Vulture Gunship
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This article is about the Vulture Gunship. For other uses of Vulture, see Vulture (disambiguation). |
The Vulture Gunship is an attack gunship based upon the Valkyrie troop carrier, with similar hover and VTOL (Vertical Take-off and Landing) capabilities.
Contents
Overview
Like the Valkyrie, the Vulture is operated by the Imperial Navy and attached to Imperial Guard units, particularly Drop Regiments lacking heavy armour and artillery support. The Vulture is operated by a crew of two, a pilot to fly the craft and a weapons operator to aim and fire its armament. A single Vulture will typically fly in support of a flight of Valkyries whose variable weapon configurations allow a variety of missions to be fulfilled: anti-tank, infantry suppression or bombing enemy strongpoints. They often remain after the Valkyries' passengers have disembarked and the transports have retreated acting in a direct air support role, aiding the drop troops in tougher firefights. Although they can mount extra fuel tanks to accompany Valkyries on long-range operations, this does reduce their weapons payload.[1a] Vultures also operate as protection for air-to-surface landing operations and find usage in deep-range attacks, ground strafing runs against massed infantry and urban combat, supplanting the less-flexible armed Vendetta in these roles. Vultures are build in large numbers on the forge world of Voss and other strategic location.[4]
The standard armament on the Vulture is its nose-mounted Heavy Bolter, with four wing hardpoints, along with Extra Armour and a Searchlight. The two inner wing hardpoints, besides extra fuel tanks, typically mount twin-linked Multi-lasers, although these can be replaced with Lascannons, Missile Launchers, Autocannons, or Rocket pods. The two outer wing hardpoints, besides extra fuel tanks, typically mount two Hellstrike Missiles, but can also be replaced with two Hellfury Missiles,[2] two Rocket Pods, two bomb racks for a total of six Heavy Bombs or Heavy Smart Bombs, or two missile racks for a total of six Hunter-killer Missiles.[1b] For extreme firepower, the Vulture can replace all of its wing-mounted munitions for a twin-linked Punisher Gatling Cannon, while all gunships can be modified with additional upgrades.[2] The Vulture also incorporates suspensor vanes to help keep it afloat.[4]
Technical Specifications
| Type | Attack Gunship[1c] | Operational Ceiling | 11,000m[1c] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle Name | Vulture[1c] | Max Speed | 1100kph[1c] at 5,000 feet[3] |
| Forge World of Origin | Mars, Voss, Artemia, Estaban VII, Agripinaa, Phaeton, Lucius[1c] | Range | 2,000 km in atmosphere[1c] |
| Known Patterns | I-X[1c] | Main Armament | Nose mounted Heavy bolter[1c] |
| Crew | Pilot, Weapons Operator[1c] | Secondary Armament | 4x under wing hardpoints for various weapon systems[1c] |
| Powerplant | 1x F200-KW4 Afterburning Vector-Turbojet[1c] | Main Ammunition | 200 rounds[1c] |
| Weight | 9 tonnes empty[1c] | Secondary Ammunition | Varies by weapon type[1c] |
| Length | 19.2m[1c] | Armour | |
| Wingspan | 14.2m[1c] | Superstructure | 75mm[1c] |
| Height | 4.9m[1c] | Hull | 75mm[1c] |
Vulture Gunship[1c]
Known units that include Vultures
- 2nd Imperial Navy Tactical Wing[1d]
- 9th Elysian Drop Troops Regiment[1d]
- 15th Elysian Drop Troops Regiment[1d]
- 33rd Imperial Navy Tactical Wing[1d]
- 64th Elysian Drop Troops Regiment[1d]
- 81st Imperial Navy Tactical Wing[1d]
- 901st Imperial Navy Tactical Wing
See also
Sources
- 1: Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy:
- 2: Imperial Armour - Apocalypse II, pg. 24
- 3: Aeronautica Imperialis Game Rulebook, pg. 52
- 4: Imperial Armour - Apocalypse II, pg. 24
- 5: The Sabbat Worlds Crusade (Background Book), pg. 43
- 6: Vagabond Squadron (Novel) - Dramatis Personae
