Type-26 Aerial Artillery Platform

The Type-26 Aerial Artillery Platform, nicknamed the Chimera for its trio of mounted plasma mortars, is a Covenant artillery gunship usually employed in their scorched earth tactics. Closer to a shore bombardment battleship than a ground attack aircraft, the Chimera is devastating to enemy ground fortifications and infantry. Feared for good reason among UNSC ground forces, Chimeras can be nearly unstoppable without support from powerful heavy weaponry or vehicles like the M-855 Kodiak or .
==Operational History==
Designs for the Chimera had existed since the end of the as a tool for instilling fear and obedience in the Covenant's lesser client races, but was only completed and put into production after its war with humanity began. Deployed in small numbers during the , Chimeras were often used to demolish cities or UNSC fortifications when the fleet was otherwise engaged. Human counter-attacks were met with limited success, as few ground assets could hope to bring them down and the vehicles were always escorted by . The only effective method of fighting them was with orbital missile or strikes, but the UNSC rarely held space superiority necessary to give them the opportunity.
Chimeras were seldom deployed through the remainder of the war, as battles didn't last long enough for them to be needed. Many carriers in the Covenant fleet replaced them in their ground compliment in favor of more and , relegating the Chimeras to defensive roles on captured human worlds. Several were found and destroyed by on , and there was evidence the vehicles were falling into disrepair. Chimeras returned to battlefield use during the prolonged battles of and , but many became casualties due to the readily available supply of heavy ordnance on both planets.
After the Human-Covenant War, Chimeras became scarce because of the amount of resources needed to contruct them, and that most pre-existing units had been destroyed. The Covenant Remnant soon discontinued any plans for building more, and Jiralhanae forces often scuttled their surviving examples for material, leaving the Chimera little more than a haunting memory for those who had seen them in battle. 
==Design==
===Engine===
Chimeras use a small-scale version of the seen on Covenant capital ships, providing it with the enormous amounts of energy required to stay airborne and power its weapon systems. By nuclear fusion of deuterium and tritium, the reactor generates energy fed to the and plasma which is then forced through pinched magnetic fields, compressing and heating it to the point of being able to be used as ammunition, which is then routed to the mortar magazines. The process generates large quantities of excess heat, which if not promptly vented can cause the reactor to fail explosively.
===Armament===
The Chimera's main armament are three forward-facing located aft. Those on either side have a limited field of fire focused on their respective flanks, while the center cannon is mounted on a tower and able to swivel near 130° to double the firepower on either side. Some Chimeras also have for point defense.
===Armor===
The vehicle's hull is made from the same unknown Covenant alloy that comprises most of their vehicle and ship armor. It appears this material can be colored as desired by the manufacturer, as Chimeras are most often violet while have been seen dark blue and some possess an iridescent green luster. It is highly resilient, able to withstand LAAG fire from Warthogs for extended periods with only minimal damage. The armor covers it both above and below, but has gaps in plating along its sides and near the propulsion exhausts.
==Variants==
===Dragon===
An extremely rare variant of the Chimera removed the plasma mortars and devoted its power to a single like those seen on , along with a shield generator normally seen only on . It was seen on only a few occasions during the Human-Covenant War; once during the Harvest Campaigns, laying waste to UNSC ground forces, and again at Reach, brought down only because of combined ground and orbital strikes. These two were believed to be the same, unique vehicle. However, during the Battle of Japan, a damaged Chimera was apparently repaired by the order of the Jiralhanae Chieftain Attilus, cannibalizing several other vehicles, and sported both a focus cannon and plasma mortars in addition to anti-infantry gun turrets to recreate the infamous vehicle.
Category:Covenant Aircraft