The SHIELD Helicarrier, is a highly advanced
seagoing aircraft carrier, capable of vertical
take-off and sustained atmospheric flight.
The vehicle is employed by the Strategic Homeland
Intervention and Enforcement Logistics Division
as a crucial mobile command centre and operations
platform.
The enormous vessel uses four high-powered
turbine engines to hover and change altitude,
while employing its aft drive clusters to
build forward acceleration and traverse the
globe. The Vehicle carries a sizeable crew,
and includes numerous facilities for scientific
research, mission operations, personnel training
and medical care. The Helicarrier’s armoured
hull is lined with retro-reflective panels,
each able to display a live projection from
a fixed camera on the opposite side of the
hull, placing the vessel in a state of near-invisibility
to the human eye. This technology is supported
by onboard jamming systems to ensure the craft
is hidden from technological detection as
well as visual.
The carrier features a stacked pair of large
flight decks, suitable for both horizontal
and vertical launches, with a number of loading
lifts to ensure aircraft and crews can be
easily moved from below-deck hangers to external
launch positions without delay. The standard
air wing of the Helicarrier includes a large
a number of F-35 Lightning II VTOL Strike
Fighters, supported by a smaller number of
aging Harrier Jump Jets. The craft also carries
a large complement of advanced SHIELD-specific
aircraft, including high-speed Quinjet Dropships,
and is sometimes loaded with mission-specific
vehicles such as Executive Jump Jets, Military
Helicopters, and Aerial Mobile Command Stations
like SHIELD 6-1-6.
The original Helicarrier design includes only
limited anti-aircraft weaponry, and focuses
more on airborne support and evacuation duties.
To this end, the vessel carries a number of
deployable VTOL Lifeboats, each able to carry
dozens of passengers between the Helicarrier
and the surface.
At the time of the HYDRA uprising, SHIELD
was developing a trio of next-generation Helicarriers
under the codename ‘Project Insight’.
These carriers were designed more like airborne
battleships, carrying numerous high-yield
artillery guns and missile batteries, as well
improved stealth technology and targeting
systems. These Insight-Class vessels did away
with the traditional turbine engines of the
original carrier, instead using advanced suborbital
Repulsor drives, inspired by the Iron Man
Suit. These carriers were destroyed on their
first deployment after HYDRA Insurgents attempted
to use the vessels to eliminate a portion
of the Earth’s population.
