Sabre

The YSS-1000, simply referred to as the Sabre, was an experimental starfighter used by the UNSC Defense Force during the Human-Covenant War.Its first known use was in Operation: UPPERCUT during the Fall of Reach.

Design details
The YSS-1000 is a space-based fighter which can be launched vertically from a ground-based launch platform using a system of detachable multi-stage rockets to propel itself out of a planet's gravitational pull and atmosphere.[1] The Sabre is capable of performing complex aileron rolls and Immelmann turns.

Armaments
The fighter's armament includes twin autocannons as well as missile pods with locking abilities. The Sabre also possesses energy shielding technology.Its targeting computer can identify enemy contacts from a long distance, as well as show the distance to a target.

Operational history
The Sabre was the result of the "Sabre program", a top-secret UNSC project in which SPARTAN-B312 was involved at some point. Reach had multiple Sabre fighters stored in launch facilities on the planet's surface which would be used to reinforce the UNSC Navy, should they require assistance in battle. In addition, the orbital platform Anchor 9 had Sabres stored in its launch bays.

During the Covenant invasion of Reach, SPARTAN-B312 and Jorge-052 of Noble Team used one of these vehicles to assist the Epsilon Eridani Defense Fleet in Operation: UPPERCUT, in which multiple Sabres were deployed to defend Anchor 9 against Covenant Type-27 "Banshee" fliers and Type-31 "Seraph" starfighters. Noble Six and the other pilots were eventually able to land on a Covenant corvette after disabling its engines and destroying its fighter escorts in order to use it and a "Slipspace bomb" to destroy a Covenant Supercarrier. The mission succeded, but the Sabres were destroyed as the strike team was unable to return to them due to damage to the corvette and was thus forced to abandon them.