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The AV-14 "Hornet" Gunship is a VTOL assault and reconnaissance aircraft. The Hornet is capable of fulfilling multiple combat roles from close air support to special forces insertion.
Specifications/Overview
Crew
The AV-14 Hornets are operated by a single pilot who must coordinate what is happening with and around the aircraft, control and fire weapons, and operate communications and navigation.
Design
The Hornet is a vertical take off and landing aircraft (VTOL) that has been in service since the founding of Dark Angels and has played a role in multiple military campaigns. It serves as the Dark Angels' assault, search, reconnaissance, and close air support aircraft. The Hornet is an atmospheric only craft and as such cannot be deployed by orbital vessels unless a ship rated for atmospheric entry can deliver it to the battlefield. It is easier for the Hornet to be deployed from an air base located on the surface than from a ship.
The AV-14 Hornet consists of a one-man cockpit and a rear section, extending approximately one meter backward. Variant models feature a tandem seating configuration, presumably allowing a second passenger to operate the aircraft's weaponry or navigation systems. At the top of this rear section are a set of wings with turbofan engines mounted on gimbals at the ends, providing the Hornet's main source of propulsion. The front of the Hornet contains a target acquisition and designation system which includes cameras and sensors. On each side of the cockpit is a platform extending backwards that doubles as a landing skid. These skids allow up to six passengers.
Although the AV-14 Hornet serves primarily as an attack craft, it can be reconfigured for a particular role. Variant models include the AV-14 Reconnaissance and the AV-14 Transport and dependent upon mission requirements can be customized accordingly.
Weapons/Armament
The AV-14 Hornet is armed with both anti-infantry and anti-vehicle weapon systems. The AV-14 Hornet can be configured with one of two anti-infantry systems. The first are a pair of triple-barreled, nose-mounted GUA-23/A Heavy Autocannons, which can be elevated and depressed to a small degree without affecting the flight pattern of the Hornet. These are heavy machine guns that fire synchronously and provide the Hornet sufficient firepower for countering light fighter craft and ground forces. The second is a single, nose-mounted GUA-23 Linkless Feed Autocannon that fires .50 BMG rounds. The aerial-mounted weapons system is composed of a Mosquito-class targeting system consisting of twin missile launchers mounted on the top of the aircraft. When triggered, each pod fires a single TK-411 WAFAR (Wrap-Around Fin Aerial Rocket) rocket. These are guided, air-to-ground rockets that are designed to clear out light enemy combatants over a large area.
Weapons fire is constrained by an Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) Lockout system, which prevents friendly fire incidents in complex engagements with multiple aircraft and targets. Essentially, any of the weapons refuses to fire if the projected probability cone of a friendly vehicle’s flight path will put it in the trajectory of the bullet downrange. All air vehicles in Angelian service can track each other in a battle theater in real time, using IFF beacons, and this data is integrated into the weapons systems via the IFF Lockout System.
In addition, the Hornet can be armed with two chaff pods to counter radar-guided missiles. When activated, they release copper nickel-coated glass fibers or silver-coated nylon fibers having lengths equal to half of the anticipated radar wavelength. An infrared countermeasure (IRCM) is also implemented to protect aircraft from infrared homing ("heat seeking") missiles by confusing the missiles' infrared guidance system so that they miss their target. IRCM systems are based on a source of infrared radiation with a higher intensity than the target. When this is received by a missile, it may overwhelm the original infrared signal from the aircraft and provide incorrect steering cues to the missile. The missile may then deviate from the target, breaking lock.
The Hornet is equipped with instruments for navigation such as FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red) for night time sorties and operations and radar capabilities for low visibility circumstances.
Propulsion and Capabilities
The Hornet features a dual coaxial ducted-fan tiltrotor system with a total of four 3-bladed prop-rotors as well as Twin Magnussen KE-76 turbine generators driving counter-rotating annular ceramic motors. This gives the Hornet an effective combat range of 800 kilometers at 100 mp/h cruise. The top speed of the Hornet is 200 knots on Terra.
There is no ejection seat, as inertial auto-rotation is the preferred method of surviving a power-out scenario. There is an ultracapacitor backup system which can sustain rotor RPM for two minutes in the event of a full engine failure, which would be enough time to perform an emergency landing.