UFOs (UFOAI)

Research entries of UFO: Alien Invasion's UFOs.

UFOs

UFO Scout

Commander, we've recovered a new UFO type which is now waiting in our hangar for disassembly. We're ready to start studying and dismantling the craft whenever you say, but we will need some lab time and funding to make a proper assessment of its function and capabilities.

Cdr. Navarre

"This small UFO is the first type we've observed visually and on radar. Although they don't seem to take part in actual raids, they're no less a threat; so far they've paved the way for every instance of alien activity on Earth.

We have dubbed this class of UFO the 'Scout', as that seems to be its purpose here on Earth. It makes sense. Every modern military force needs intelligence more than anything.

Here are the major technical details:

-- The craft has only a small fuel tank and few provisions for a crew. It seems designed for little more than coming down from orbit, flying around a bit, and then returning.

-- We have determined the craft to be unarmed, but it's equipped with what appears to be a large suite of sensors contained in the four protrusions around the cockpit. Curiously, it seems to mount no communications equipment that we can identify, which would defeat the purpose of a scout. Your guess is as good as ours, sir.

Beyond that the craft has no particular distinguishing characteristics.

As I said, this UFO type is used primarily as a reconnaissance unit and vanguard to scout the way for heavier craft. Though unarmed, we should shoot these things down whenever we're not otherwise engaged, because anything the aliens are up to is bound to be bad for us.

Cdr. Navarre"

UFO Fighter

Commander, we've recovered a new UFO type which is now waiting in our hangar for disassembly. Recovering a Fighter-class UFO has been one of the things we at DivEngine have been praying for. This is the first armed combat UFO that PHALANX has observed; it is vital that we study these alien craft and weapons and learn their weaknesses, if they have any.

We're ready to start studying and dismantling the craft whenever you say, but we will need some lab time and funding to make a proper assessment of its function and capabilities.

Cdr. Navarre

"Commander, my team and I have just finished another UFO report for you. Here is my summary for your review.

The Fighter craft seems to serve the role of escort to alien expeditions. It is frequently deployed to engage aerial targets or even as a diversion to mask some other mission somewhere else.

It's not as manouverable as some UFOs we've observed, but it's certainly fast, with a tough airframe and large claw-like heat exchangers on the side to compensate for the increased heat output of the chunky antimatter engines. It mounts a single weapon system under the nose of the craft. This weapon, some type of high-energy particle beam, will require thorough research before we will be able to make any conclusions about it. However, it's obvious just from our combat recordings that this weapon is extremely dangerous. It fires a beam of particles at a good fraction of the speed of light, giving it significant range before the atmosphere can slow and/or disperse the particles enough to render them harmless.

The Fighter features no discernible communications equipment, nor does it mount landing gear. What it does have, however, is a large targeting computer and holographic HUD to make the craft even more effective in air engagements.

Combined with our work on UFO theory, the analysis of the Fighter has led us to some new conclusions about these smaller classes of UFO. While faster than most things in Earth's sky, the Fighter is still not very speedy for a craft driven by antimatter rockets. From what we've seen of the alien hull materials, they could easily stand more engine stresses if required. The aliens could certainly build more powerful engines with their current technology. It seems the limiting factor is fuel volatility.

The antimatter tanks in the Fighter are very small and very heavily armoured. Obviously the aliens aren't taking any unnecessary risks. The few tenths of a gramme of antimatter that a small UFO can safely carry seem to be just enough to complete a planet mission and return to base. If the UFO does manage to lose containment, the amount of antimatter in its tanks will not be enough to harm nearby craft.

Tactically, the Fighter is a real threat to PHALANX craft. However, their function is strictly limited, as they aren't equipped to do anything more than armed reconnaissance.

Cdr. Navarre"

UFO Supply Ship

Commander, we've recovered a new UFO type which is now waiting in our hangar for disassembly. It seems to be unarmed and its large cargo hold suggests that it may be a supply carrier of some sort, supporting alien assets on the surface of the Earth.

We're ready to start studying and dismantling the craft whenever you say, but we will need some lab time and funding to make a proper assessment of its function and capabilities.

Cdr. Navarre

"Commander, my team and I have just finished another UFO report for you. Here is my summary for your review.

As far as we can determine, this type of UFO is indeed a transporter of some kind, carrying materials in its large cargo hold and a sizeable team of aliens in a passenger compartment behind the cockpit. Satellite surveillance has observed these ships landing at alien-held positions and unloading material and passengers. This is strong evidence in support of the 'supply ship' theory, and we're confident that it's correct.

We can make several conclusions from the UFO's construction and the cargo we've recovered from the hold. Unlike other UFOs we've seen, the Supply Ship is built for carrying heavy loads rather than surviving combat. It doesn't manoeuver very well, its engines are weak by comparison, and its airframe will break up easily when hit.

