Area Denial Node

Area Denial Nodes are a form of static heavy-weapon placement which are employed by the Tau around vital strategic installations. Area Denial Nodes are able to provide massive screens of anti-armour and anti-personnel fire through which only the most determined of enemies will survive, let alone assault through. All of these nodes are controlled by advanced Drone intelligences which are able to utilise the weapon’s sophisticated targeting systems to their maximum potential. The use of drone intelligences in handling the node’s weapon systems also means that the skill of Fire Warriors need not be wasted in simple guard duty roles far behind the frontline. Their use also saves the cost in Tau lives. Far better; it is reasoned, to lose the Drone-controlled guns than to risk the lives of valuable Fire Warriors.

Tactical Role
Tau strategic doctrine dictates a fluid and manoeuvrable form of warfare over stationary defence, meaning that it is only in the most critical situations that a position will be defended to the last. The use of Area Denial Nodes allows mainline Fire Caste units to pull back safely in the face of overwhelming enemy attack, whilst still opposing the enemy's assault and punishing him for any gains he makes though the incredible firepower the nodes possess. Each node often forms a part of network of emplacements, where the Drones can coordinate and combine the fire of solid-shot rounds from their Railguns with their neighbours. In this way, they are capable of providing fearsome and devastating point attacks that are capable of penetrating all forms of vehicle and infantry armour. In at least a dozen reported instances during their use on the various battlegrounds of the Tau Empire, Area Denial Nodes have disabled and destroyed enemy super-heavy vehicles. It is even reported that a battery of seven nodes engaged and destroyed an Imperial Warhaound Scout Titan at the battle of Dal'yth.

Armament
All Area Denial Nodes are armed with a turret-mounted twin-linked Railguns like those mounted on other mobile heavy weapon platforms of the Tau Empire. However, the Railguns mounted on these nodes are a non-standard variant that can fire solid-shot rounds with more than double the range of Railguns mounted on other platforms, such as the XV88 Broadside Battlesuit. This allows the Area Denial Nodes to compensate for their immobile nature with an extreme potential threat range. The Railguns mounted on Area Denial nodes can also fire explosive submunition rounds, like the Hammerhead Railgun. These rounds provide large area saturation of fire which is extremely effective against groups of infantry. However, their dispersed nature means that the round’s range is diminished in comparison to the solid-shot rounds. Nevertheless, the submunition rounds still have a comparable range to the standard Railgun which is, in other words, still immense. Area Denial nodes are also protected by a thick layer of a nano-crystalline alloy armour (equiv. 40mm composite/120mm homogenous) named Fio’tak in the Tau Lexicon.