UD-6 Talon
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| UD-6 Talon | |
| |
| Main weapon |
Multi-purpose rockets |
| Main weapon ammuntion per reload |
10 |
| 2nd passenger weapon |
Nose-mounted minigun |
| 2nd passenger alternative weapon |
Guided missile |
| Countermeasures | |
| Operators | |
The UD-6 Talon is a VTOL aircraft and gunship that saw service and combat in the 22nd century, most notably during The Cold War between 2139 and 2147.
Battlefield 2142
Edit
The Talon is only featured in the game Battlefield 2142. It appears on most of the available maps as well as all Titan maps. It spawns on the left side of the Titan hanger in any game. It is only available to the EU Team, however, a PAC player can steal it if it is empty. The Talon is essentially the same vehicle as its counterpart, the Type 4 Doragon, with some differences. For example, the mounted chin gun on the Talon is a Gatling gun that spools up before firing (this is done quickly however) while the Dragoon features a slow firing autoblaster.
The Talon can be used by the EU Team to clear the skies of enemy aircraft and attack ground infantry and vehicles. This makes it a powerful tool. However, its armor cannot sustain much damage and an Anti-Aircraft Emplacement can easily take a hovering (or even fast moving) Talon down.
DescriptionEdit
The Talon is identical to Type 4 Doragon in all but aesthetics.
The gunship combines the speed of a fixed-wing aircraft with agility and hover abilities of a helicopter. This is good, as it is only half as durable as UD-12 Shepherd or BTR-20 Yastreb - a single tank shell or few shots from the Rorsch Kz-27 will kill you outright or leave you burning, giving you just enough time to bail out.
The default missiles lock on air targets, but do not lock on ground targets. Even against air targets, they lock on only when close enough, so you still need to lead the enemy when firing.
The nose-mounted cannon is extremely useful. Unless you're a TV missile master, you should always have a passenger operating the cannon. It gives you a large advantage in any gunship-to-gunship fight, as the cannon covers a very wide area and is not blocked by the active defense. It's also one of the two ways to deal with infantry, as the AA missiles do little damage to them.
The TV missiles are powerful, but difficult to use because they sway a lot in flight. One important thing to note is that when you stop controlling a TV missile it will fly perfectly straight; therefore, as soon as you guide it on target, switch back to the cannon. Another way is to launch the missile when the targeting reticule is over the enemy and immediately switch back to cannon, not trying to steer it at all. This is especially effective when seat switching.
Seat switching is a common technique among gunship veterans. It involves switching to second seat, entering the TV missile mode, launching the missile then immediately going back to first seat. Even without keyboard macros and with default keyboard layout, with a bit of practice the whole operation can take less than a second. Because you're not controlling the TV missile, it will fly perfectly straight and as an added bonus there's only a split second when your TV missile aiming reticule is over the enemy, which gives him very little lock-on warning. Do note that the gunship will drop like a rock when you're out of the first seat, so make sure you have enough altitude before trying it.
The active defense on a gunship is useful only against two things: gunship AA missiles (including TV missiles) and tank shells. Do not waste it trying to block Rorsch Kz-27 fire or air transport autocannons/machineguns.
When attacking tanks, you can be sure any half-competent tank driver will try to shoot you and enable the active defense, blocking most of your missiles. You can either use your own active defense to block the incoming fire, use a steep angle of attack or simply try to catch the enemy unaware. This is much easier to do against the Nekomatas as they can only fire at what's directly in front of them, so attacking from the back/sides means you're 100% safe. If the enemy enables active defense and blocks most of your fire, try going for an immediate counterattack as your AA missile recharge rate is faster than the active defense recharge rate. A tank cannon fire rate is faster still, however, so don't assume you're safe.
Attacking Walkers can be a nasty business, as they're basically walking AA defense emplacements. Use your speed to perform strafing runs on them; don't assume altitude will save you, as the Walker AA gun can aim almost ninety degrees upwards. You'll have more success flying fast close to ground, using buildings/terrain to mess up the EMP missile lock-on.
A gunship-to-gunship battle is usually decided by three things: who attacked whom first, which gunship has a passenger operating the cannon and skill, roughly in that order. During a dogfight, speed is almost worthless unless you just strafed a stationary enemy, as it takes a while for a gunship to build up speed. Trying to escape when someone is on your tail is almost impossible; you might have a bit of success by flying straight up or performing a loop against rookie pilots, but most people will continue to keep you in their sights. Although they might not be able to actually attack you because of your radical maneuvers, you can't do anything about them either and the situation ends up in a stalemate.
Instead, try circle-strafing around the enemy utilizing the gunship's hover ability when you hold the backwards key. Use the mouse to strafe and strafe left/right keys to orient yourself towards the enemy. This is where having a gunner is so useful - the area of attack of a gunship cannon is 270 degrees so you can continually chip away at the enemy's health while the combat becomes a dance of AA missile reloads and active defense recharges.
As a final piece of advice, don't "toy" with lone infantry (i.e. those who bailed out of a gunship you just destroyed in the middle of nowhere). Remember: three out of four classes in Battlefield 2142 have anti-armor capability and the gunship is least durable of all armored vehicles in the game. Plus, they're not the only enemy on the battlefield.
SpecificationsEdit
Weaponry
- 270 degree pneumatically charged Gatling gun - mounted underneath aircraft at very front.
- Thermobaric High Impulse AGM/Launcher
- Infrared Rocket Fire System
Armour
- Dual Layered Composite
- Depleted Uranium Mesh (fitted between composite layers)
Defenses
Capacity/Seats
- Two- One pilot and one co-pilot/gunner
Propulsion
- Twin aircraft rotating booster/rocket pods
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