Tu-330 AC
| German Rebells Tupolev Tu-330 AC Gunship | ||||||||
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The Tu-330 Attack/Cargo (shortened Tu-330 A/C or simply Tu-330 AC) is an air transport and gunship based on the Tu-330 transport plane that was in use by the Dynastian Red Army during World War III. After having been phased out of service within the main Dynastian Red Army Air Force by the introduction of the Neo-MiG, the craft apparently continued to serve in the armed forces of individual city-states, territories, local commanders and Leninist Protectorates within the territory of the LD, but according to the latest Factbook of the Leninist Dynasty, the craft has completely passed from official military service.
Also, Tu-330s, either modified or standard, fell into the hands of rebell factions all over the world, including those that oppose the Leninist Dynasty, like the Phoenix Empire (later African Empire), and Islamic Union and their assorted terrorist factions.
While the Islamic Union does not list Tu-330s or Tu-330 ACs as part of their regular equipment, the African Empire does employ them as regular units, and the most notable faction to use them as regular fighting units is German Rebells, a South German group which actually fights the Dynasty and propably received the aircraft it has from capturing and reverse-engineering dynastian craft in the Southern Capital (former Munich) during their short occupation of that city.
The line between the regular Tu-330 and an AC is somewhat blurred, since individual factions often modify basic transport Tu-330s with weapons to tun them into gunships.
It shares several armament and doctrine characteristics with the cancelled soviet Tu-91 naval attack bomber. The armament is a Stalin organ-like unguided rocket / RPG / grenade launcher identical to the weapon employed on the Aryan Empire's (and later German Rebell's) "Natter" rocket aircraft and the LD's C-5 "Organ" cyborg cannoneer infantry. The German Rebells modification has served as a benchmark for Tu-330 armament globally, therefore, regardless of the faction that uses them, most Tu-330 ACs classed as regular combat aircraft share this weaponry.
