GaMe'IN MerceNARIEs: Tom Clancy's Hawx

Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X is an arcade flight video game developed by Ubisoft.The story of the game takes place during the time of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. H.A.W.X is set in the near future where private military companies have essentially replaced government-run military in many countries. The player is placed in the shoes of David Crenshaw — an ex-military elite pilot who was recruited by one of these corporations to work for them as one of their pilots, fighting whomever and whenever he is told to. Crenshaw later returns to the US Air Force together with his team, trying to prevent a full scale terrorist attack on the United States which was initiated by this military company.

Plot

The player begins the game in 2014 as the player assumes the role of former U.S. Air Force pilot, David Crenshaw, who is part of an elite unit called H.A.W.X ("High Altitude Warfare Xperimental squadron"), provides fire-support missions for theGhost team carrying out covert operations in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. However, shortly after the mission, the Air Force decides to deactivate the H.A.W.X squadron and its pilots, including Crenshaw, are recruited into the PMC Artemis Global Security.

Over the next six years, Crenshaw and his squadron perform various missions for Artemis and its clients, including defending valuable facilities and attacking insurgent bases. In 2021, Artemis signs a lucrative defense contract with Brazil, making it one of the most powerful PMCs in the world. However, shortly after the contract is signed, Las Trinidad, an alliance of anti-US South American states, launches an invasion on Rio de Janeiro.

With the help of Crenshaw and his squadron, Artemis and the Brazilian military are able to push back the assault. The United States then sends in forces to intervene in the conflict, thereby subverting Artemis' role in the conflict and pushing the company towards financial difficulties as its stocks drop. In response, Artemis terminates its contract and attempts to drive out "interfering" U.S. forces in the Magellan Strait, as Las Trinidad had offered them a better deal. Then, its naval forces attack a U.S. carrier battle group. Unwilling to turn on their own country, Crenshaw and his squadron side with the United States and help them destroy the Artemis forces in the area.

After the United States orders Artemis to disarm, the PMC knocks out U.S. communication and radar systems (despite previously having their Caribbean HQ bombed by U.S. B-52s in a retaliatory strike), rendering the entire nation nearly defenseless, and launches a massive preemptive attack on United States soil. Though H.A.W.X manages to prevent them from taking Washington, DC and assassinating the President of the United States, Artemis manages to attack and capture numerous American cities and military facilities, severely damaging U.S. military capability (and the White House). Crenshaw and his squadron then assists the American counterattack against Artemis as the U.S. military attempts to regain their footing. However, as the United States begins gaining the upper hand with the help of Japan and NATO, Adrian DeWinter, the CEO of Artemis, announces that he has stolen some of the United States' nuclear weapons and gives the President an ultimatum, surrender in 24 hours or watch the United States be destroyed.

H.A.W.X, along with the Ghost Recon team and the US military, manage to restore the SLAMS missile defense shield — found in Tom Clancy's EndWar and retake the stolen nukes, but Artemis still has a trump card. Artemis forces managed to smuggle one nuclear warhead into Los Angelesand threatens to detonate it. With the warhead eventually located by AWACS Citadel and destroyed by Crenshaw with seconds to spare, the Artemis threat was destroyed once and for all.

In the epilogue which takes place several weeks later, it is revealed that Artemis has been completely destroyed, however DeWinter and other Artemis executives have managed to escape and are now international fugitives. The conflict between the United States and Artemis, despite lasting only less than 72 hours, had caused over 40,000 civilian and military deaths all across the United States, prompting the United Nations to begin a crackdown on all PMCs. PMCs are now either forced to take on small scale support and logistical roles, as they had at the turn of the century, or they will be dismantled. Meanwhile, Crenshaw alone is sent in a FA-22 Raptor fighter jet on a black operation to assassinate DeWinter and his subordinates. Thanks to intelligence provided by Third Echelon, Crenshaw destroys Dewinter's hideout located above a series of canyons.

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