Meteor Bomber

## Tactical Analysis

* **Metalhead:** The Meteor Bomber is one of the simplest, yet also the fastest and most effective ground attack planes out there. Having neither missiles nor bombs, the Meteor settles for depleted uranium cannonballs launched at near-supersonic speeds, crushing both infantry and tanks.

* **Comet get me:** When a Meteor uses up its metal stockpiles or is under attack, pilots can activate their scramjet-powered afterburners, giving the appearance of a real meteor streaking very fast across the skies as they zip back to base.

* **Crash landing:** Experts have noticed that their unusual projectiles deal less damage to structures than it does to ground units. Some armor is also sacrificed to allow the Meteor for supersonic flights.

* **A bad omen:** A daring Meteor team upgraded their plane with a device similar to that of the Gravity Hub, slowing enemies they fly above. This upgrade is only given to experienced pilots, lest they slow their own allied units instead!

## Background

As it turns out, standing your ground for too long takes a toll on your logistics. Harassed on all sides by Imperial mecha and amphibious vehicles, ANZAC spread their resources thin to prevent them from creating or exploiting an opening they could find. Combined with scarce Allied assistance, ANZAC forces scraped the bottom of the barrel to stop the invaders from pressing south of the Brisbane Line. Indeed, mothballed *Ironclad*-class destroyers sailed out from ports to sink Naginata cruisers and Mk.1 Multigunners cruised through towns repelling against VX mecha.

Nothing exemplifies their situation like the time when they ran out of air-to-ground aircraft munitions. Expending almost their entire stockpiles to bomb vital targets, ANZAC soldiers also dealt with shinobi who sabotaged their factories, limiting vehicle production. This worked to the Empire's advantage, as during the Battle of Adelaide, Australian soldiers rode out of civilian cars as makeshift troop transports and fired out of them as makeshift IFVs. ANZAC aircraft could not take flight due to the simple fact they had nothing to unload at the enemy (even when survivors say that a few armored knights took part in the fighting).

But sometimes, when there's nothing left at the bottom of the barrel, why not *chuck* said barrel at the invaders instead? An ANZAC commander essentially did so during the battle, after discovering a mothballed fleet of experimental aircraft in Marananga. Swapping the usual munitions for scrap metal, the bomber planes installed gravity acceleration devices to enhance their projectiles' speed to maximal levels. Initially derided by realists within the ANZAC forces, they sang a different tune at the sight of Maurice M.54's raining down hell on Imperial tanks and soldiers alike, now nicknamed **Meteors** for stopping the Imperials from taking the city. Their scramjet engines also helped them to flee from rocket angels and Chopper-VX's arriving at the scene. With post-war modifications replacing the scrap metal with depleted uranium cannonballs, hitting much harder thanks to greater and its compact size lets it carry more per run.

In recent times, a particular Meteor high above the Indian-Chinese border proved to be a tempting target for a trigger-happy Saranga, and it got shot down promptly. Investigation of the Meteor revealed strange modifications that would allow it to travel to the very edges of the atmosphere, and the Indian government asked Allied Command to probe further into sightings of rumored Contingent aircraft flying across Asia. This has only opened a can of worms, as other nations accused the Allies of doing the same thing in their own airspaces. The Contingent just kept silent towards the whole affair, and their Meteors still streak across North Vietnamese skies to give Viet Cong a glimpse of 'meteor showers'.