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Imperial Navy Ground Support Aircraft
Warhammer 40,000 Equipment
Colonel Johanna van Meer, 13th Elysian Drop Troops wrote:The enemy commanders think themselves safe from the Emperor’s Wrath behind kilometres of fortifications and legions of warriors. They did not account for us. Make your peace with the Emperor, men — we drop in two minutes.
Valkyrie Airborne Assault Carrier
Equipment Level 15-19 ( 72-92 PP )
VEHICLE TRAITS
Size: Gargantuan [ 3 EP ]
Strength: 12 [ 0 EP ]
Speed: -- [ 0 EP ]
Defense: 8 [ 14 EP ]
Toughness: 12 [ 1 EP]
VEHICLE POWERS
•
Armored Hull Impervious Toughness 5 [ 5 EP ]
•
Supersonic Flight 10 (2,000 MPH) [ 20 EP ]
•
Vox Link Communication 2 (Radio: Short Range; E: Subtle [1];
F: Limited to vox casters in same regiment) [ 7 EP ]
•
Sensorium Senses 4 (
Radar: Accurate [2], Detect Technology [1], Extended [1];
F: Limited to Aerial Targets) [ 2 EP ]
•
Hull-Mounted Multilaser Damage 7 (
E: Dynamic [1], Multiattack, Ranged;
F: Innaccurate [1]) [ 21 EP ]
•
DAE: Two Door-Mounted Heavy Bolters Damage 6 (
E: Improved Critical [1], Ranged, Multiattack, Split [1]) [ 2 EP ]
VEHICLE OPTIONS
►
The Valkyrie Assault Carrier may replace its Hull-Mounted Multilaser with the following:
•
Lascannon Damage 7 (
E: Dynamic [1], Penetrating [6], Ranged) [ +0 EP ]
►
The Valkyrie Assault Carrier may be upgraded with one of the following:
•
DAE: Dual Wing-Mounted Multiple Rocket Pods Damage 5 (
E: Area [60' Burst], Extended Range [1], Ranged;
F: Limited to Ground Targets) [ +2 EP ]
•
DAE: Two Wing-Mounted Hellstrike Missiles Damage 10 (
E: Area [30' Burst, 8 Ranks], Extended Range [1], Feature [one extra use; 1], Homing [2], Penetrating [5], Ranged;
F: Unreliable [single use; 2]) [ +2 EP ]
VEHICLE UPGRADES
►
The Valkyrie Assault Carrier may be upgraded with any of the following:
•
Extra Armor Enhanced Advantage 1 (Ultimate Toughness);
Impervious Toughness 4 [ +5 EP ]
•
Flare/Chaffe Launcher Affliction 10 (
Resist/Recover: Fortitude;
Conditions: Attack Impaired, Attack Disabled;
E: Area [60' Burst], Reaction [x3];
F: Instant Recovery, Limited to Machines, Limited to One Sense, Limited to Two Degrees, Unreliable [Five Uses]) [ +10 EP ]
Vendetta Gunship
Equipment Level 20-23 ( 100-115 PP )
VEHICLE TRAITS
Size: Gargantuan [ 3 EP ]
Strength: 12 [ 0 EP ]
Speed: -- [ 0 EP ]
Defense: 8 [ 14 EP ]
Toughness: 12 [ 1 EP]
VEHICLE POWERS
•
Armored Hull Impervious Toughness 5 [ 5 EP ]
•
Supersonic Flight 10 (2,000 MPH) [ 20 EP ]
•
Vox Link Communication 2 (Radio: Short Range; E: Subtle [1];
F: Limited to vox casters in same regiment) [ 7 EP ]
•
Sensorium Senses 4 (
Radar: Accurate [2], Detect Technology [1], Extended [1];
F: Limited to Aerial Targets) [ 2 EP ]
•
Triple Twin-Linked Lascannons Damage 12 (
E: Dynamic [1], Improved Critical [2], Multiattack, Penetrating [6], Ranged, Split [2]) [ 46 EP ]
•
DAE: Two Door-Mounted Heavy Bolters Damage 6 (
E: Improved Critical [1], Ranged, Multiattack, Split [1]) [ 2 EP ]
VEHICLE UPGRADES
►
The Vendetta Gunship may be upgraded with any of the following:
•
Extra Armor Enhanced Advantage 1 (Ultimate Toughness);
Impervious Toughness 4 [ +5 EP ]
•
Flare/Chaffe Launcher Affliction 10 (
Resist/Recover: Fortitude;
Conditions: Attack Impaired, Attack Disabled;
E: Area [60' Burst], Reaction [x3];
F: Instant Recovery, Limited to Machines, Limited to One Sense, Limited to Two Degrees, Unreliable [Five Uses]) [ +10 EP ]
Vulture Gunship
Equipment Level 15-19 ( 75-92 PP )
VEHICLE TRAITS
Size: Huge [ 2 EP ]
Strength: 12 [ 0 EP ]
Speed: -- [ 0 EP ]
Defense: 8 [ 12 EP ]
Toughness: 12 [ 3 EP]
VEHICLE POWERS
•
Armored Hull Impervious Toughness 5 [ 5 EP ]
•
Supersonic Flight 10 (2,000 MPH) [ 20 EP ]
•
Vox Link Communication 2 (Radio: Short Range; E: Subtle [1];
F: Limited to vox casters in same regiment) [ 7 EP ]
•
Sensorium Senses 4 (
Radar: Accurate [2], Detect Technology [1], Extended [1];
F: Limited to Aerial Targets) [ 2 EP ]
•
Strafing Run Feature 1 (Attacks versus opponents on ground gain +2 Attack bonus) [ 1 EP ]
•
Heavy Bolter Chin Turret Damage 6 (
E: Dynamic [1], Extended Range [1], Improved Critical [1], Multiattack, Ranged) [ 21 EP ]
VEHICLE OPTIONS
►
The Vulture Gunship has four wing hard points for mounting weapons. Each weapon is bought as a pair, thus the Vulture Gunship may be upgraded as follows:
►
The Vulture Gunship's first pair of hard points must
be upgraded with one
of the following:
•
DAE: Twin-Linked Lascannons Damage 7 (
E: Penetrating [6], Ranged) [ +2 EP ]
•
DAE: Twin-Linked Autocannons Damage 6 (
E: Extended Range [1], Improved Critical [2], Penetrating [4], Ranged, Split [1]) [ +2 EP ]
