By:Tetroneaque
Edited by: Dr. Engles/Lord Sendokaze

"Sparrow" Light Scout Aircraft:

The smallest Imperial aircraft, holding only a pilot. It has weak armor and nearly no armaments, sporting only a nose mounted 20mm recoils chain gun. What it lacks in weaponry and defenses, it makes up for in stealth. This aircraft sports a small stealth system, rendering it invisible to radar. It's own radar system is quite advanced, able to relay enemy coordinates in real time to nearby Imperial forces often broadcasting the information directly to ground troops' HUDs. It has high maneuverability, but little else to help keep it alive once spotted.

"Hawk" Fighter Craft:

The Hawk is the most common fighter craft in the Empire. It is rather small, only slightly larger than the "Sparrow" and seats only a pilot. It has substantially more armor than the "Sparrow" and only slightly less maneuverability. It sports twin wing mounted dumbfire rocket pods and a nose mounted twin-linked 30mm chain gun. It is quite effective against air and ground targets. It even sports an afterburner which allows it quick bursts of speed, or the ability to escape a losing battle. Recent models have airbrakes built in the back are capable of slowing down the aircraft for regular or emergency landings.

"Falcon" Heavy Bomber:

The "Falcon" is made for one duty, and one duty alone. That duty, is dropping huge payloads of bombs onto an area and blasting everything beneath it. The "Falcon" sports three seats. A pilot, a bombardier, and a tail gunner. The pilot has access to a 35mm nose mounted chain for attacking air targets, while the tail gunner has access to a swiveling bubble like pod mounted with twin-linked 35mm chain gun for use against pursuing aircraft or ground targets. The bombardier of course, lines up and drops the bombs. Since this craft holds so many bombs it has no systems to accurately target its payload. It was simply more cost effective to add a bombardier than a complicated system. This craft has more armor than the Hawk, but is substantially less agile and much slower. So far it has proved quite effective, both in the air, and in the check books of the Imperial accountants.

"Firebird" Heavy Gunship:

While still technically a smaller airship with a crew of only six, it is still quite a sight on the battlefield. When larger cruisers can't be called in, these ground support vehicles fill the role of air superiority quite well. Able to rain down devastation with two heavy grenade launchers and three tungsten round launching turrets, it is a match for nearly anything on the ground. One pilot, a tail gunner, and two gunners on each side make up the crew. This ship is the largest of the small aircraft. Silk-steel armor makes it able to withstand quite a beating and a low level pseudo energy field give it high survivability. It's energy field uses a battery that must be charged at base before take off, it depletes with each round that impacts it until it simply fails. It does it's job of supporting ground troops though, and its still technically cost effective.

"Vulture" Dropship/Medium Bomber:

Dropship Variant:
The "Vulture" is the primary air transport used by the Empire. Its VTOL system makes it capable of landing just about everywhere. The normal armaments on the" Vulture" is two 30mm chain guns built under the short wings. It has a small reactor that powers up four thrusters, giving the "Vulture a top" speed of about Mach 1.5. The "Vulture" is manned by a crew of two and can carry up to 20 troops or 1 large vehicle.

Bomber Variant:
The "Falcon"'s speed proved disappointing to the Imperial High Command. The rebel flak cannons has no problem tracking them down and then blowing them up. So High Command ordered another smaller bomber built. The result wasn't a new bomber but a bomber based on the design of an existing ship. The bomber variant of "Vulture" or "Vulture B" is a more heavily armored version of its cousin. The troop bay is replaced with a bomber bay that can hold fifty proton bombs or twenty "smart" bombs. The chain guns were moved from the base of the wings to under the cockpit. It is crewed by three: a pilot, a co-pilot, and a bombardier.

"Hydra" Assault Helicopter:

The "Hydra" is a large helicopter used by the Imperial Army for ground support. Its primary armament is two chain guns below the cockpit and rocket pods near the main rotor. A variety of other weapons, such as anti-tank missiles or more rockets can be mounted on the helicopter. It can support four gunners, two on each side, each manning a30mm chain gun. The "Hydra" has one pilot.

Genesis Type 44 Transport Helicopter:

The Type 44 is the largest helicopter ever produced, capable of carrying 125,000 lbs of equipment or 160 troops. Equipped with two Type-77 Turboshafts and a seven rotor blade, the T-44 can go up to 190 miles per hour with full load. The Type 44 is so big that it is crewed by six. Its only weapons is a 50mm machine gun under the cockpit.

Genesis Type 50 Scout Helicopter:

The Type 50 is a small recon/scout helicopter that has weapons and offers minimum armor protection. It is so small that is only has one pilot. The Type 50 is very fast and highly agile.