Transport aircraft

Aircraft with a transport capacity on their datasheet are known as transport aircraft — they can embark, transport and disembark ground units. The number and types of unit a transport aircraft unit can carry is stated on its datasheet.

Use of aircraft to transport ground units

Need to look at scope to rationalise along with war engine transports topic.

Treat transport aircraft in the same manner as transport war engines. You can use your transport aircraft formation to embark and transport ground formations only where there is enough transport capacity available.

• While embarked on transport aircraft, keep the formations you are transporting out of the play area, in reserve.
• You may embark and transport units out of the play area and return them again later in the same transport aircraft.

• If your transport aircraft is destroyed while it is in flight then any embarked formations are destroyed too (no saves!).

To use your transport aircraft formation to transport ground units into or out of the play area you must declare a Ground Attack action and state whether you will attempt a Landing or an Air Assault mission.

Landing and Air Assault missions both start off like a normal Ground Attack action, but the attack steps are different — as befits each mission type.

Landing

Landing allows you to deliver embarked ground units from outside the play area (in reserve). Or, you can embark units already in the play area so that you can use the transport aircraft's disengagement move to transport them out of the play area in the End phase (so that both the ground units and the transport aircraft are back in reserve together).

Your transport aircraft will be able to shoot alongside any ground units that disembark.

1. Ground attacking player: Declare that your aircraft formation will attempt the Ground Attack action with a Landing mission and take an Action test as normal. If you succeed, continue below.
2. Ground attacking player: Set up your attacking transport aircraft formation so that it is touching your table edge, to show where it will enter play.
3. Ground attacking player: Make an approach move with your formation and position it where you want to land to embark or disembark your ground units.
4. Defending player: If you have formations on Combat Air Patrol (CAP), you may now declare that you will make a CAP interception with one of them. Resolve this interception:
   1. Defending player: Make an approach move with your CAP interceptors and position them to shoot at the ground attackers.
   2. Ground attacking player: Resolve any flak attacks that you are entitled to make against the CAP interceptors from your ground units and from your defending ground attack aircraft.
   3. Defending player: As long as you have surviving CAP interceptors and they did not jink, resolve their shooting against the ground attackers as described for Anti-Aircraft (AA) attacks.
5. Defending player: Resolve any flak attacks that you are entitled to make against the ground attackers from your ground units.
6. Ground attacking player: As long as you have surviving transport aircraft, land them — even if they jinked. Remove your models from their flying stands and place them on the playing surface, or use some other method to indicate that the formation is no longer in flight. If you land your aircraft in dangerous terrain then you must take Dangerous Terrain tests as appropriate.
7. Ground attacking player: Disembark or embark your ground units, as appropriate:

   Disembarking. Place the disembarking units within 5cm of the landed transport aircraft (15cm for Skimmer and Jump Packs units, to represent them powering away from their transport aircraft as it comes in to land).

   Note that the limitations that apply to formations you disembark from a transport war engine also apply to formations you disembark from aircraft — that is, you can't take an action with them on the turn they disembark, but you can use them to shoot along with the aircraft. Treat the transport aircraft and ground units as a single formation this turn.In all respects, for the whole turn? Or only until the end of the action, that is until they finish shooting?

   Embarking. To embark a friendly formation, all its units must be within 5cm of your landed transport aircraft (and of course, you must have sufficient transport capacity available).

8. Ground attacking player: Resolve shooting with both your transport aircraft and any ground units you disembarked, together. Note this means that, in contrast to a normal Ground Attack action, the aircraft shoot from their landed position and are subject to the usual rules for line of fire, Crossfire, and so on. However, the aircraft may not shoot if they jinked (though the ground units still can).
9. Ground attacking player: Your action is now complete. In the End phase, you may choose to make a disengagement move and exit the formation from the play area along with other aircraft (such as any enemy CAP interceptors).

Air Assault

Air Assault allows you to deliver embarked ground units from outside the play area (in reserve) and use them to make an assault as soon as they disembark.

Your transport aircraft will be at greater risk than in a regular Landing, because they form part of the assaulting forces along with the disembarked ground units.

1. Ground attacking player: Declare that your aircraft formation will attempt the Ground Attack action with an Air Assault mission and take an Action test as normal. If you succeed, continue below.
2. Ground attacking player: Set up your attacking transport aircraft formation so that it is touching your table edge, to show where it will enter play.
3. Ground attacking player: Make an approach move with your formation and position it where you want to land and disembark your ground units for the assault.
4. Defending player: If you have formations on Combat Air Patrol (CAP), you may now declare that you will make a CAP interception with one of them. Resolve this interception:
   1. Defending player: Make an approach move with your CAP interceptors and position them to shoot at the ground attackers.
   2. Ground attacking player: Resolve any flak attacks that you are entitled to make against the CAP interceptors from your ground units and from your defending ground attack aircraft.
   3. Defending player: As long as you have surviving CAP interceptors and they did not jink, resolve their shooting against the ground attackers as described for Anti-Aircraft (AA) attacks.
5. Defending player: Resolve any flak attacks that you are entitled to make against the ground attackers from your ground units.
6. Ground attacking player: As long as you have surviving transport aircraft, land them — even if they jinked. Remove your models from their flying stands and place them on the playing surface, or use some other method to indicate that the formation is no longer in flight. If you land your aircraft in dangerous terrain then you must take Dangerous Terrain tests as appropriate.
7. Ground attacking player: Disembark your ground units for the assault:

   Disembarking for assault. Place the disembarking units within 5cm of the landed transport aircraft (15cm for Skimmer and Jump Packs units, to represent them powering away from their transport aircraft as it comes in to land).

   Note that the limitations that apply to formations you disembark from a transport war engine also apply to formations you disembark from aircraft — that is, you can't take an action with them on the turn they disembark, but you can use them to assault along with Firefight from the aircraft. Your disembarking units count as charging as part of an Engage action, so you may enter enemy zones of control. Treat the transport aircraft and ground units as a single formation this turn.In all respects, for the whole turn? Or only until the end of the action, that is until they finish the assault?

8. Ground attacking player: Resolve the assault with both your transport aircraft and any ground units you disembarked, together. Note this means that, in contrast to a normal Ground Attack action, you don't get to shoot with the aircraft — but you do get to add their Firefight in the assault instead. Treat the aircraft and units you disembark as a single formation for the duration of the assault, in the same manner as for disembarking units from a transport war engine during an Engage action. If you lose the assault then your aircraft formation is automatically destroyed — but you can withdraw the disembarked ground units as normal.
9. Ground attacking player: Your action is now complete. In the End phase, you may choose to make a disengagement move and exit the formation from the play area along with other aircraft (such as any enemy CAP interceptors).

Effects while landed

While your transport aircraft are landed, observe all the following points:

• In all respects, treat landed aircraft units as ground units that have a Speed value of 0cm (that is, the only move you can make with them is a disengagement move).
• If your transport aircraft formation becomes involved in an assault while landed, and you lose the assault, then the formation is automatically destroyed (because its units have an effective Speed value of 0cm).
• You may make a disengagement move with your aircraft formation in the End phase of any turn — including the turn in which you landed it.