Eldar Strike Craft
Silent Assassins

DarkStar Fighter

Length: 60 metres

Wing span: 40 metres (main), 15 metres (secondary)

Crew: 1 (sometimes not piloted, instead 'piloted' by a spirit-stone)

Sub-light engine: Unknown

Power supply: Unknown

Standard Armament: 4 Light Star Cannons

Webway capable: Unknown, presumed yes

Lore: Very little is known of this craft due to very few surviving encounters with them.
At first glance, they appear similar to the Fury in shape and size (being quite large for a fighter at 60 metres in length), and their armament of 4 Star Cannons (one per wing-tip, two in the nose) are exceptionally deadly: but that is where similarities with the Fury ends.

For a start, she requires only a pilot: the GhostStar variant, not requiring any crew at all as they are piloted via spirit-stone.

They are nimble beyond imagining compared to any human craft, able to seemingly turn on the spot and immediately change course and direction: dodging even the most well-aimed las bolts in mid-flight, this advantage only exaggerated by the Eldar pilots super-human reaction speeds.
It is also nightmarishly difficult to target, yet alone hit, a DarkStar. They have similar Holo-Field technology equipped to Eldar warships, confusing augurs and cogitators into believing there are in fact hundreds of targets, none of which may show the actual location of the DarkStar on scopes.

Fortunately for Imperial shipping, most don't have any missile, torpedo or bomb armament (although the Star Cannons can still do damage to even heavily armoured Imperial Escorts and System vessels) and are launched only in small squadrons that never seem to exceed 4 craft. Eldar Corsair and Craftworld carriers also don't carry very many strike craft. Most only carrying a total of 16 DarkStars, only the dreaded Void Stalker can carry significantly more at roughly 50 fighters total.

Raptor Fighter

Length: 50 metres

Wing span: 30 metres

Crew: 1

Sub-light engine: Unknown

Power supply: Unknown

Standard Armament: 2 Splinter Cannons (wing-base mounted), 2 Dark Lances (Nose Mounted), 8 'Raptor' missiles (wing mounted)

Webway capable: Unknown, presumed yes

Lore: This is a craft so rarely sighted, many believe it simply doesn't exist. Little more than a myth whispered by scared voids men of a small craft that could fell capital ships, defeat whole squadrons of fighters, and then disappear behind a veil of shadows. Unfortunately for them, it does exist.

The Raptor is the Dark Eldar's most powerful void-capable fighter, featuring many of the advantages seen on the Corsair and Craftworld's Dark Star fighter but with greatly improved striking power. The Dark Lances and splinter cannons able to swat any other strike craft out of the sky with ease, and featuring missile warheads that seemingly never miss there targets and can prove fatal to any foe unfortunate enough to receive one.

The reason for this ship's existence is unclear to Imperial scholars, as the Dark Eldar already utilises a wide array of aerial vehicles that are capable of void combat, although non are as effective as the Raptor as a fighter or an assault craft. It is believed the Drak Eldar Archons wanted a fighter that could directly compete with (and defeat) the DarkStar in void combat. Whatever there reasoning, the Raptor is rightly seen as one of the most powerful all-around strike craft in the galaxy. Performing more like a fighter-bomber than a true fighter, explaining the lack of a Dark Eldar Void-bomber, although the VoidRaven is occasionally employed as a void-bomber in a similar fashion to the Marauder bomber in the Imperial Navy.

Eagle Bomber

Length: 80 metres

Wing span: 60 metres (main), 30 metres (secondary)

Crew: 1 (sometimes not piloted, instead 'piloted' by a spirit-stone)

Sub-light engine: Unknown

Power supply: Unknown

Standard Armament: 2 Light Star Cannons, 1 Light Shadow Lance, 10 bomb warheads (Plasma, Vortex or Sonic) or 20 missile warheads (Plasma, Vortex or Sonic)

Webway capable: Unknown, presumed yes

Lore: These are considered by many to be the deadliest bombers known to man.
They have more in common with fighters than bombers. They are fairly small for bombers and extremely nimble, able to easily outrun and outmaneuver most fighters. She typically has a crew of one, which is also unusual for a bomber (ghost variants having no crew). She also has the same holo fields as all Eldar spacecraft.

Her armaments for her size, however, are brutal. She has 2 Star Cannons and a down-scaled Shadow Lance (all in the nose) and a small payload of very exotic warheads. While she never carries more than one torpedo, 10 bombs or 20 missiles the warheads are equipped with far deadlier ordnance.

Sonic Charge Warheads can shake apart a ship or station to its very foundations and cause irreparable damage to the ship's innards, Vortex torpedoes can rip chunks of a ship's hull in oblivion and plasma torpedoes which can phase inside of even the thickest of armour and rend a ship's hull apart as it detonates from beneath.

Again, the Imperium counts itself fortunate that these bombers are not more numerous. They have not yet been seen deployed in groups larger than 3 and most carriers don't carry more 8 in total, although the number of Eagles that can launch from a Void Stalker add to the incredible fear said ship inspires in the hearts of experienced admirals: it being able to launch 20 of the deadly bombers.

Slavebringer Assault Boat

Length: 60 metres

Wing span: 40 metres

Crew: 1 (space for approximately 30 boarders)

Sub-light engine: Unknown

Power supply: Unknown

Standard Armament: N/A

Webway capable: Unknown, presumed yes

Lore: The Slavebringer is the smaller cousin of the dreaded Impaler Assault Module often fitted to Dark Eldar warships. It is little more than a giant needle-shaped shuttle, devoid of weaponry or point defence, designed with the sole purpose of close the distance with opposing vessels quickly and boarding them to ferry back a cargo of slaves bound for Commorragh.

There is nothing sophisticated or subtle about this vessel or its intentions, ad its lack of weaponry and sleek profile, combined with a dark eldar pilot's reaction speed and powerful engines, make it infernally difficult to stop with tradition point defence weapons. The best hope against a wave of such vessels is faith, and a large fighter screen.