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HO-3 Sparrow Scout Helicopter
IconSparrow
Sparrow coastal patrol
Sparrow Helicopter scouting the water for Allied naval forces
Faction ConfederateLogoThumb Confederate Revolutionaries
Minor Faction(s) BlackHandLogoThumb Cult of the Black Hand
Unit Type Helicopter
Designation Scout/Support
Production Building Airpad
Secondary Ability Radar Pulse
Reveals all stealthed units in a sizable radius
Cost Unknown
Production Time Unknown
Heroic Upgrade N/A
Dev. Status In game
Country of Origin  Canadathumb Canada
Recovered from  USAthumb US National Park Service Facilities, All Around the States
Key Features  » Scramblegun Weapon Jammer
 » Onboard Radar (pulse configuration)
 » Glass Bubble Cockpit
 » "Natural Wonders" Park Brochures
 » Wildlife Spotting Guide

"So easy to pilot children can do it."

- HO-3 official advertisement campaign.

Tactical Analysis[]

  • I can see my house from here: The Sparrow Scout Helicopter is a slightly modified civilian helicopter capable of scouting large areas of terrain very quickly. The speed of the Sparrow and its air mobility are its greatest assets, usually enabling it to scan areas in minutes when a fleet of Rangers will take hours. The Sparrow itself is so quiet it is virtually impossible to detect.
  • I am too young to die: The Sparrow is equipped with a Weapon Jammer salvaged from hydrofoils. However due to the lack of power from the engine, the Scramblegun can only fire in short bursts, effectively only reducing the rate of fire of the target vehicle.
  • PING!: The Sparrow also has an onboard radar that can send out short pulses, or pings as they are commonly called, that can expose hidden enemies in a sizable radius, though enemies can easily triangulate where the ping originated.
  • Unqualified replacements: Experienced Sparrow pilots are usually transferred to Longbows and are replaced by more eager 17 year olds, which, unfortunately, have neither the experience nor the resources to customize their Sparrows.

Operational History[]

According to some Confederates, the only good thing Canada has ever contributed to the current war is their helicopter design. No, not a combat helicopter - it's Canada, who are you kidding? Or so goes the Confederate joke, pointedly ignoring that nation's contributions to the Allied war effort, but the fact remains that Canada has remained scrupulously uninvolved in the Confederate rebellion, and has only indirectly contributed to the war effort. One of the early commercial successes of Infinity Realm Aeronautics, now known (and loathed) for their (in)famous Achilles air superiority fighter, was a small, lightweight helicopter designed for civilian and military use. The design featured excellent observation capabilities, could mount a small radar array, and, in an unintentional success, was amazingly quiet for a helicopter.

It was this last feature that attracted the aircraft's main buyer: the United States National Park Service. While the helicopter did serve for a time in the Allied war effort as the HO-3 Sparrow, mainly as a personal flying taxi for high-ranking officials rather than as the observation craft its designation proclaimed it to be, the National Park Service bought significant numbers of Sparrows for civilian use. The Sparrows were favoured by park rangers for aerial observation and reaching inaccessible areas of the parks, and later found great favour for air tours of the parks where their surprisingly quiet engines worked well for tourists and the wildlife alike.

Needless to say, the Sparrows have recently re-entered military service. The Confederacy's strength in rural and wilderness areas meant that acquiring large numbers of these light helicopters wasn't difficult, nor was finding experienced pilots to fly them. Further complicating this new development for the Allies is the fact that large numbers of Sparrows remain in civilian use - civilian news teams, a few large police stations, and especially the National Park Service itself all continue to use the Sparrow for precisely the same reasons as the Confederacy. Life is accordingly unpleasant for Allied fighter crews, who face the problem that it's almost impossible to distinguish rebel Sparrows from civilians, and more than one accidental downing of a civilian helicopter by Allied pilots and surface-to-air gunners jumpy about rebels has been spun into very ugly press indeed.

During actual rebel combat operations, however, it is easy to distinguish Confederate Sparrows. Weapon jammers stolen and salvaged from Allied hydrofoils have been fitted onto the Sparrow design, but work imperfectly: bereft of a hydrofoil's engine to power the things, helicopter-mounted jammers have to fire in uncontrolled pulses that shut down weapons in a small area of effect, but don't last long. The same lack of power prevents the Sparrows from granting complete radar coverage, and so they have to unleash limited radar pulses instead... and inconveniently reveal the helicopter's location to the enemy.

On many occasions, it has been proven that even young children can fly the Sparrow; despite this, rebel commanders refuse to allow those under 17 to fly them in combat situations, no matter how much they beg. However, there are still a large number of older teenagers who take the controls for these aircraft and they are considered the first step to being promoted to flying a Longbow.

ConfederateLogo
ConfederateLogo
Confederate Revolutionaries Continental Army

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Sparrow Transport[]

HO-3 Sparrow Scout Helicopter
IconCult
Minor Faction BlackHandLogoThumb Cult of the Black Hand
Other Faction(s) ConfederateLogoThumb Confederate Revolutionaries
Unit Type Helicopter
Designation Scout/Transport
Production Building Reinforcements
Secondary Ability Disembark passengers
Cost Unknown
Production Time Unknown
Heroic Upgrade N/A
Dev. Status Conceptual
Country of Origin  Canadathumb Canada
Produced by/
Recovered from
 USAthumb National parks and Confederate Airpads
Key Features  » Dead Quiet Engine (aided by psionics)
 » Cramped Seating (inside cockpit)
 » Psychic Enhancing Equipment
 » One-Way Glass Cockpit
 » Various Decals (for disguise)

"False alarm, just a Sparrow copter."

- A transmission from a Confederate observation post. The post was soon found to be reduced to ash a few minutes after the report.

Tactical Analysis[]

  • Just a bird: Sparrow helicopters obtained by the Cult, these choppers have sacrificed most of their scouting ability for the ability to carry up to four cultists.
  • When birds attack: The Sparrow’s seating is may be cramped, but it has several advantages. Passengers are not only protected from the elements (and enemy fire) but they are also capable of shooting back.
  • Just an ordinary chopper: Sparrows are still just repurposed civilian aircraft and rely on their ubiquity to get the jump on enemy forces, once that is lost their days are numbered.
  • Weight limit: Sparrow pilots refuse to have their rides modified, not only would this ruin their disguise but their engines would struggle to carry any additional weight.

Background[]

The Confederates are not only ones to use the HO-3 Sparrow, the Cult were also quick recognize the advantages of a seemingly civilian aircraft at their disposal.

Unlike the Confederates however, the Cult does not using Sparrows just for scouting. Instead, the cockpit has modified to accommodate several passengers, abite not very comfortably. Hatches allow onboard cultists to fire their weapons, allowing the helicopter to act as makeshift gunship while the engine has be altered to be slightly less noisy compared to before. All these modifications come at a cost of increasing the Sparrow’s weight to the point it could barely lift off, so cultists are forced to replace the Sparrow’s onboard radar with lighter, and weaker, version limiting the Sparrow Transports ability to scout ahead.

Despite these drawbacks, Sparrow Transports have proven to be a success. Not only do they allow them to convey their forces through the air without being noticed, their civilian facade has allowed them create much chaos and paranoia. Several highly publicized deaths have occurred when anti aircraft batteries have opened fire on civilian news choppers, having been harassed by seemingly innocent Sparrows surprising them with rockets and gunfire.

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Cult of the Black Hand

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