Taros Air War Campaign Book is coming once things settle down and today there is an article digging into what is happening on the planet Taros. It sounds like a great installment of background lore and plenty of locations to build armies for both Aeronautica Imperialis and 40k.
Technology Versus Tenacity in the Skies Over Taros
via the Warhammer Community
The upcoming Taros Air War Campaign Book for Aeronautica Imperialis is packed full of incredible new art and background material that dives deep into the T’au Empire’s Air Caste. On top of that, we also get to see more of the aircraft used by different branches of the Imperial Navy, like those seconded to the Astra Militarum. Before we get to them, let’s talk a bit about Taros itself.
Taros, the Hollow World
Predating even the Imperium of Mankind, Taros was an ancient human mining colony. For millennia, the people toiled and dutifully turned over a tithe from their planet’s rich mineral deposits in return for protection and security – or so the Adeptus Terra believed. In truth, the planetary governor had struck a devil’s bargain with the T’au Empire. When this perfidy was discovered, the jealous Imperium deployed a subjugation force to return the planet to its rightful place.
As it happened, the T’au Empire wasn’t about to give up their prize so easily. Taros had been claimed during the Third Sphere Expansion, and was now considered a part of the ever-growing xenos empire. When the Imperium arrived to take it back, they were surprised to find an entrenched and established adversary nestled into planet-wide defensive networks.
Battles Both High and Low
The people of Taros had been working closely with the T’au Empire for far longer than the Imperium knew, and the invading armies found ample evidence of treachery in the form of T’au architecture and technology. One of the grandest structures was a space elevator that delivered raw materials up and out of the atmosphere to orbital processing plants. The xenos called it the Supremacy of Earth and Air, but the Imperial forces simply dubbed it ‘the Needle’. Many of the fiercest air battles swirled around the dizzying heights of this soaring landmark, but some of the most intense fighting took place far below…
The relentless efforts of thousands of years of human mining, in addition to the coldly efficient drones of T’au Empire, resulted in a planet festooned with subterranean caverns large enough to house entire cities. During the course of the war, daring pilots on both sides took the fight underground. Meanwhile, the desiccated and sweltering surface offered little cover for the massive Astra Militarum invading force, and so the air war was often fought dangerously close to the terrain or in yawning chasms and canyons.
Skies of Fire
The Imperium of Man played the war to their core strength – nearly limitless legions of Astra Militarum troops and columns of heavy armour. Exposed as they were, the ground troops quickly came to rely on the Imperial Navy for defence.
The T’au Air Caste wielded sleek aircraft fitted with sophisticated targeting sensors that gave them an edge in low visibility situations, whilst their extensive use of drones kept pilots alive longer than those of other races. Both fighters and bombers mounted a variety of weaponry, each deadlier than the last, to eviscerate ground targets and send opposing aircraft spiralling to a fiery death.
The Imperial Navy countered this with fleets of Avenger and Lightning Fighters, protecting squadrons of Valkyrie Assault Craft as they redeployed entire regiments of the Astra Militarum where they were most needed. Vulture Gunships stalked the skies, ready to unleash hell with punisher gatling cannons. The Imperial fleets relied on their numbers to swarm the enemy.
Ultimately, the war came down to a test of high technology against sheer grit and determination, with neither side willing to back down in the face of horrendous destruction.
If you think this sounds intense, you’re absolutely on the right track. You’ll have to check out the Taros Air War Campaign Book to learn more! Don’t forget, if you have an Imperial Navy squadron, these new units combine seamlessly with your existing collection, ready to conduct daring raids on the Needle and dogfight through canyons and caverns.
We’ll take a closer look at both sides of the conflict later on, so stay sharp!