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[[Image:LightningArt.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A squadron of Lightnings{{Fn|11a}}]]The '''Lightning''' fighter craft is mainly used by the [[Imperial Navy]] for establishing air superiority due to its increased maneuverability over the [[Thunderbolt]]. It is often seen and heard plummeting from orbit or being scrambled from naval bases.{{Fn|1a}}

The [[STC]] data for the Lightning was discovered during the [[Saint-Saen Crusade]], which liberated twelve worlds in [[Segmentum Obscurus]]. They were found on [[Karnak II]] by an [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] [[Explorator]] team and the designs immediately given to the Mechanicus Lords of [[Cypra Mundi]]. It would take over five hundred years of research and trials, including readings of the [[Emperor's Tarot]] and cross-referencing with the archives of [[Mars]], before the designs were finally approved for production in supplying fleet carriers and cruisers of [[Battlefleet|Battlefleet Obscurus]]. Since then the designs have slowly been disseminated to the Navy worlds of [[Bakka]] and [[Hydraphur]] and Lightnings are now commonly seen alongside the Thunderbolt in both [[Segmentum Tempestus]] and [[Segmentum Pacificus]].{{Fn|11a}}

The main role of the aircraft is to engage enemy craft and establish air-superiority over a battlefield, with a secondary mission of providing air escort for [[Marauder Bomber]]s.{{Fn|1}} For this reason they are often based on orbiting ships or forward air bases, where their rocket booster allows them to quickly take off and engage enemy air forces. Ground-based Lightnings can also benefit from hydraulic "fast-launch" ramps which, in combination with their rocket booster engine, provides better acceleration and faster take-off time than conventional VTOL craft. Standard practice has three to four Lightnings so poised in a constant state of readiness. Although not their primary function, Lightnings may also act as a ground attack aircraft, with free license to attack targets of opportunity. This role however is better suited to the [[Lightning Strike]].{{Fn|11a}}

The Lightning uses a swept-wing design and twin F100-XB afterburning turbofans to give it superior speed and better rate of climb and dive compared to the [[Thunderbolt]], although it is lighter, less rugged and more demanding on maintenance crews. Like the Thunderbolt, it also features a rocket booster engine which allows for quick take-offs when using a "fast-launch" ramp and for limited operational capability in space, although it is not a true "starfighter" like the [[Fury Interceptor]].{{Fn|11a}}

|Type=Air Superiority Fighter{{Fn|1b}}

*{{Endn|1}}: [[Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy]], pgs**{{Endn|1a}}: pg. 216, 223**{{Endn|1b}}: pg. 217