Strato-Keep Aerial Fortress

Brought about by the single-minded focus of the XIIth the Corsair proved too tempting an opportunity to pass up. Working with the adepts of Mars it was adapted to the coming crusade and the needs of the passionate sons of Niklaas, turning it into a veritable flying fortress. Able to deploy itself from orbit and support defensive actions or acting as a hub or air power the powerful volcano lances that spear from the sky are a wondrous show of annihilation.

## **Design**

As has come to be expected of their ilk, the Forge-Masters of the XIIth made a specific focus of those changes survivability but whether influenced by Martian minds or not, a surprising amount of offensive capability. This change was substantial enough to shake the normal confidence of those who may have observed the fire-obsessed sons of Niklaas up until that point, as they witnessed a forest of light spearing down to reduce a nigh-impregnable xenos fortress to naught but rubble or have the earth quake under the gravitic bombardment of a bomb barrage.

### **Armament**

In place of the Corsair's extensive bomb bay, the frame of the aircraft has been modified to hold some of the heaviest weaponry available. A single large turret is mounted on the underside of the fuselage, replacing the bomb bay all together. A single MkIII Synne Volcano Cannon points downward to rain down titan-grade firepower on enemy fortifications and war engines below. The array to mount such a formidable weapon as well as the power required are so great that the gun must be mounted directly to adamantium frame and rest for 5 full minutes between shots to recharge from the plasma generator. While this limits the ordnance capacity and taxes the Iota-Nominal Reactor it has been deemed acceptable offsets to the firepower it is able to command. While this does limit the Strato-Keep's ordnance payload to wing-mounted pylons only these are still more than enough to mount devastating barrages of ordnance to follow up on a volcano blast annihilating a fortification below. To operate the weapon the bombardier is given control of the weapons system and able to target it using a separate console. Though accurate, targeting requires skill and usually some sort of assistance from ground forces in the case of a moving target like a titan.

The final change in design the Fire Keepers made was a specialist munitions loadout, using two specially designed pylons to fit a salvo of cruise-missiles with a special graviton warhead at the tip of each one. To accommodate the missiles a single pylon is fitted with two sets of clamps on either side, being able to hold 2 missiles in total. Named the 'Redemption' Missile after the Primarch's personal hammer, it has shown it's destructive power many times over against both entire armies and once-thought impregnable fortress'. The graviton warheads work on the principle of creating a large field of gravity around the point of impact, making everything within the blast area to weigh so much that it crushes troops, tanks and causes foundations and walls to crumble under their own weight. The warheads can be altered by the Techmarine managing the munitions before they're loaded into the bomber, allowing it to compensate for the local world's gravity and to vary the radius of effect if precision is needed. Due to the powerful nature of the warheads they can only be kept in limited amounts on the aircraft as the graviton projection devices inside the warheads can interfere with some of the more delicate machinery within the cockpit. This rarely leads to occasional system malfunctions but the effect is lessened as the payload is dropped as there is currently no way to shield against the combined gravitational effects.

* 1 pylon can accommodate
	+ 1x Anti-Ship Torpedo
	+ 2x Redemption Missiles
	+ 5x Apocalypse Missiles in a missile pod
	+ 9x Large Guided Plasma/Melta Bombs on a bomb ejector rack
	+ 36x High Explosive/Incendiary Bombs on a bomb ejector rack

### **Defensive Systems**

As is typical with more Fire Keeper designs, the Strato-Keep swaps out the ceramite armour for plates of solid adamantium moulded with armaplas into the airframe. Ceramite is instead used specifically on the outer layer of the aircraft, with several thick sheets lining the fuselage and small ablative plates layered over the wings and around the cockpit. The outer layer of the craft is then covered in a layer of reflective paint that helps dissipate energy attacks with moderate efficiency. The use of multiple layers of differing armour types allows the armour to defeat a wide range of weaponry and blunt the effects of anti-vehicle attacks such as lascannon blasts. With all this added weight it drastically reduces the speed the standard variant relies on, only being able to move half as fast as the original Corsair.

The amount of defence turrets has also been increased, providing more survivability as well as killing potential against enemy aircraft. 3 twin-linked Hydra Long-Barrel Autocannon turrets have been installed with 2 on the underside of each wing, and one on the chin. With all these turrets linked together with a system of multi-feeds that lead to them, allow the turrets switch between flak, armour-piercing and plasma-tipped ammunition. Coupled with the replacement of the servitor-controllers with automata-grade cotrex-brains. These brains, while still imprinted with the usual firmware and wetware of their Legio Cybernetica counterparts, are linked to a Defensive Operator's command station, allowing for a rapid change in tactics or orders mid-mission. The versatility and reaction speed this allows the defensive array to be devastating against almost any aircraft or anti-air missile fielded against it .

## **Famous Battles:**

***The Defeat of WAAAGH! Skullkrak*** – Under the Fire Keepers

## **Notable Strato-Keep Bombers:**

***Onyx Scale*** – Personal Corsair of Thirgen of the Fire Keepers Tribe Barinthus