Piranha

The Tau Piranha is a light combat scout skimmer used by the Tau Fire Caste. Its default armament is a Burst Cannon and two Gun Drones, similar to the Devilfish. It is sometimes fitted with a Fusion Blaster instead of a Burst Cannon, allowing it to fill a tank-hunter role on the battlefield. It can also be equipped with up to 2 Seeker Missiles, allowing Tau Pathfinder Teams to guide its missiles to armoured targets. The first time the Piranha was seen by the Imperium, it was used as a diplomatic transport by the Water Caste. During the Taros Campaign, it was field-tested as a military vehicle, and proved notably successful as an asset for Pathfinder Teams. It normally carries a crew of 2, a driver and a weapons operator. The weapons operator seat can also be used as a passenger seat.

History
During the Taros Campaign's Battle for Hydro Processing Plant 23-30, Piranhas were widely deployed in support of Remote Sensor Towers already in the area to provide Seeker Missile support. This caused the 114th Cadian Regiment's relief column to be constantly harassed by missile strikes and day long battles were fought between Chimeras and Piranhas. This led to the relief column being delayed long enough for Tau Hunter Cadres to overrun the plant. Piranhas also played an important role in the desert warfare on Taros, harassing enemy forces with the support of Hunter Cadres and eventually pursuing the Tallarn regiments of the Imperial Guard as they withdrew back to their landing zones in the closing stages of the campaign.

Construction
The design of the Piranha consists of a central, open-topped chassis that can seat two crew members. Two engine thrusters are mounted on the sides of the main body, with two winglets mounted on the sides of the engines in turn. Each of these winglets fufill a similar role as the lift fins on the Devilfish chassis, providing extra lift to keep the vehicle off the ground and also providing space for two recesess, each equipped with a Gun Drone. Mounted on the front of the central section of the Piranha is a chin turret, which can be fitted with a Burst Cannon or a Fusion Blaster. The Piranha carries two crewmen. The crew member in the front seat is the pilot, while the crew member behind him operates the chin-mounted weapons system. However, when the Piranha is used in a non-combat role, the second seat is often given to an important passenger such as an Ethereal.

Combat Role
The Piranha was initially identified by the Imperium during a diplomatic mission on the Sept World of Dal'yth, where it was being used as an unarmed transport vehicle. It was during the Taros Campaign that it was first seen used in a military application and was subsequently coded the "Piranha". It has since been upgraded with armour and armament and usually is found supporting Hunter Cadres in the niche role of acting as a light combat and reconnaissance vehicle that can harass infantry and armour alike. It also commonly clashes with enemy scout forces during missions, and has been used by the Tau to provide armoured fire support in defence of an area by acting as part of a rapid-response force of Tau Pathfinders. In a reconnaissance role, the Piranha is a direct match to a Imperial Guard Salamander as it can tackle other light vehicles. This is a desirable asset due to first contact with an enemy often being a clash between scout forces. It is thought that the Fire Caste observed and learnt from the Imperial Guard's deployment of Salamanders and adapted the tactic for their Piranhas. However, this is pure speculation. Piranhas are also commonly equipped with Seeker Missiles, allowing them to strike at enemy armour from long range with the support of other Tau units outfitted with Marker Lights, such as Pathfinders. In peacetime, the Piranha can also fufill the role of an armoured personnel carrier, transporting important Tau diplomatic officials and Ethereals. Piranhas have also been identified operating as armoured support for teams guarding important strategic locations such as Tau airfields, where they act as a rapid response force. In this way, they act as security where heavier combat vehicles are not generally required. Piranhas can often be found alone or in squadrons of up to three.

Armament
A Piranha can be equipped with any of the following weapons:
 * Chin Mounted Weapon
 * A Burst Cannon, which provides rapid-firing anti-infantry fire, allowing the Piranha to harass enemy infantry.
 * A Fusion Blaster, which changes the Piranha's role to a tank-hunter that can take down a range of light and heavy vehicles.
 * Two Gun Drones in front wing recesses
 * Blacksun Filter which greatly extends the distance that can be seen in darkness.
 * Decoy Launchers which are mounted near the engines and are capable of firing clouds of reflective strips to protect the tank's thruster arrays.
 * Disruption Pods which display distorting holographic images in the visual and magnetic spectra to make the vehicle harder to target.
 * Flechette Dischargers which line the hull and fire high-velocity flechettes at infantry which try to assault the vehicle.
 * Computer-aided Targeting Array which enhances the gunners' capability to hit enemy targets
 * Multi Tracker which serves as an advanced stabiliser that allows the vehicle to fire accurately while moving
 * Sensor Spines which feed data to an advanced ground-following flight control system that allows the vehicle to avoid hazardous terrain
 * Target Lock which automatically identifies potential targets and plots fire plans accordingly, granting the gunner more choice in targets to engage

Two Gun Drones also ride with the Piranha, providing extra firepower with their twin-linked Pulse Carbines. The Gun Drones can also disengage from the Piranha to move off by themselves. Piranhas can also have up to two Seeker Missiles which are fired and guided by Marker Lights.

TX-42
The TX-42 variant of the Piranha is a more heavily-armoured version of the standard Piranha chassis and mounts heavier weapons. It has a semi-enclosed, armoured crew compartment and upgraded armament to turn the light Piranha into a heavier gunship, designed for frontline operations in support of Tau armoured units. It is can be armed with twin-linked Rail Rifles, twin-linked Missile Pods, twin-linked Fusion Blasters or twin-linked Plasma Rifles. To date, the TX-42 has only been encountered by the Imperium amongst the forces of the Sa'cea Sept operating in the Perdus Rift region during the Tau Empire's Third Sphere Expansion.