Darkwing Pattern Storm Eagle Gunship

The Darkwing Pattern Storm Eagle Assault Gunship, or simply the Darkwing, was a specialised variant of the Storm Eagle Assault Gunship that was used exclusively by the Raven Guard Legion during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. The Darkwing was constructed on Kiavahr for the Raven Guard and the technology used in their fabrication was never shared with the greater Mechanicum, citing the higher sovereignty of the Legiones Astartes. With the outbreak of the Horus Heresy this particular disagreement was never resolved.

Construction
The Darkwing Pattern Storm Eagle is fitted with an array of highly advanced and barely understood technologies that date back to the Dark Age of Technology, before the coming of Old Night. While the tech-guilds of Kiavahr kept many secrets from the Mechanicum for use by their Raven Guard lords, by far the most efficacious to the Legion were those that could increase further the stealth characteristics of their war machines, in particular their armour and vehicles. The Darkwing is fitted with a range of stealth enhancing technology, including rad-shrouded armour plating and quantum field repellors. The additional systems used by the craft required a higher degree of maintenance along with sacrificing some of the craft's internal hold space, reducing its troop-carrying capacity slightly. Given that the Darkwing pattern was often utilised to insert small units of elite warriors such as the Mor Deythan or Dark Fury Assault Squads deep into enemy-held territory, this was considered no great loss.

Armament
The Darkwing may be mostly used to transport elite infiltration units behind enemy lines but it still an assault gunship and is thus heavily armed for its task. The Darkwing, like the standard Storm Eagle is equipped with forward nose-mounted twin-linked Heavy Bolters, and a dorsal hull-mounted Vengeance Launcher. The Darkwing's Vengeance Launcher is loaded with specialised ammunition known as Eclipse Missiles, which are designed to sow confusion amongst the enemy with concussion and smoke. The Darkwing is also equipped with two sets of twin-linked Lascannons under its wings for engaging enemy armour or aircraft. The vehicle can be upgraded with a searchlight that is used to illuminate enemy ground forces and extra armour plating for additional protection from enemy fire and are also commonly outfitted with an additional layer of ceramite plating, for added protection against enemy fire.