Falcon's chin-mounted M638 autocannon is a burst-fire weapon. Unlike automatic weapons (which can increase their Rate of Fire by making appropriate skill rolls), burst weapons have a set Rate of Fire that cannot be altered with skill rolls. This is usually to grant a set number of attacks higher than automatic weapons at the cost of being able to alter the Rate of Fire.
-EMP: If Manual Detonation is used, the Damage inflicted ALSO counts as Ion Weapon Damage.
-MANUAL DETONATION: This weapon has an alternate fire mode to detonate grenades manually, instead of on impact, and can only be used in Semiautomatic Rate of Fire. The gunner fires the grenade round and holds down the trigger, releasing when they desire the grenade to go off. A benefit of this is that grenades can be ricocheted to reach a difficult target.
- - - - - - - - - -
The UH-144 Falcon is a versatile, tilt- and transverse-rotor, multi-purpose
utility helicopter. Two Falcons can transport a fully-equipped fireteam faster
than any other previous system, and can provide overwhelming fire support in
most weather conditions. There are two versions of the Falcon, which differ only
in their armament. Both models feature a chin-mounted M638 Autocannon. The more
common UH-144S has two side-mounted M247H Heavy Machine Guns, whereas the
UH-144A has two side-mounted M460 Automatic Grenade Launchers.
In the campaign (Halo: Reach), the aircraft's crew consists of one pilot, two
crewmen who may serve as door gunners, and three passengers. However, in
multiplayer, there is only room for one pilot and two gunners.
TACTICS (HALO: REACH)
CAMPAIGN:
-During Winter Contingency, Noble Team's Falcon can provide fire support during
the first section of the mission.
-The Falcon used in the level Tip of the Spear is equipped with semi-automatic
grenade launchers which can produce an EMP effect when the trigger is held down,
then released to manually detonate the grenade. This EMP can shut down enemy
vehicles.
-The player pilots a Falcon during the level New Alexandria which is equipped
with a pilot-controlled, chin-mounted autocannon that has a larger field of
fire, and is more accurate and more powerful than the side-mounted machine guns
(this is not in multiplayer). In Co-Op on this level, other players can ride in
the passenger seats of one or fly their own, as there will be an extra Falcon
with mounted Grenade Launchers.
-When piloting the Falcon, the player can face one side of the Falcon towards
attacking Banshees, allowing an ally to open fire on them. Skilled pilots will
place their craft to put their gunners in an optimum position to fire upon a
target.
MULTIPLAYER:
-The Falcon's side-mounted machine guns are extremely short-ranged and the pilot
will need to take this into account when attacking a target.
-Players must keep moving to avoid being hijacked by players using the Jetpack
armor ability.
-The Cockpit area takes roughly double damage from all weapons compared to the
rest of the vehicle. Approximately eight sniper rifle rounds is required to
destroy a Falcon. Explosives are slightly more effective, with one or two Plasma
Launcher rounds stuck to the cockpit being enough to destroy the Falcon in most
situations, as well as Plasma Grenades.
-The Falcon has a unique ability most players are unaware of: a greatly extended
Motion Tracker Range. It is even capable of detecting hostile players that
normally wouldn't show up (not moving, crouched, players using the 'Active Camo'
armor ability, etc). This applies to everyone in the Falcon, regardless of
position or species. Players can this to their teams advantage when piloting one
by informing team mates on the ground of the locations of enemies.
-Like most vehicles, the Falcon can be disabled by an overcharged Plasma Pistol
bolt or an EMP burst from the Grenade Launcher. This can result in hijacking or
the Falcon being destroyed when it hits the ground if it is at a high alititude.
-While the Falcon can be used to insert players near enemy objectives, players
carrying objective items cannot ride in Falcons, as there is no "passenger
seat". The carrier can stands on the top of the Falcon, however.
-Pilots must remember to keep at least one side of their Falcon trained on
opposing players to allow allies to provide fire support for team mates on foot.
Skilled pilots will coordinate with their gunners to keep the nose pointed
directly at an enemy and focus weapons' fire on a single target.
-The Falcon can be used to re-locate snipers, as it can reach otherwise
inaccessible vantage points for the sniper. However, players must be aware of
Kill and Soft-Kill areas.
-It is unwise to engage heavy armor with the Falcon, as it possesses no heavy
anti-vehicle weapons, and cannot carry passengers with such weapons. A single
hit from a Scorpion or Wraith will destroy the Falcon.
-It is possible to destroy a Wraith with a Falcon if the pilot ensures the
Plasma Mortar rounds miss by dodging and diving, and keeping it in view so that
their machine gunners can continue to hit it. This does not work for Scorpions
unless the player is constantly moving to be behind the turret. This is
unadvisable and suicidal, but can however be a short-lived distraction for
groundside teammates to get past.
-"Splattering" an enemy may result in a hijacking, this should not be attempted
except as a last resort.
-If only one gunner is available, the pilot must ensure that this player is
always facing the enemies on the ground. This is easily overcomed by pilots with
moderate spatial awareness.
TRIVIA
-The Falcon bears a certain resemblance to the Sparrowhawk gunship, seen as an
upgrade for the Hornet in Halo Wars.
-The Falcon is nicknamed the "Warthog of the skies" by fans and Bungie
employees.
-Superficially, the Falcon looks rather similar to the United States Marine
Corps' V-22 Osprey tilt rotor.
-As seen in early concept art, it appears the Falcon would originally have
possessed ducted air fans, like those of the AV-14 Hornet and D77-TC Pelican,
rather than rotors.
-Much like UNSC aircraft in Halo Wars, Falcons that cannot be piloted have
yellow windshields. In campaign, if one punches out the windows of these
Falcons, they'll notice that there is no character inside piloting the Falcon.
-The words "BEWARE OF BLAST" can be found painted on the edge of the floor of
the passenger cabin. This is a reference to the rotorwash caused by the
turboprops, or it may be referring to the small jets located on the bottom of
the turboprop nacelles.
-Two small jets are located toward the back of the Falcon, facing to the rear.
These likely contribute to the Falcon's forward propulsion, as they glow red
when the falcon is moving at high speed forward.
-A Falcon avatar gear is one of the bonus items included with the Halo: Reach
Limited and Legendary editions.
-Unlike most vehicles in Halo: Reach, the smoke from a badly damaged Falcon
blocks a substantial portion of the screen, increasing the difficulty of flying
a critically damaged aircraft.
-Unless the player jumps on top of a rotor hub, he cannot be killed by the
Falcon's rotors. However, if the player touches the rotor hub, he will be killed
instantly.
-It is possible to fly the Falcon in the first level. The player must hit the
Falcon that Jun is not in with an overcharged plasma pistol shot. When it falls,
the Falcon has a small chance of flipping on the ground and forcing the pilot
out.
-Due to balancing purposes, the Falcon in multiplayer lacks the chin-mounted
autocannon that is normally usable by the pilot.
-There is a non-usable medical kit in the troop bay.
-It is possible for a SPNKR rocket to pass straight through the troop/gunner
bay.
OTHER INFO
Production Information:
-Manufacturer: Misriah Armory
-Model: UH-144
Technical Specifications:
-Engine: Twin turboprop engines
-Armament: M638 Autocannon (all models)
--UH-144A: M247H Heavy Machine Guns (2, side-mounted)
--UH-144S: M460 Automatic Grenade Launchers (2, side-mounted)
-Crew: Pilot (1); Door Gunners (2)
Usage:
-Role(s): Troop transport; Close air support
-Era(s): Human-Covenant War
-Affiliation: United Nations Space Command
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