There isn't much that an alien cargo ship could be doing on Earth except reinforcement and resupply. It will be bringing in weapons, spare parts and other supplies from the alien homeworld to Earth in support of alien operations on the surface. This should be prevented at all costs -- permanent alien installations on Earth would place the civilian population in the area in extreme danger. A strong alien presence also hampers our operations in many ways, some too subtle to observe directly. The regular operation of Supply Ships in an area may indicate an alien installation under construction or, worse, one that's already operational.

In conclusion, although it may seem of lesser importance than the other UFOs we've encountered, the Supply Ship should be engaged whenever possible. The long-term benefits of interrupting alien supplies may not be immediately apparent, but it will show over time.

Cdr. Navarre"

UFO Bomber

Commander, we've recovered a new UFO type which is now waiting to be researched.

This is the largest UFO we have recovered yet. Early assessments don't give us any hints about its particular use. It's so large it must be intended for ground incursions but, as you've no doubt heard from the after-action reports, it is a punishing foe in the air as well.

Let us investigate this craft as soon as possible.

Cdr. Navarre

"Commander, we have just finished our investigation into the new UFO, which we have called the Bomber.

We went over and over this craft looking for the tell-tale signs we usually use to figure out a UFO's purpose, but they're just not there. No lab equipment. No medical facilities. The Bomber is equipped with the thickest armour we've seen and more onboard technology and weaponry than any other UFO. But if it is meant to be a heavy fighter craft they could have fit this onto a much smaller and faster vehicle.

Eventually, it was the size and emptiness that led us to the only conclusion we can fathom: this UFO's purpose is to deliver troops to combat. And by our estimates, it can comfortably and safely deliver to the battlefield more than twice as many well-armed aliens as any other UFO we've seen. This is a flying box of destruction. We can discern no other conceivable purpose for it.

This is a worrying development. It was terrifying when we learned the aliens were trying to infect us with XVI, but it did mean that a large living human population was an asset to them. If they've decided they want to be rid of us, we may now be in a fight to the death.

We can't be certain of their thinking then or whether it has changed now, but the need to discover where they're coming from and how we can hit them where it hurts is more urgent now than it has ever been.

Cdr. Navarre"

UFO Corrupter

Commander, we've recovered a new UFO type which is now waiting in our hangar for disassembly. This is one of the largest UFOs we have observed so far. Our preliminary walkabout of the interior has given us only tantalizing clues about its intended function.

A lot of the equipment is stuff we've seen before, containers geared towards storing live and dead biomass, but this UFO also has a lot of other kit that's leaving my team scratching their heads. There are mysterious alcoves with ports and valves leading to tanks full of human blood, with strange controls unlike anything we've seen from the aliens before. There are banks of robotic arms all ending in alien syringes, like some kind of mass inoculation centre -- and there's more that we can't even begin to describe. Just being inside it gives you a sense of something hostile to all human life.

I think we need to do some serious investigation on that thing right away, Commander. There's something very very wrong about it, and I'm not going to be able to sleep until I know what it is.

Cdr. Navarre

"Commander, my team and I have just finished another UFO report for you. Here is my summary for your review.

This UFO, which we've come to call the Corrupter, is a nightmare of alien medical technology. It makes only a few concessions to air combat. Its main purpose, without a shadow of a doubt, is to land on Earth and carry out hideous operations on human victims.

Where previous alien equipment seemed to focus mostly on collecting human biomass, the Corrupter's interior -- particularly the massive blood transfusion banks -- are geared towards the capture and alteration of complete, live human beings. The alcoves I mentioned in my proposal are still mysterious, but going by the wear patterns on the floors they seem to be used to store some kind of heavy alien robot or cargo equipped with tank treads. Heavy harnesses drop down from the ceiling to hold these robots in place during flight, and the alcoves seem to have some type of air-drop mechanism as well.

It's difficult to speculate exactly what goes on in these UFOs with regards to captured civilians. Clearly it has something to do with the alien harvesting of human biomass, but they already have craft for that which do not appear to be in any way obsolete. Instead we have to suspect that the Corrupter represents a paradigm shift in alien activity on Earth. Something has changed. Until we fully understand what's happening, we need to prepare ourselves for what could be the worst threat to the global population we've ever seen.

The Corrupter presents a major ground threat due to its large crew complement. More than any other craft we've encountered, the Corrupter is purpose-built to deliver large alien forces to the surface.

Commander, it's painfully obvious that we need to shoot these things down whenever and wherever we see them.

Cdr. Navarre"

UFO Gunboat

Commander, we've recovered a new UFO type which is now waiting in our hangar for disassembly. Going by the extremely heavy armament it seems to be some kind of heavy fighter or fire support model, its size class somewhere in between those of the UFOs we've observed so far.

