UFO Components (UFOAI)
Research entries of UFO: Alien Invasion's UFO components.
UFO Components
Raven Electronics
"Technical Specifications: \"Raven\" ECM Unit CLASSIFIED LEVEL BLACK PHALANX Extraterrestrial Response Unit Technical Document, Sigma Clearance -- Commander's Eyes Only Filed: 19 March 2084 By: Cdr. Paul Navarre, R&D: Engineering Division, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command Overview Under the continuing efforts of the Excalibur Program, we have scoured the globe for the best components on Earth in order to fit our aircraft with the equipment they need to survive against the alien threat. As always, only the very best equipment has been selected for the defence of our planet. Electronic warfare has been a part of military operations ever since radar first appeared on the battlefield in World War 2. Ways of defeating radar were constantly under development since it appeared on the shores of Britain, methods such as flying below the height of the transmitter, throwing radar-scrambling 'chaff', and in later years the advent of stealth technology. It has always been better to have the enemy detect your presence later rather than sooner -- or not at all. Even better, your enemy can't shoot what he can't see. Just like the Mk. 1 Eyeball, electronic detection and targeting can be fooled, and the devices which fool electronic detection and targeting can be fooled in turn. It's a never-ending struggle for superiority which falls under the term 'Electronic Warfare'. ECM (Electronic Counter-Measures) serve to protect the craft with which they are equipped by jamming, deception, decoys and other such stratagems. ECCM (Electronic Counter-Counter-Measures) on the opposing side try to counteract the effect of ECM. And one thing is clear; the aliens are very good at both. For this reason, we have adopted the \"Raven\" Electronic Warfare Suite, the most advanced ECM package available in the world, for PHALANX service. It is the best humanity has to offer in the field of disrupting enemy detection, tracking and homing mechanisms. Any aircraft equipped with this piece of kit will have a significantly higher survivability rate against missiles and other independent munitions. It's less effective against aircraft guns, as their targeting equipment is contained on-board and therefore can't be as easily fooled or jammed, but even against these the \"Raven\" unit provides a noteworthy benefit. It is very expensive thanks to its advanced electronics and takes up a complete modular slot on one of our aircraft, but one thing is certain; its price tag isn't half as high as the cost of losing one of our aircraft. Recommended Doctrine We recommend that every aircraft expected to go up against armed UFOs carry either one of these ECM units or an additional skin of Polymer Aircraft Armour. Even against superior alien systems the additional protection of the \"Raven\" will help our pilots achieve our goals in the skies of Earth. The expense may seem prohibitive, but the survival of our craft and pilots will certainly justify these costs in the long run. Addenda None."
Alien EW Electronics
Commander, we've recovered an interesting set of electronics from one of our disassembled UFOs. From our preliminary testing, it appears to be an alien EW (Electronic Warfare) suite.
This is an extremely important find, Commander. If we can decipher how these alien electronics work, we could improve our targeting and detection systems dramatically. This means a vast increase in our aircraft's survivability against UFOs if we can adapt the suite for our own purposes.
Please, Commander, approve this project as soon as you possibly can.
