Barracudas

The Barracuda air superiority fighter is the most common atmospheric combat aircraft used by the T’au Air Caste. Faster than the Imperial Navy’s Marauder bomber, but lacking the high maximum speed of the Thunderbolt or Lightning fighter, it makes up for this lack with its sophisticated electronic systems and the natural talents of its T’au Air Caste pilots. In a dogfight, the Thunderbolt and the Barracuda are very closely matched, with the Thunderbolt having the edge in speed, and the Barracuda having the greater manoeuverability. Imperial pilots of the Aeronautica Imperialis often have a hard edge of combat experience that the pilots of the Air Caste find hard to match, though the superior handling and armament of the Barracuda often proves decisive in encounters between T’au and Imperial combat aircraft.