Sun Shark - Role: It is often the "attack shoals" of the Air Caste that are first loosed on an enemy world, sweeping down in great waves to clear the skies of fliers. Anti-aircraft defences are blasted out of existence from low orbit, or else marked for punitive strikes by teams of Stealth or Crisis Battlesuits.Plasma bombs fall like rain upon enemy airfields, ripping apart landing pads and runways and blasting promethium silos and grounded fighters into blazing wreckage. Those enemy aircraft that make it aloft find themselves running the gauntlet amid swarms of perfectly coordinated T'au attack craft. T'au Air Caste pilots maintain meticulously calculated formations and lay down lattices of interceptor fire that soon see even the largest and most heavily armed enemy craft spinning groundwards like flaming comets.By the time the ground war begins in earnest, enemy air assets have been reduced to a ghost of their former strength, and the skies belong to the T'au. It is at this point that shoals of Sun Shark bombers switch to targeting the foe's ground forces. These swift-winged craft are employed in place of artillery, supporting their Fire Caste comrades by executing deadly attack runs that shatter enemy infantry and fire support formations.Due to their unique fighting tendencies and their highly mobile nature, Hunter Cadres do not use artillery in the conventional sense that most armies do. Instead, in association with the Air Caste, they have developed the Sun Shark bomber -- a sleek atmospheric aircraft that is capable of sweeping down from the skies and blasting ground targets with its potent payload. A shoal of Sun Shark bombers flying in tight formation can blast apart even the most surging of Ork WAAAGH!s with a single flyover; for their Pulse Bombs are devastating anti-horde weapons.The T'au doctrine of war places great importance upon dominating the airways above any battlefield they deploy to. It is their commonly-held belief that controlling the skies is the first step in winning the engagement, and T'au aircraft such as the Razorshark and Barracuda enable this. By making the elimination of enemy flyers a priority, ground troops are allowed to concentrate on their targets without having to concern themselves with any threat from above.This strategy thereby enables the T'au to make full use of their mobile ground support assets. With no enemy flyers to worry about, the Sun Shark shoals are better able to line up their devastating bombing runs while Razorshark fighters fly circles around enemy infantry or armour, using the range and potent hitting power of their ion weapons to pick off foes from beyond the range of most return fire.With full aerial supremacy, the T'au are free to concentrate their flexible firepower when and how they need to -- efficiently isolating and destroying enemy assets one by one. In the hands of an experienced T'au Commander, the fine-tuned coordination of air attacks in the skies above the battlefield can make a Hunter Cadre very adaptable and extremely lethal.During an attack run, Sun Sharks are a blur of motion, and their crew are more likely to trust their speed and jinking ability over any amount of armour. Using their extreme speed, Sun Sharks can rapidly pass over an enemy and release their bombs before the enemy realises the aircraft is even there. Often called in as air support by T'au Commanders to bomb enemy positions and hit key targets that would otherwise be unreachable, Sun Sharks support T'au ground forces by providing much needed heavy ordnance from the air.Many a desperate Pathfinder or Fire Warrior Team owe their continued existence to Sun Shark shoals, most notably due to the Seeker Missiles they carry, which they call in using Marker Lights. Their ability to strike enemy vehicles or make short work of armoured infantry with the help of nearby air support greatly increases their chances for survival.It is of note that Sun Sharks are also capable of operating in space, and often fulfill the role of an attack craft for T'au fleets in void combat by performing void-based bombing missions on enemy capital starships.