Javelin Attack Speeder

A Javelin Attack Speeder of the Raven Guard Legion armed with twin-linked Cyclone Missile Launchers

The Javelin Attack Speeder, also known simply as the Javelin, is an advanced pattern of anti-gravitic skimmer vehicle dating back to the 30^th Millennium that is similar to the Land Speeder commonly employed in the late 41^st Millennium by the Adeptus Astartes.

The Javelin is larger and more heavily armed and armoured than the more common Land Speeder. The Javelin's gravitic nullification plates, the secret of whose production and maintenance have long since been lost, allow the vehicle to mount an array of heavy weaponry more akin to that found on a heavy tank destroyer rather than a nimble skimmer.

These advanced anti-gravitic plates allow the Javelin to make pinpoint strikes on enemy armour or infantry with devastating Lascannon or missile barrages.

History

A Javelin Attack Speeder of the Emperor's Children Legion armed with twin-linked Lascannons

The Javelin is a nigh-irreplaceable relic vehicle that makes use of technologies originally designed during the earlier bygone age of technological mastery known as the Dark Age of Technology. The Javelin itself was first designed and manufactured for the Space Marine Legions by the Mechanicum during the Emperor's Great Crusade in the late 30^th Millennium.

These ancient, advanced relics of technology shared many of the advanced systems found in the Jetbikes of Legiones Astartes Sky Hunter Strike Squadrons, and as such were both rare and highly-valued, even during the Great Crusade era.

Utilising a range of anti-grav impellor technologies so esoteric that some amongst the Mechanicum at that time regarded them with overt distrust, Javelin Attack Speeders were time-consuming to construct and difficult to repair if they sustained battle damage.

Nevertheless, they were fast, highly manoeuvrable, possessed an extended operational range and, perhaps most importantly, were able to carry a heavy payload of weapon systems. All of these characteristics ensured that these rare attack vehicles remained in high demand amongst the Legiones Astartes, as well as other elite formations of the Legio Custodes and the Sisters of Silence.

The capacity to manufacture the Javelin, along with so much else from that tumultuous period of Mankind's history, has been lost to the present-day Imperium of Man. Only those Chapters of Space Marines that can trace their origins back to the First Founding still possess a few justly revered Javelins within the sanctified depths of their armouries. The Javelin is also available in small numbers to the Heretic Astartes Traitor Legions and warbands that trace their lineage back to the time of the Horus Heresy.

Armament

The Javelin is a fast attack anti-gravitic skimmer used by the Adeptus Astartes in a role similar to that of the more common Land Speeder. However, unlike the Land Speeder, the Javelin mounts heavy anti-armour weaponry that it uses to engage enemy armoured vehicles and heavy infantry.

The Javelin is armed with either a set of twin-linked Cyclone Missile Launchers or Lascannons as its main weapons. These weapons are located on the vehicle's flanks. The Javelin is also armed with a pintle-mounted Heavy Bolter that is used for close-range protection from enemy infantry.

The pintle-mounted Heavy Bolter can be replaced with either a Heavy Flamer or a Multi-Melta. The Javelin can also be outfitted with a searchlight and up to two Hunter-Killer Missile Launchers for added firepower.

Unit Composition

• 1 Relic Javelin Attack Speeder (41st Millennium Only)
• 1-3 Legion Javelin Attack Speeders (31st Millennium Only)

Wargear

A Relic Javelin Attack Speeder is armed and equipped with:

• 1 pintle-mounted Heavy Bolter
• twin-linked Typhoon Missile Launchers (hull mlounted)

A Relic Javelin Attack Speeder may replace its set of twin-linked Typhoon Missile Launchers with the following weapons:

• twin-linked Lascannons (hull mounted)

A Relic Javelin Attack Speeder may replace its pintle-mounted Heavy Bolter with one of the following pintle-mounted weapons:

• A pintle-mounted Multi-Melta

A Relic Javelin Attack Speeder armed with a Typhoon Missile Launcher can use the follwing types of munitions:

• Frag Missiles
• Krak Missiles

Horus Heresy Era Wargear

During the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy the Javelin Attack Speeders of the Legiones Astartes featured different weapon load-out options than those of the 41st Millennium.

A standard Legion Javelin Attack Speeder was armed and equipped with:

• 1 pintle-mounted Heavy Bolter
• twin-linked Cyclone Missile Launchers (hull mounted)

A Legion Javelin Attack Speeder may replace its set of twin-linked Cyclone Missile Launchers with the following weapon:

• twin-linked Lascannons (hull mounted)

A Legion Javelin Attack Speeder may replace its pintle-mounted Heavy Bolter with one of the following pintle-mounted weapons:

• A pintle-mounted Heavy Flamer
• A pintle-mounted Multi-Melta

A Legion Javelin Attack Speeder armed with a Cyclone Missile Launcher can use the following types of munitions:

• Frag Missiles
• Krak Missiles

Any Legion Javelin Attack Speeders may also be upgraded with the following vehicle equipment:

• Searchlight
• Up to 2 Hunter-Killer Missile Launchers

Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications

Javelin Attack Speeder

Type	Attack Skimmer	Operational Ceiling	Unknown
Vehicle Name	Javelin	Max Speed	Unknown
Forge World of Origin	Mars (Presumed)	Range	Unknown
Known Patterns	Unknown	Main Armament	2 sponson-mounted, twin-linked Lascannons or Cyclone Missile Launchers
Crew	1 Pilot, 1 Gunner	Secondary Armament	Pintle-mounted Heavy Bolter
Powerplant	Unknown	Main Ammunition	Unknown
Weight	Unknown	Secondary Ammunition	Unknown
Length	Unknown	Armour
Wingspan	Unknown	Superstructure	Unknown
Height	Unknown	Hull	Unknown
Vehicle Designation	Unknown

See Also

• Imperial Vehicles

Sources

• Imperial Armour Index: Forces of the Adeptus Astartes (8th Edition), pg. 32
• The Horus Heresy - Book Two: Massacre (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 148, 200
• The Horus Heresy - Book Three: Extermination (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 42, 136, 147
• The Horus Heresy: Legiones Astartes - Age of Darkness Army List, pg. 59
• Forge World Webstore - Legion Javelin Attack Speeder with Lascannons
• Forge World Webstore - Legion Javelin Attack Speeder with Missile Launchers

Gallery

A Javelin Attack Speeder of the Emperor's Children Legion armed with twin-linked Lascannons and a pintle-mounted Heavy Bolter

A Javelin Attack Speeder of the Emperor's Children Legion, rear-view

A Javelin Attack Speeder of the Raven Guard Legion, side-view

A Javelin Attack Speeder of the Raven Guard Legion adjacent to a Rhino for size comparison

An ancient pict-capture of a Javelin Attack Speeder of the Raven Guard Legion during the Horus Heresy

An ancient pict-capture of a Javelin Attack Speeder squadron during the Horus Heresy.

An ancient pict-capture of a Javelin Attack Speeder of the Raven Guard Legion during the Horus Heresy.

An ancient pict-capture of a Javelin Attack Speeder squadron during the Horus Heresy.

An ancient pict-capture of a Javelin Attack Speeder of the Raven Guard Legion during the Horus Heresy, side view.