Board Thread:Warhammer 40k General Discussion/@comment-4851119-20140323173912/@comment-173.191.172.93-20140420212145

The Lightning is indeed that big, Talik. It's not exactly something that's meant for exact specialties, as a result of it's role. That may be a contributing factor to it's size and expense, especially with the state of the Imperium

However, a wide variety of multi-role fighters would be far more logicstically sound for a military of the Imperium's size. Aircraft capable of swinging between surface to air-to-air and air-to-surface are quite flexible, allowing for increased interoperability.