Storm Eagle

The Storm Eagle is a heavy assault gunship used by the Adeptus Astartes as an airborne heavy support unit. Storm Eagle gunships will follow a Space Marine Chapter's Thunderhawk transports and Drop Pods into battle, where it can lend its weapons in a devastating assault. The Storm Eagle mounts an impressive amount of fearsome firepower for a vehicle of its size and is also capable of transporting twenty Space Marines directly into the thick of an assault. The exact origins of the Storm Eagle is unknown, but it bears clear similarities to the Stormravens employed by the Blood Angels Space Marine Chapter and Ordo Malleus' Grey Knights.

History
The Storm Eagle Gunship is a design that dates back to the Great Crusade, where the Storm Eagle Gunship was deployed alongside larger and more numerous Stormbird and Thunderhawk designs used by the Space Marine Legion air-fleets. It was a dedicated tactical strike unit and was very heavily armed for its size but lacked the transport capacity of the other gunships. There are certain sources that place the principal manufacture of the Storm Eagle upon the planets of Tigrus and Anvilus IX, both of which are primary-grade Forge Worlds that suffered catastrophic damage during the Horus Heresy. The Standard Template Construct (STC) blue-prints for the Storm Eagle were thought to be lost during this tragic period of history.

In the 41st Millennium
Although there are several Space Marine Chapters have managed to keep a sizable core of Storm Eagles operational down the centuries, during the later years of the 41st Millennium the number of Storm Eagles in active service has actually begun to increase, especially amongst those Chapters known to have favourable relations with the Adeptus Mechanicus. This has lead some observers to believe that production has been restored at an as yet unknown location.

Armament
The Storm Eagle is an Assault Gunship and is heavily armed for its task. The Storm Eagle is equipped with forward hull-mounted Twin-linked Heavy Bolters, and a hull-mounted Vengeance Launcher. The forward hull-mounted Twin-linked Heavy Bolters can be replaced with Twin-linked Multi-meltas or a single Typhoon Missile Launcher. The Storm Eagle can also carry 4 Hellstrike Missiles under its wings and can equip two Twin-linked Lascannons on the ends of its wings. The craft can be upgraded with a searchlight that is used to illuminate enemy ground force and extra armour plating for extra protection from enemy fire.

Known Users of the Storm Eagle Gunship

 * Adeptus Astartes - The Storm Eagle Gunship is used by several Space Marine Chapters that have favourable relations with the Adeptus Mechanicus
 * Chaos Space Marines - Owing to the ancient provenance of the Storm Eagle’s pattern, a few examples of the gunship, albeit heavily and malignly modified to keep them in service, are found in the hands of Chaos Space Marines
 * Salamanders Space Marine Chapter - The Salamanders Space marine Chapter has very favourable relations with the Adeptus Mechanicus
 * Iron Hands Space Marine Chapter - The Iron Hands Space Marine Chapter has very favourable relations with the Adeptus Mechanicus

Gallery
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