Jetfighter 5

[Miqueo Snyder]

TheNephilim Jetfighter is a fighter aircraft utilized by the Dark Angels and their Successor Chapters. Employed by their Ravenwing formations, the main role of the Nephilim Jetfighter is to conduct interceptor or air superiority missions over the battlefield, clearing the skies to allow their brethren on the ground to operate without fear of enemy air attacks. Of a robust and sturdy design, they are most commonly armed with twin-linked Heavy Bolters, twin-linked Lascannons, and six Blacksword Missiles.[1] Some are also equipped with Avenger Mega Bolters.[2]

The Nephilim Jetfighter has only been used by the Unforgiven since M40, when the STC for improved jet engines was discovered by the Dark Angels while hunting a suspected Fallen known as Baelor the Imposter in the Nephilim Sector. Designated the Lionheart Engine, the technology was used to modify older aircraft designs and the end product was an agile fighter with improved speed. The Nephilim has proven itself on innumerable occasions, perhaps most notably during the Piscina IV campaign, when a trio of Nephilim Jetfighters were able to shoot down four dozen Ork aircraft. By keeping the skies clear of foes, they allowed the Dark Angels and local PDF to hold out against the Greenskin advance.[2]

Since then, the Nephilim has been a common sight in Unforgiven hands. In 146.M41 the Ravenwing formation was tasked with special reconnaissance missions during a massive tank battle between the Imperial Guard and Eldar on Kundra. After pressing deep into Eldar territory, the Dark Angels found themselves beset on all sides by the xenos' Grav-tanks. However with the aid of Nephilim jetfighters, the Ravenwing was able to clear the skies of the flying tanks and Jetbikes and win the day.[2]

Ukrainian officials have urged US Congress members to press President Joe Biden's administration to send F-16 jetfighters to Kyiv, saying the aircraft would boost Ukraine's ability to hit Russian missile units with US-made rockets, lawmakers said.

The lobbying came over the weekend on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in talks between Ukrainian officials, including Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and Democrats and Republicans from the Senate and House of Representatives.

"They told us that they want (F-16s) to suppress enemy air defenses so they could get their drones" beyond Russian front lines, Senator Mark Kelly, a former astronaut who flew US Navy fighters in combat, told Reuters on Saturday evening.

Four delegations from the Senate and House combined in what members called the largest number of US lawmakers to attend Europe's premier security gathering since it started in 1963, demonstrating clear bipartisan support for Ukraine.

The conference - primarily focused on Ukraine - came days before the Feb. 24 anniversary of Russia's invasion. The sides have been locked in grinding battles, mostly in the eastern Donbas region, following a string of Russian defeats.

Kelly and three other lawmakers who spoke to Reuters about their talks with Ukrainian officials said they believed that support was building in Congress to provide Ukraine with F-16s, one of the world's most versatile multi-role jetfighters.

Ukraine's air force has adapted US-made AGM-88 HARM air-to-surface rockets to fire from their Soviet-designed MiG-29 jetfighters. The rockets hone in on the electronic transmissions from radars of surface-to-air missile units.

The Ukrainians said their pilots could more effectively target Russian S-300 and S-400 air defense missile units with the AGM-88 if the rockets were fired using the F-16s' more advanced avionics, lawmakers said.

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