Sun Shark

A Sun Shark Bomber is a Tau aircraft designed to provide atmospheric support to ground Fire Caste forces. Due to the Tau’s unique fighting tactics and their highly mobile nature, Hunter Cadres do not use artillery in the conventional sense that most armies do. Instead, in association with the Air Caste, they have developed the Sun Shark Bomber - a sleek atmospheric aircraft that is capable of sweeping down from the skies and blasting ground targets with its potent payload.

Sun Shark Bombers come equipped with a Pulse Bomb Generator as their primary weapon, which produces a ball of deadly plasma beneath the craft. At the pilot's command, the pulsed induction field propels the glaring energy ball towards targets on the battlefield below. Sizzling the air around it, the pulse bomb explodes on the ground with an incandescent fury, spreading destruction over a wide radius. A shoal of Sun Shark Bombers flying in tight formation can blast apart even the most surging of Ork Waaaghs! with a single flyover. Sun Shark has also been equipped with several other weapons, including a pair of Seeker Missiles. Many a desperate Pathfinder or Fire Warrior team owe their continued existence to these airborne missiles, which they call in using their Marker Lights. Their ability to strike enemy vehicles or make short work of armoured infantry with the help of nearby air support greatly increases their chances for survival. The Sun Shark also bears a tail-mounted Missile Pod, which can be upgraded to a twin-linked version, as well as a nose-mounted Networked Marker Light to line up bombing runs. To ensure the Sun Shark survives long enough to deliver its bombing run, the vehicle is equipped with a pair of wing-mounted Interceptor Drones. Each armed with a powerful twin-linked Ion Rifle, Interceptor Drones can either stay attached to the Sun Shark, where they act like turret-mounted weapons, or, they can detach from the flyer and serve as an escort. When disembarking from the Sun Shark Bomber, the Interceptor Drones often position themselves to intervene between the bomber and any oncoming enemy fighters.

History
First designed and deployed sometime between the Second and Third Sphere of Expansion, the Sun Shark Bomber has proven its success repeatedly against the many foes of the Tau Empire. During the Tyranid Hive Fleet Gorgon’s invasion on the Tau Sept homeworld of Ke'lshan, the aliens quickly grew wary of the dominating Tau air attacks. High in the stratosphere, super-heavy Mantas blasted away flying terrors, while just above the planet's surface swept Sun Shark Bombers, their pulse bombs breaking up the swarming Hormagaunt assaults with powerful blasts. Sun Sharks were instrumental in holding back the Tyranid swarms; for without them, the Tau battlelines would’ve been overrun in short order.

Construction/Crew
A Sun Shark Bomber consists of a central chassis with two large forward-mounted wings, which are connected to additional small winglets to the rear of the main body by thruster rods. A Sun Shark’s cockpit is fully enclosed and pressurised, and its sleek design includes two Interceptor Drones, which fit into specially designed recesses in aircraft’s wings. A Sun Shark’s primary armament is its Pulse Bomb Generator, which is mounted underneath its rear.

A Sun Shark is powered by complex dual anti-gravitic and jet-propulsion motive systems so that the aircraft can swiftly fly over a planet’s surface. Its armoured bulk is primarily driven forwards by its two powerful thruster jet engines mounted on the sides of the main chassis. Additional thruster rods connected to the wings allow the aircraft to turn better than it would otherwise be able too, whilst its large wings grant it better stability in the air. The natural skills of the pilots allow the aircraft to manoeuvre with a skill, precision and extremity that only members of the Air Caste can tolerate and handle.

Mounted on the front of the central body of a Sun Shark is a nose-mounted Networked Marker Light. The armour of the vehicle is made from a dense nano-crystalline metal, named Fio'tak in the Tau Lexicon, that is light, malleable, strong and corrosive resistant; reducing the weight of the vehicle whilst also providing excellent protection. All Sun Sharks are piloted by an Air Caste pilot, as evident by the Air Caste symbols often displayed on the fighter’s wings. The pilot controls the flight of the aircraft and also operates its weapons, with the assistance of some drone-controlled systems.

Tactical Role
Due to their unique fighting tendencies and their highly mobile nature, Hunter Cadres do not use artillery in the conventional sense that most armies do. Instead, in association with the Air caste, they have developed the Sun Shark Bomber - a sleek atmospheric aircraft that is capable of sweeping down from the skies and blasting ground targets with its potent payload. A shoal of Sun Shark Bombers flying in tight formation can blast apart even the most surging of Ork Waaaghs! with a single flyover; for their pulse bombs are devastating anti-horde weapons.

The Tau doctrine of war places great importance upon dominating the airways above any battlefield they deploy to. It is their commonly held belief that controlling the skies is the first step in winning the engagement, and Tau aircraft such as the Razorshark and Barracuda enable this. By making the elimination of enemy flyers a priority, ground troops are allowed to concentrate on their targets without having to concern themselves with any threat from above. This strategy thereby enables the Tau to make full use of their mobile ground support assets. With no enemy flyers to worry about, the Sun Shark shoals are better able to line up their devastating bombing runs while Razorsharks fly circles around enemy infantry or armour, using the range and potent hitting power of their ion weapons to pick off foes from beyond the range of most return fire. With full aerial supremacy, the Tau are free to concentrate their flexible firepower when and how they need to – efficiently isolating and destroying enemy assets one by one. In the hands of an experienced Tau Commander, the fine-tuned coordination of air attacks in the skies above the battlefield can make a Hunter Cadre very adaptable and extremely lethal.

