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[[File:IG5EDeathstrikeMissleLauncher.jpg|180px|right|thumb|Deathstrike Missile Launcher{{Fn|1}}]]
The '''Deathstrike Missile Launcher''' is an [[Imperial Guard]] artillery vehicle based on the [[Chimera]] chassis. Its ability to fire a massive payload over extreme ranges is the Deathstrike's main advantage over other artillery systems. Only ever seeing deployment during the most vicious battles, each Deathstrike missile launcher is a force multiplier whose payload causes fear in even the most experienced enemies of the [[Imperium]].{{Fn|1}} The Deathstrike is designated an ''Ordnance Extremis'' by the [[Departmento Munitorum]] and requires special authorization to deploy.{{Fn|5}}
==Overview==
The Deathstrike launcher represents the largest threat offered by any mobile Imperial Guard missile system. Mounted on the Chimera chassis is a single '''Deathstrike Missile''', an inter-continental solid fuel rocket with a range measured in thousands of kilometers. This missile can carry a variety of payloads, though by far the most common is a [[plasma]] warhead: upon detonation these missiles can annihilate entire armies in a raging fireball that vaporises flesh in an instant. Others can carry deadly biological pathogens or specialised [[Titan]]-killer warheads, while the rarest of all are the deadly [[Vortex Missile]]s. These doomsday weapons of apocalyptic capability use [[Dark Age of Technology]] knowledge to tear holes within the fabric of reality upon their explosion, creating a [[warp rift]] which destroys everything it touches.{{Fn|1}}
The deployment of a single Deathstrike Missile Launcher is a complicated procedure that requires a huge investment of resources and many religious and administrative rituals by the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] and [[Administratum]] respectively. As such, the deployment can take months to complete. Moreover the large lumbering launch vehicles often require their own dedicated escort and presents foes with a valuable and soft target. For the Departmento Munitorum, simple logistics has precluded its deployment in all but the most extreme circumstances.{{Fn|5}}
Use of these weapons is strictly controlled, with sanction for their use controlled by [[Segmentum Command]] and the launch codes held by loyal and iron-willed [[Lord Commissar]]s.{{Fn|4}}
*{{Endn|3}}: [[White Dwarf 366 (UK)]], pg. 5
*{{Endn|4}}: [http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m1230511a_Imperial_Guard_Datasheet_-_Deathstrike_Vortex_Missile Apocalypse Datasheet]
*{{Endn|5}}: [[Codex: Astra Militarum (6th Edition)]] - ''Deathstrikes''
===Uncited===
{{Uncited}}
