TY7 Devilfish Troop Carrier

Lore & history

Fluid mobility is the cornerstone of both the Kauyon ('Patient Hunter') and Mont'ka ('Killing Blow') strategic doctrines of the T'au Fire Caste. Unlike the Imperium of Man, which Willing grinds its regiments in static trench warfare behind lumbering tracked Chimeras, a T'au Hunter Cadre treats holding bare ground as folly. The vehicle that makes their lightning-fast redeployment possible is the TY7 Devilfish: the ubiquitous antigravitic armoured personnel carrier of the T'au Empire.

Gliding smoothly on twin articulated jet-and-gravitic nacelles several metres above mud, rubble, rivers and minefields that would bog down an Imperial tank column, the Devilfish delivers a full twelve-warrior Fire Warrior Strike Team, Breacher Team or Pathfinder squad directly to the decisive firing point, unloads a hail of Burst Cannon and Gun Drone fire, and whisks the warriors away before the enemy's counter-charge can close.

Inside the troop compartment of a TY7 Devilfish, holographic tactical displays linked to the Hunter Cadre's aerial drones and Pathfinder markerlights keep the embarked Fire Warriors updated on every enemy movement outside. When the rear ramp drops and the squad surges out behind a curtain of Burst Cannon and Gun Drone fire, every rifle is already sighted on its assigned target.

Design, mechanism & battlefield effect

Constructed from lightweight, curved nanocrystalline alloy plates that deflect kinetic shells, the TY7 Devilfish is lifted by dual gravitic repulsor arrays and propelled by vectored fusion-jet nacelles capable of high sub-orbital drops from Orca and Manta carriers.

Its chin turret mounts a high-cyclic-rate Burst Cannon, while the recessed wingtip sockets house a pair of detachable MV1 Gun Drones (or twin-linked Smart Missile Systems) that can fight as autonomous wing-turrets or detach mid-battle to form an independent drone squad.

Patterns, variants & doctrine

The TY7 Devilfish chassis is the universal backbone of all T'au Empire armoured vehicles: replacing its troop bay with a heavy turret and capacitor generators creates the TX7 Hammerhead Gunship (armed with a Railgun or Ion Cannon), while fitting an angled missile rack and networked markerlight array produces the TX78 Sky Ray Missile Defence Gunship.

Notable patterns & relic examples

• TY7 Devilfish Troop Carrier: Carries up to twelve Fire Warriors or Pathfinders plus a chin Burst Cannon and two detachable wingtip Gun Drones.
• TX7 Hammerhead Gunship Chassis: The main battle tank derivative of the Devilfish hull, mounting a turret Railgun or Ion Cannon.
• TX78 Sky Ray Gunship: Air-defence and precision-strike variant armed with six Seeker Missiles and dual Velocity Trackers.
• Breacher Cadre Rapid Insertion: The signature Mont'ka tactic of skimming a Devilfish to point-blank range and disembarking Pulse Blaster teams.

Wielded & Fielded By

Characters (4)

• 
  Commander Shadowsun · O'Shaserra, Supreme Commander of the Fire Caste
• 
  Commander Farsight · O'Shovah, Commander of the Farsight Enclaves
• 
  Aun'Va · Ethereal Supreme
• 
  Commander Puretide · Master Strategist of the T'au

Units (4)

PathfindersXV8 Crisis BattlesuitsKroot ShapersVespid Stingwings

Related weapons & vehicles

Drop PodRazorbackOrk Trukk & BattlewagonPulse Rifle, Pulse Carbine & Burst CannonRailgun & Heavy Rail Rifle

Primary Faction

T'au Empire