Cdr. Navarre
"Commander, I'm happy to report that we've cracked the code. We now have a list of primary EW (Electronic Warfare) frequencies used by the aliens, and a good understanding of how this powerful piece of electronics does what it does. Of course, before you get too excited, let me stress that we have not found a magic path through the aliens' defences. Regardless of what we take away from this research, it's not going to end the war or make UFOs any less dangerous. This is because of the EW suite's most important function -- it has an independent onboard intelligence that adapts to its combat environment. This intelligence is continually experimenting, trying to keep enemy systems off-balance, changing its methods and deviating from its preferred frequencies to try ones that might be more difficult to work with but could bypass enemy jamming. We even believe that, when patched into a UFO's main computer, this suite will hook into other onboard systems to make efficiency-increasing adjustments based on enemy EW activity. Particularly to the targeting computers. Besides the intelligent computer at its heart, the suite has projectors of every kind, capable of saturating virtually any frequency in the electromagnetic spectrum, even several frequencies at a time. It is also capable of 'throwing' heat several metres away from the craft, causing thermal spikes on infrared sensors that can fool missiles and draw them away from the real target. Lastly the suite comes with a set of decoys that can emulate practically any sensor signature, deployed as and when the computer thinks it's necessary. With some modifications, we've been able to make the suite work with our current aircraft electronics. Our main success has been in developing a set of software upgrades which patch the alien EW suite into the onboard intelligence systems of our aircraft. It's a hack if there ever was one, but it will do for now. Cdr. Navarre"
Light Shield
"Technical Specifications: Polymer Aircraft Armour CLASSIFIED LEVEL BLACK PHALANX Extraterrestrial Response Unit Technical Document, Sigma Clearance -- Commander's Eyes Only Filed: 19 March 2084 By: Cdr. Paul Navarre, R&D: Engineering Division, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command Overview Under the continuing efforts of the Excalibur Program, we have scoured the globe for the best components on Earth in order to fit our aircraft with the equipment they need to survive against the alien threat. As always, only the very best equipment has been selected for the defence of our planet. One of the fundamental truths in aircraft design is that it's easier to dish out damage than it is to take it and keep coming. Heavy objects don't really belong in the sky; it takes a constant input of power to keep things like aircraft, birds and balloons from coming back down, and if the source of this power is damaged in mid-flight, a crash is unavoidable. PHALANX uses exclusively multi-engine aircraft, but even though it's possible for our interceptors to land on only one engine, the loss of an engine during combat will immediately render the aircraft combat-ineffective. With such a drastic loss of speed and manoeuvring power, continuing the engagement would be suicide. Adding extra armour to our aircraft is a weighty but effective solution to keeping them in the sky, protecting critical systems from damage and allowing the aircraft to stay in the fight longer than would otherwise be possible. It will reduce the severity of hits to the fuel tank and other vital systems that might otherwise result in the craft's instant destruction. The expensive polymer used in our standard add-on armour is one of the toughest materials on the planet. It deforms wildly under heat and pressure, such as when impacted by kinetic or explosive energy, cushioning the blow across the entire armour surface. Once the energy has dissipated, the deformed plate amazingly resumes all or most of its previous shape, depending on the amount of damage received. We even have facilities in our Workshops to repair permanently-deformed polymer plates once the aircraft returns to base. On the downside, the added weight will slow the aircraft down and decrease its effective range. This is less of an issue for quick short-range interceptions, but can cause problems if UFOs are spotted in areas far distant from any of our bases. Installing this armour add-on will completely take up the modular armour slot on one of our aircraft. Recommended Doctrine It is recommended to carefully weigh the decision to install armour on a craft. The trade-offs in speed and range could make it difficult for some aircraft to chase down fast-moving UFOs. Addenda None."
Shield Plating
Commander, now that we have the ability to produce and work the alien materials, a whole new range of options has opened up to us. These materials are so strong and flexible that they can be used for almost anything. Their most promising uses, however, have been in aircraft design -- specifically armour.
We've had an extremely difficult time shooting down UFOs thanks to the resilient outer skin of alien materials. Unfortunately we can't simply slap this same kind of skin onto our own craft because the alien materials are far too heavy. Our craft would struggle to even get off the ground. That needn't be the end of it, though.
Commander, if you let us do some research on it, I believe we can come up with an armouring scheme that should give our aircraft a far better survival chance against the alien weapons during interceptions.
It's a very promising possibility, Commander, one that definitely deserves investigation.
Cdr. Navarre
"Commander, I've got some good news. My team and I have finished prototyping the alien aircraft plating project. Our new armour is now ready for full PHALANX production. This has been a difficult project from the start. We've faced several major challenges in designing equipment capable of bending the alien materials into the shapes we want, and 'programming' the materials to change when we want and how we want them to do so. Ultimately we overcame these problems, but then we had to deal with the natural limitations of the material. The main drawback of these alien materials is their weight. They are significantly heftier than modern human aircraft materials, and anything we make from them will suffer from the extra weight. The only way the aliens manage to keep their wingless UFOs in the sky is through overwhelming engine power. Airspeed and maximum operational range will be negatively affected by putting alien materials onto our aircraft. Even a very thin skin of alien materials offers a substantial protective benefit. The new aircraft plating we've designed takes full advantage of these capabilities and shows the supreme toughness of the alien materials. The new plating will be essential in keeping our current airfleet effective against the mounting alien threat. You and I both know the price tag of new aircraft, Commander -- we cannot afford to let any of our planes become obsolete. Cdr. Navarre"