This is the first new alien craft we've seen since discovering the Fighter that is unmistakably purpose-built for combat. What's even more disturbing is that it has certain features, innovations, which we theorise make the craft more suited for atmospheric flight. I think we need to have a look at this right away as it may represent a significant shift in alien goals and tactics.

We're ready to start studying and dismantling the craft whenever you say, but we will need some lab time and funding to make a proper assessment of its function and capabilities.

Cdr. Navarre

"Commander, my team and I have just finished another UFO report for you. Here is my summary for your review.

We've dubbed this UFO the 'Gunboat', and the name tells you a great deal about its intended function. Its weapons and armour exceed that of UFOs twice its size. As near as we can tell it was designed for the role of heavy fighter/interceptor, and it fulfills that role magnificently.

The UFO is armed with two particle beam weapons as well as -- very interestingly -- two additional modular hardpoints of a design almost identical to the weapon hardpoints on our own aircraft. Even more interesting is the Gunboat's armour, an improvement over the standard skin of alien materials we saw on the first wave of invading UFOs. This new armour is a composite layer-cake of alien materials and various other substances designed to slow and stop projectiles from penetrating. The basic principle is simple enough but the new compounds have interesting properties which we're not sure we fully understand. I'll see if my team can make anything of it and, if so, I'll have a new research proposal ready for you soon.

The fuselage design of the Gunboat is still ostensibly that of a spacecraft, but it has certain adaptations that make it much easier to handle in atmosphere. It has actual wing surface generating lift, unlike the small claw-winged designs which relied on brute engine power to stay airborne. Furthermore, mobile flaps on the wings and stabilisers -- much like on human aircraft -- allow the Gunboat to use the airflow over its surfaces, giving it a much tighter turning circle, a far higher angle of attack and a tremendous rate of climb compared to a UFO moving on engine power alone.

Overall the Gunboat is fast, maneuverable and utterly deadly. It seems to outperform previously-observed UFOs on every level; faster, tougher, better-armed and more nimble. The only positive is that it would take three or four times as much material to build a Gunboat compared to a small attack craft and twice as much fuel to keep it flying, so it's unlikely we'll see Gunboats in large numbers. My only worry is that they won't need very many of these to pound us into dust. Extreme caution is advised, Commander, and I recommend we spend some time and money upgrading our airfleet as soon as we can.

Cdr. Navarre"

UFO Harvester

Commander, we've recovered a new UFO type which is now waiting in our hangar for disassembly. This one is significantly larger than previous UFOs we've observed, making it an especially important target for our research. Uncovering the craft's purpose and examining its special equipment may give us essential new insights into the aliens' mission here on Earth.

We're ready to start studying and dismantling the craft whenever you say, but we will need some lab time and funding to make a proper assessment of its function and capabilities.

Cdr. Navarre

"Commander, my team and I have just finished another UFO report for you. Here is my summary for your review.

This craft -- which we've dubbed the 'Harvester' -- appears designed specifically for landing on a planetary surface and deploying an alien harvesting party. It is equipped with a set of large, sturdy landing legs and a special set of thrusters located in the UFO's belly to give it VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) capability. Once the landed Harvester's crew has collected enough captives, corpses and other biomass, they return to the UFO and lift off into orbit, quickly disappearing back to wherever it is they came from.

The Harvester seems to bear out our theories about fuel capacity being the main limiting factor for UFO speed, as it is both larger and faster than any other we've previously observed. It's able to carry more antimatter fuel and protect it far more effectively, with a tougher hull, thicker armour, and more effective emergency antimatter-dumping measures. Even if an explosion does occur, most of the blast will be contained by the UFO's extremely strong construction.

The Harvester's fuel tank can take up to 0.6 grammes of antimatter and possesses a potential explosive force of approximately 25 kilotons when full.

There are three front-facing weapon mounts arranged in a triangle around the craft's cockpit, each equipped with the particle beam weapon we've observed in other UFOs.

In the air, the Harvester is extremely dangerous and should be a high-priority target. Its firepower is more than a match for anything we can currently field. Its only obvious drawback is low manoeuvrability compared to smaller UFO types. Our interceptors are significantly more agile and we have far more combat experience in Earth atmosphere than the aliens do. This is one of the few advantages we'll have over the Harvester, but in most cases it won't be sufficient unless we upgrade our aerial capabilities.

When encountered, we should concentrate our best pilots on a Harvester to take it out as fast as possible.

Our estimates of the Harvester's increased capabilities raise some frightening points. It seems that alien craft will actually grow faster as they become larger and more powerful, and there's no doubt that, if they can build these Harvesters, they can build bigger and nastier UFOs. Without upgrades to our airfleet, we may not be able to stand up to more dangerous threats in the future.

Please, do what you can about this when you can, Commander. I'd hate for us to be caught unprepared.

Cdr. Navarre"

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