Horus-Class Thermal Airship

The Horus-Class is an aircraft in Vekllei.

The Horus-class naval survey thermal airship is a class of military airship in service with the Aero Services. Its official role is as a survey airship, but its equipment and armament means it is primarily used for surveillance and early warning at the periphery of Vekllei waters. It has a sophsiticated suite of sensors and radars that are able to see beyond the horizon, making it invaluable as a mobile platform for ground and air surveillance in the vast interior areas of the Atlantic.

The Horus-class is a thermal airship, which means it is partially buoyant through hot air produced by the ship’s reactor. This air primarily controls altitute, and is supplemented by vast hydrogen envelopes at the fore and aft that maintain static buoyancy. The vessel is propelled by electric propellors that are arranged in a external ring around the rear third of the ship, and has four electric jet engines for moving at speed.

Access to the ship is provided by a ventral boarding compartment that is lowered to the ground like a lift, and there is stair access in the nose and aft bridge. The class also has a dorsal hanger for helicopters, which can be equipped with a variety of sensor packages or munitions. A single twin-armed launcher provides onboard defence of the airship, which relies heavily on its stored aircraft for defence.

There are two Horus-class airships in service: the Cold Watch and Black Horizon. Cold Watch is stationed in the Vekllei Lucaya and Antilles, and Black Horizon operates in the Volcanic Commonwealth and the Arctic. Both are capable of detecting ballistic missile launches from thousands of kilometres away, but also serve roles in maritime surveillance and geospatial defence work.