"Large prescence detected in high altitude!  We believe it to be a hostile heavy commnd cruiser...
...Aigaion... and support aircraft... located up ahead."

-AWACS Sky-Eye


The Aerial Fleet was an strategic unit of aerial warships developed by an unknown nation. It was formed by two P-1113 Kottos electronic support aircraft, two P-1114 Gyges air defense units and their mothership, the P-1112 Aigaion.



<<MOBY DICK PURSUIT>>

"Operation Whale Hunt"

Description: 

The Intelligence Agency reports that an Aigaion class heavy command cruiser is heading across the Eurasian continent for the Indian Ocean. This is a one in a million opportunity. All pilots responding to the emergency call must sortie immediately and intercept the Aigaion over the Alps. Engage with a saturation attack and destroy the target before it escapes from the operation area. We are unable to provide any details of the defenses you encounter. Remain alert.

Moby Dick Pursuit I is a Special Raid mission in Ace Combat Infinity available at random to players during Online Co-Op Missions. It took place over the same area as Alps Air Corridor, where players worked together to destroy the Aigaion-class heavy command cruiser.

Objectives:

The only objective in this mission was to destroy the Aigaion heavy command cruiser. It was supported by two Gyges and two Kottos cruisers, but unlike Heavy Command Cruiser, neither of them were mission-important and did not need to be destroyed. There was also a large number of escort fighters in the airspace; again, unlike Heavy Command Cruiser (which had the Strigon Squadron flying support), none of them were mission-important. While the mission provided the full six minutes for this objective, players started so far away that most aircraft wouldn't reach the cruisers until half a minute had elapsed. All five aircraft were protected by a large number of AA weapons. In order to take down any of the cruisers, the AA must have been cleared out, which allowed players to lock onto the engines. After all of the engines were destroyed on any of the cruisers, their front cockpit would be available to engage. The mission was completed when the timer ran out or Aigaion's cockpit was destroyed. Gyges and Kottos were not required to be destroyed to complete the mission, but were required in order to get an S rank.


THE AERIAL FLEET

P-1112 Aigaion Heavy Command Cruiser

The Aigaion-class heavy command cruiser is a giant combat aircraft from the Ace Combat Infinity world. 

    The Aigaion series was developed by an unknown nation in the 2000s after the Ulysses Disaster. The purpose of the heavy command cruisers was to build a singular mobile assault system capable of projecting aerial power at long distances with low maintenance costs, making their operations more practical in comparison to conventional air forces in terms of cost-effectivity in the wake of the global military budget reductions triggered by the Ulysses impacts. 

The original model was completed at some point in the early 21st century, proving successful enough to warrant the development of advanced models identified by a colored upper fuselage; a red-plated model with increased firepower and a golden experimental variant armed with point defense laser. Aigaions often operated with two pairs of smaller Kottos and Gyges cruisers providing escort as a unified "aerial fleet", and were universally identified by the name of their class. 

    As a heavy command cruiser, the P-1112 was designed to act as a mobile base and long-range attack asset, a major development of the XB-0 Hresvelgr built by the former Belka. Physically resembling a giant manta ray, the girth of the Aigaion forces it to operate as a seaplane, as conventional take-off would be impossible. The aircraft houses an internal hangar bay with CATOBAR systems accomodated for carrier aircraft operations. A small helipad rests on top of the rear hangar entrance. 

    The main weapons of the Aigaion, the Nimbus cruise missiles, allow it to engage aerial and ground targets at near-continental ranges, and is armed with an array of anti-air cannons, AAM launchers and flak guns dotted across the lower, upper and rear fuselage. It is powered by a fossil fuel core built beneath the main canopy, above its "mouth", which propel twenty-four engines arranged in rows of six on its trailing edges, allowing it to operate for three day periods before refueling. A squadron of six KC-10 Extender tankers are required to simultaneously refuel it in mid-air, a process that disable its foward radar. 


Specifications: 

Width: 963.77m 
Length: 433.3m 
Height: 102.39m 

P-1113 Kottos Aerial Warship

The Kottos-class heavy command cruiser is a class of heavy command cruisers that have appeared in Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation and Ace Combat Infinity. Their main purpose is to support Gyges- and Aigaion-class cruisers with electronic warfare support, typically through jamming enemy radars. 


Specifications 

Width: 486.45m  
Length: 205.44m  
Height: 43.61m 

P-1114 Gyges Aerial Warship

The P-1114 Gyges were two air-to-air defense airships manufactured for the Aerial Fleet. Their main purpose was to shoot down enemy aircraft at close range that threatened the P-1112 Aigaion or P-1113 Kottos. Six colossal engines powered each Gyges airship, but their energy source remains unclear. Armed with multiple turrets and missile launchers, the Gyges were deadly matches for any enemy aircraft who got close to them. 


Specifications 

Width: 486.45m 
Length: 206.68m 
Height: 43.61m