•
DAE: Multilasers Damage 7 (
E: Multiattack, Ranged;
F: Innaccurate [1]) [ +2 EP ]
•
DAE: Multiple Rocket Pods Damage 5 (
E: Area [60' Burst], Extended Range [1], Ranged;
F: Limited to Ground Targets) [ +2 EP ]
►
The Vulture Gunship's second pair of hard points may
be upgraded with one
of the following:
•
DAE: Bomb Racks Damage 5 (
E: Area [30' Burst], Extended Range [1], Feature [one extra use; 1], Indirect [1], Ranged;
F: Unreliable [six uses]);
Enhanced Advantage 2 (Precise Attack [Close; Cover and Concealment]) [ +2 EP ]
•
DAE: Hellstrike Missiles Damage 10 (
E: Area [30' Burst, 8 Ranks], Extended Range [1], Feature [one extra use; 1], Homing [2], Penetrating [5], Ranged;
F: Unreliable [single use; 2]) [ +2 EP ]
•
DAE: Hunter-Killer Missiles Damage 7 (
E: Feature [one extra use; 1], Penetrating [5], Ranged;
F: Innaccurate [2], Unreliable [five uses]) [ +2 EP ]
•
DAE: Multiple Rocket Pods Damage 5 (
E: Area [60' Burst], Extended Range [1], Ranged;
F: Limited to Ground Targets) [ +2 EP ]
VEHICLE UPGRADES
►
The Vulture Gunship may be upgraded with any of the following:
•
Extra Armor Enhanced Advantage 1 (Ultimate Toughness);
Impervious Toughness 4 [ +5 EP ]
•
Flare/Chaffe Launcher Affliction 10 (
Resist/Recover: Fortitude;
Conditions: Attack Impaired, Attack Disabled;
E: Area [60' Burst], Reaction [x3];
F: Instant Recovery, Limited to Machines, Limited to One Sense, Limited to Two Degrees, Unreliable [Five Uses]) [ +10 EP ]
Background:
The Valkyrie Airborne Assault Carrier is the aircraft issued to Storm Trooper units or Drop Trooper regiments. The Valkyrie is an advanced piece of hardware containing many system comparable with those found in Space Marine vehicles. Only a few Forge Worlds can manufacture them, and all the Valkyries that are built are supplied first to the Storm Troopers or Drop Troop Imperial Guard regiments, such as those recruited on Elysia or Harakon. Imperial Guard commanders of regiments not considered a priority for these vehicles are known to go to great lengths to acquire one.
Only the very best Imperial Navy pilots fly the Valkyrie. These pilots consider themselves an elite force in their own right. They are trained for dangerous insertion missions behind enemy lone, night flying, and maneuvring the aircraft in close confines and at very low altitudes. Each Valkyrie has four crew: a pilot, a co-pilot (who is also the weapons operator) and two door gunners to fire the heavy bolters.
The Valkyrie is closely related to two other vehicles, the Vendetta and Vulture Gunship. Whilst the Valkyrie and Vendetta are transport aircraft for carrying troops and equipment into the battle zone, albeit with a much heavier weapons payload on the Vendetta, the Vulture is a pure attack craft, with no transport compartment and a large multi-role weapons loadout. All three craft can hover in place and are mobile enough to squeeze into small spaces, such as between buildings, for low level attack runs. All three are atmospheric craft and cannot operare in the vacuum of space.
Mini-Rant:
I was an early adopter of the new vehicles, expanded rules, and other options introduced in Forge World's
Imperial Armour series of books. However, the player community as a whole took a loooong time to warm up to their use. Debate still rages on the idea in several corners of the game's internet community. But back when when Games Workshop released a plastic kit from Citadel Models for the Imperial Guard Valkyrie, I knew it was going to be a tetonic shift in the state of the game. At first, the Valkyrie was only treated as a "skimmer," the same rule used for things like the Land Speeder turning the "ValkDetta" into an oversized hovercraft... But I knew: Flyers were coming.
The arrival of true aircraft in the newest editions has been a game changer for 40K: not just requiring players to develop new strategies and counter strategies to deal with them, but also for the game itself in the marketplace. There are a lot of miniatures wargames out there and all of them want to cut into Games Workshop's market. However, no other game presently has anything like the aircraft that GW's game does. The presence of a couple of finely painted aerospace vehicles over the table adds an incredible bit of visual flair that Warmachine or Infinity just don't have. Watching people play a war game in a hobby shop - with well-made terrain, carefully painted armies, and having a good time doing it - is the best advertising the hobby has. Bar none. A Valkyrie or two squaring off with an Chaos Hellblade adds an impressive third dimension to the game's visual appeal.