Sky Ray - Tactical Role: During the Damocles Gulf Crusade, the T'au learned many lessons about the Imperium's military forces, and the T'au quickly adapted their new knowledge to practical battlefield uses. The Sky Ray is an example of this, and was developed by the T'au Earth Caste after the end of the Crusade as a direct response to Imperial airpower.Early versions of the Sky Ray required the crew to manually find and lock-on to targets with its missiles, but it has since been integrated into the wider Marker Light control network which greatly enhanced its battlefield effectiveness.On the battlefield, a TX78 Sky Ray is a grav-tank that glides behind the front lines, using its twin Marker Lights to sweep the horizon -- seeking to find and lock-on to either ground or airborne targets. The Sky Ray's advanced targeting systems and ability to launch its missiles with enormous accuracy from long distances at low-flying enemy aircraft makes it extremely effective in its primary anti-aircraft role.However, it can also be used in ground combat in conjunction with Pathfinder teams as an artillery and/or direct strike vehicle due to its fast targeting system re-calibration. With Pathfinders far out front, the Sky Ray is typically positioned behind the main battle line of Fire Warriors. In this way, it provides an effective air defence while still being able to aid the infantry against ground targets.Should enemy targets be acquired, the crew can launch a Seeker Missile, a deadly rocket that streaks away faster than the eye can follow. Thanks to its Velocity Tracker, a Sky Ray can lock its missiles onto any target it can see -- including the fast moving flyers of the Imperial Navy. The Seeker Missiles that they carry are so fast that many enemy pilots are hit and downed before they can even take evasive manoeuvres.Yet the Sky Ray is not only deadly to flyers, as many enemy tanks have learned. If the target is light infantry, not worth one of the limited Seeker Missiles, a Sky Ray will instead use its pair of Marker Lights to light up the foe -- making them easier prey for the guns of nearby Fire Warriors. Even enemy commanders have found themselves suddenly lit up by Marker Lights and then targeted by Seeker Missiles to devastating effect.The crew of the Sky Ray rely heavily on their interactions with the forward infantry teams and are in constant contact with them, coordinating fire and determining the viability of targets.For all their effectiveness, Sky Rays are rarely encountered in large numbers on the battlefield. The Sky Ray does suffer from a lack of ammunition-carrying capacity, which means it cannot operate effectively for longer periods of time.Many T'au Commanders eschew using them in favour of Hammerheads due to their lack of armour protection and ammunition deficiencies. Sky Rays are commonly deployed as a single vehicle attached to a Hunter Cadre, or as part of a defence for important strategic locations such as T'au airbases, power generators and headquarters.It is also not unusual to find a Sky Ray as support for an Armoured Interdiction Cadre, although some Septs prefer to field impressive Sky Shields -- a trio of Sky Rays whose interlocking Marker Lights and extensive arsenal of missiles provides an umbrella of protection to the ground forces below. Sky Rays are indispensable weapons for T'au forces facing opponents that maintain strong air support forces.