User:Norman-123/Type-43 Atmospheric Superiority Aircraft

The Type-43 Atmospheric Superiority Aircraft, known among UNSC forces as the Vampire was a Covenant fighter. It is armed with a Heavy Needler cannon that can fire at an extremely fast rate. It also sports two plasma cannons, and later variants carried a Statis Cannon that would discharge an electro-magnetic pulse that would temporarily disable aircraft, causing them to lose altitude and crash.

Developmental History
The Vampire was developed in 2530 during the Human-Covenant War, when the Covenant banshees, despite their terrifying effectiveness against infantry, were destroyed in enormous quantities by UNSC fighters. The Covenant developed the banshee, adding on a heavy needler, which had proved itself effective as an anti-air weapon. They were first used in the Harvest Campaign, in which they posed a far greater challenge to UNSC aircraft than the banshees. However, while they could go toe-to-toe with UNSC fighters at close range, they were still outmatched by UNSC Long Range Air-to-Air Missiles (LRAAMs). In 2545, the Vampire's Heavy Needler was upgraded so that they could engage targets at a range of 25 kilometers away, although it was still outranged by most LRAAMs.

Operational History
The Vampire was used throughout the Human-Covenant War. It's first use was during the Harvest Campaign, and during the Battle of Arcadia, mostly against the aircraft of the UNSC Spirit of Fire. It proved highly effective, posing a major threat to UNSC air power in both battles. It gradually spread through the Covenant armada. The UNSC quickly learned that it had little beyond visual range capability, and fighters were instructed to pick of Vampires at long ranges whenever possible. This vastly decreased the effectiveness of Vampires, as they were often destroyed before they could get close enough to take a pot-shot.

In 2545, it's beyond visual range capability was greatly increased, however it still could not match up to it's UNSC counterparts. Regardless, it was still an improvement over it's previous state. The Vampire's usage increased sharply. During the Battle of Reach, the Covenant loaded most of their Vampires onto a Carrier and sent the Carrier to New Alexandria to disrupt evacuation efforts. However, the Carrier did not make it to New Alexandria, because the Carrier was destroyed in low orbit by a Super-MAC Cannon. This meant that very few Vampires were seen during throughout the battle.

During the Covenant's assault on the Sol system, many Vampires were used extensively attacking Saturn and Jupiter's moons, Mars. A great number were expended to assault Luna in order to assist in breaching the Lunar perimeter. These combined actions greatly reduced the amount of Vampires in the Covenant fleet, meaning that during the Battle of Earth, few Vampires were seen, as the Covenant were forced to rely on the Banshee, which was produced and fielded in far greater numbers.