During an attack run, Sun Sharks are a blur of motion, and the crew are more likely to trust their speed and jinking ability over any amount of armour. Using their extreme speed, they can rapidly pass over an enemy and release their bombs before the enemy realises the aircraft is even there. Often called in as air support by Tau Commanders to bomb enemy positions and target key targets that would otherwise be unreachable, Sun Sharks support Tau ground forces as they support them; by taking out potential anti-air threats whilst the Sun Sharks provide much needed heavy ordnance from the air. Many a desperate Pathfinder or Fire Warrior team owe their continued existence to Sun Sharks, most notably due to the Seeker Missiles they carry, which they call in using Marker Lights. Their ability to strike enemy vehicles or make short work of armoured infantry with the help of nearby air support greatly increases their chances for survival. It is of note that Sun Sharks are also capable of operating in space, and often fulfil the role of an Attack Craft for Tau fleets in void combat, by performing void-based bombing missions on enemy capital ships.

Armament
A Sun Shark’s primary armament is its rear Pulse Bomb Generator mounted underneath the aircraft hull. This device produces a ball of deadly plasma beneath the craft. At the pilot's command, a pulsed induction field propels the glaring energy ball towards targets on the battlefield below. Sizzling the air around it, the pulse bomb explodes on the ground with an incandescent fury, spreading destruction over a wide radius. An extremely effective weapon, once fired, a Pulse Bomb Generator will immediately begin to form another destructive charge, ready to be dropped when another suitable target is reached. Sometimes, however, a persistent glitch from the weapon’s prototype days results in a power failure, meaning the Sun Shark cannot drop further bombs until Earth Caste engineers can reconfigure the micro-power plant. As well as a Pulse Bomb Generator, a Sun Shark is equipped with a nose-mounted Networked Marker Light to line up bombing runs. A Sun Shark also bears a tail-mounted Missile Pod as part of its armament, which can be upgraded to a twin-linked version. This gives the bomber a self-defence weapon against enemy aircraft, although it can also be used effectively against lightly armoured vehicles on the ground.

To further ensure the Sun Shark survives long enough to deliver its bombing run, the vehicle is equipped with a pair of wing-mounted Interceptor Drones. Each armed with powerful twin-linked Ion Rifles, Interceptor Drones can either stay attached to the Sun Shark, where they act in a similar way to conventional turret-mounted weapons, or they can detach from the flyer and serve as an escort. When disembarking from the Sun Shark Bomber, the Interceptor Drones will often position themselves to intervene between the bomber and any oncoming enemy fighters. Interceptor Drones also have the ability to boost their jets, giving them a rare burst of speed that allows them to better position themselves to lock onto aerial targets and attempt to blast them out of the sky. Few enemy flyers are capable of withstanding the vaporising effects of a Ion Rifle, and some Interceptor Drones have racked up impressive kill totals; a source of bragging rights for the Sun Shark's Air Caste pilots, if not for the AI powered drones themselves.

For further support, a Sun Shark also carries two Seeker Missiles in two cunningly hidden recesses in the aircraft’s hull. These missiles can be auto-fired by the Sun Shark's Air Caste pilot himself, but are more effective when launched by a ground unit that has painted the target with a Marker Light. Seeker Missiles mounted on Sun Sharks are especially deadly, as the aircrafts ability to rapidly position themselves on the flanks of a battlefield allows the missiles to strike at more vulnerable side or rear armour of enemy vehicles.

Upgrades
Sun Sharks can also be equipped with any of the following Tau vehicle upgrade systems:
 * Automated Repair System - Automated Repair Systems consist of dispensers which release tiny maintenance Drones which swarm over damaged weapon and drive systems, repairing them in the midst of battle.
 * Advanced Targeting System - An Advanced Targeting System assists the vehicle's gunner by identifying targets of particular value or danger, and plotting fire plans to counter them.
 * Blacksun Filter - Blacksun Filters allow the vehicle's gunners to accurately see and target enemies in low-light conditions.
 * Decoy Launcher - Decoy Launchers are a form of defensive measure that is mounted near the engines. They are capable of firing clouds of reflective strips and sophisticated electronic decoys, which are combined with flare and chaff launchers to protect the vehicle's thruster arrays from enemy missiles.
 * Disruption Pod - Disruption Pods display distorting holographic images in the visual and magnetic spectra to make the vehicle harder to target.
 * Point Defence Targeting Relay - Designed to provide superior covering fire for nearby Fire Caste units, a Point Defence Targeting Relay automatically targets and engages enemies that try to assault the vehicle or nearby friendly units.
 * Sensor Spines - Sensor Spines feed data to an advanced ground-following flight control system. This allows the vehicle to avoid hazardous terrain that could otherwise damage the vehicle's drive systems.

Gallery
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