It didn't take Ubisoft long to put that Tom Clancy acquired name to good use. And with a price tag of more than 40 million, the French gaming company must be cutting every corner to get its investment back. So after a brief period of speculation regarding the possible Tom Clancy based MMO, of which details are rather scarce, it's time for a more clear announcement.

HAWX is going to be an air combat oriented game developed by the Bucharest, Romania studio of Ubisoft. The story is typical Tom Clancy action thriller with a political twist. In the near future, around 2012, the worlds states are starting to externalize all military services, including the need for air protection. Private military companies are now at the cutting edge of technology development and they provide the best in pilot training and in airplane maintenance. Soon, one of these companies decides to go rogue and make a bid for world domination. Naturally it aims to take down the United States, the last country in the world to have a respectable air force.

At the core of the game will be the "enhanced reality system" which will make pilots' lives easier than they currently are. Incoming missiles will be automatically detected and countermeasures launched, radars will provide constant tracking of enemy fighters and advanced targeting computers will make it easier to hit the enemy. As the rookie turns into a grizzled combat veteran, he can opt out of using the systems, relying more on individual skill.

The game will have up to four-players in single player co-op mode and the PvP multiplayer will accommodate up to 16 players in dogfighting sessions in which experience points can be gained and money is earned to unlock new weapons.

Sebastien Delen, who is managing director of Ubisoft's Bucharest studio, declared: "We are confident that this new brand will become the new benchmark for flight combat games and will be, like other Tom Clancy based games, an instant online multiplayer hit. The player will experience all the action and excitement of modern air combat, from intense dog fighting to tactical strikes".