Canon

AV-14 Hornet

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This article is about the UNSC aircraft. For the nuclear weapon of the same name, see M441 Hornet Remote Explosive System.
AV-14 Attack VTOL
HW2 Blitz Hornet.png
HWunit Hornet.pngA cropped screenshot of an AV-14 Hornet.
The AV-14 (top) and AV-14B (bottom) variants of the Hornet.
Production information

Manufacturer:

Misriah Armory[1][2]

Technical specifications

Length:

9.6 meters (31.4 ft)[1][2]

Width:

8.7 meters (28.5 ft)[1][2]

Height:

4.5 meters (14.6 ft)[2]

Mass:

3.7 metric tons (3.6 LT; 4.1 ST)[2]

Engine(s):

2 turbofan/turbojet engines

Armament:

AV-14
AV-14B
Transport/NMPD

Crew:

Complement:

4 passengers[1][2]

Usage

Affiliation:

 

The AV-14 Attack VTOL,[1][2] or Attack VTOL-14[3][6] (colloquially nicknamed the Hornet), is a VTOL attack aerodyne manufactured by Misriah Armory.[2]

Overview[edit]

A screenshot of the AV-14 Hornet on the map Skyline.
A Hornet in the city of Mindoro using its chin-mounted searchlight.[7]

Design details[edit]

The Hornet is a multi-purpose attack aerodyne similar to other craft like the AV-19 SkyHawk, AV-22 Sparrowhawk, AV-30 Kestrel and AV-49 Wasp. It is generally used for combat reconnaissance, close-air support, covert infantry insertions, and air strikes against isolated targets.[2] It is capable of engaging both ground and air targets, making it capable in a variety of circumstances.[1]

Hornets are particularly compact aircraft that pack a single-pilot[1][2] cockpit (twin-seater in tandem configuration on some variants, see below)[4], two skids capable of seating up to four passengers, and a variety of weapon systems into a frame measuring 9.6 meters (31.4 ft) in length.[1][2] Above and to the aft of the cockpit are a set of wings fitted with what appear to be advanced turbofan engines mounted on a set of gimbles. The turbofans are able to rotate around, providing the Hornet with its primary propulsion and making it fairly agile to manoeuvre.

A landing skid is placed on either side of the main fuselage. The skids each contain a single crash seat though are each able to support up to two embarked infantry, or four total per-craft. This lets the Hornet act as an impromptu troop transport for deploying small teams of infantry in a covert manner, though the infantry themselves are unprotected from incoming counterfire.[2] However, infantry embarked on the skids can contribute their own weaponry to the Hornet's defence; this commonly manifests in the form of wingmen armed with M41 SPNKr rocket launchers, which are able to enhance the Hornet's anti-tank and anti-air capabilities.[8][9] Alternatively, the Hornet can be used as a mobile platform to host a sniper armed with an anti-materiel weapon such as an SRS99-AM sniper rifle or M99 Stanchion.[10]

There are over a dozen distinct Hornet variants in active production,[2] though the two most prolific are the AV-14 and AV-14B. They differ primarily in the type, number, and placement of their machine gun weaponry.

An AV-14 Hornet firing its M651 missile launchers.
An AV-14B Hornet firing its twin M651 missile launchers.

Armaments[edit]

The armament equipped by the Hornet differs depending on the model. The standard AV-14 loadout consists of a single long-barrelled 20mm GAU-23/AW/Linkless Feed Autocannon fitted to the nose of the craft,[3][11] alongside twin M651 missile launchers affixed to the landing skids.[6][9