Nuclear Option 0.33: Rise of the Alkyon

After much time and with great anticipation, Nuclear Option's new version has finally dropped and with it come many new additions. Everything from new naval units, new loadouts, improved ground details and, last but not least, the AB-4 Alkyon

We set up our mission so we would start at rank 3, as to not just spend countless minutes grinding away just to get to the new content. That being said, most of the new player-usable content available this patch lies on ranks 4 or above, so we still had to grind a bit to get to that point.

When we got to rank 5 and 6, we started using a lot of the new loadouts and the Alkyon in a plethora of scenarios just to see how effective it would all be. Starting with the loadouts, I personally found myself gravitating towards the new Glide Bombs with cluster submunitions: the GBM-500LR.

These bombs are surprisingly effective, especially when launched in saturation attacks at static targets, convoys and even ships!

---

RISE OF THE ALKYON

The start of the night was certainly the new boy on the block, and Nuclear Option's first Rank 6 aircraft: The AB-4 Alkyon. With its amazing speed and incredible tactical flexibility, this stealth bomber and heavy fighter shines above the rest of the roster. The AB-4 Alkyon has to be one of the most mechanically interesting aircraft in the game so far. A stealth, swing wing bomber with a secondary air to air capability? Why hadn't anyone thought of this before! Its looks are very much inspired by several real life aircraft such as the F-117, its prototype, Have Blue, and the B-2; and its functionality by other aircraft such as the B-1B and B-1R Lancers. Equipped with quad afterburning engines, it is by far the fastest aircraft in the game. It can reach speeds exceding Mach 2.5 at around 30.000ft, with supercruising capabilities even close to sea level. I cannot understate how fast this aircraft feels, and how much it has changed the way that the battlefield feels.

Its stealth capabilities make it quite the deadly nuclear bomber, capable of going high and fast while staying relatively stealthy as to drop your ordinance and leave as quickly as you got there. You could technically do the same on a Darkreach or even an Ifrit, but the amount of nukes you can carry and how fast you can fly just makes the Alkyon one of a kind. If bombing is not up your alley, then you can still fly the Alkyon as a heavy fighter with no internal gun. It can carry Schmitars, which are some of the best air to air missiles currently in the game for beyond visual range engagements. Our friend Psyrenkun was using it to great effect against enemy CAS and CAP flights around the AO. No matter how you see it, it fits perfectly in the current meta!

---

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GO PLAY IT NOW!

The developers over at Shockfront Studios show us again and again just the sheer level of passion and commitment that they have for this project. I have been playing it for a long time, and every time I get to play it with my friends it is just such a blast that the hours melt away into the night.

The Alkyon is just one of many surprises that the team has to offer in this patch, and only one of many that they had under their sleeves. I cannot wait to see what else they have in store!

---

About the Author

Santiago "Cubeboy" Cuberos

Longtime aviation fanatic with particular preference towards military aviation and its history. Said interests date back to the early 2000s, leading into his livelong dive into civil and combat flight simulators. He has been involved in a few communities, but only started being active around the mid 2010s. Joined as a Spanish to English translator in 2017, he has been active as a writer and the co-founder of Skyward ever since. Twitter | Discord: Cubeboy