Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Ilyushin Il-8 Shturmovik

"Look at the POWER of a FLYING TANK!"

-The Shturmovik Attack Plane motto

The Ilyushin Il-8 Shturmovik is the ground attack aircraft that replaces the Su-34 Fullback for Gorizont Division. Planned to be voiced by Joe Dempsie.

History
"Don't make me come down there!"

-Shturmovik pilot encountering a patrol of Hydrofoils

The fast and manoeuvrable Alliance tank divisions have always been a major problem for Voshkod commanders due to their capability to harass the slower and less manoeuvrable Voshkod tanks. They can appear out of nowhere, outmanoeuvre and outflank the Voshkod forces, destroy the weaker support vehicles and speed away before an effective resistance can be initiated and reinforcements brought to bear. With Twinblade, Hunchback and Hind helicopters being occupied in the transportation of Voshkod ground troops on the front lines, the Voshkod desperately needed a fast tank destroyer that could protect their vital supply lines. YaKs were fast, but they lacked any anti-tank firepower. Failed experiments to arm YaKs proved that the airframe was too light and unsuited for anti-tank weapons, which degraded the YaK's structural integrity over time. MiGs could strafe enemy tank formations, but their missiles weren't designed to track ground units, let alone destroy them. Voshkod Command thus issued a request for a new anti-tank strike craft.

The initial plans were for a tactical bomber, similar to the Aquilan F-117 Nighthawk and the Andoran Vindicator. However, without the laser guidance Vindicators possessed, pilots would have had to drop their ordnance blindly, which would have resulted in a loss of accuracy and a tendency to miss the target. Leech beams on aircraft were attempted; however, the Voshkods soon discovered a problem with that idea. The leech beam would pull the plane towards its target, usually ending in a kamikaze-style collision between a Voshkod aircraft and its target if the aircraft couldn't break lock first. Many designs were tried and tested, and all of them ended in spectacular, sometimes comical, failures. One such failure was the Lencarov, with twin wing-mounted 50mm autocannons. The Lencarov performed admirably, until one autocannon jammed and the recoil from the other autocannon sent it spiralling out of control faster than a helicopter rotor blade. The test pilot managed to eject safely but was said to have suffered from blackouts, dizziness and constant vomiting for the next few weeks.

The Ilyushin Design Bureau hadn't had a single design of theirs produced in quite a while since the Il-102 Sturmovik, lost to the Sukhoi Su-25 in the last competition. Hoping to get back into aircraft production and seeing the failures of all the other attempts, Ilyushin began the development of an anti-tank aircraft. Starting with bits and pieces of discarded Il-40 and Il-102 planes around their hangars and several 85mm autoloading cannons 'borrowed' from several Rhinos, they built their plane around the cannons. Mounting immensely long wings and two of their most powerful engines, they presented their design.

Everyone's jaw at the competition dropped. With a wingspan of 25 m and only 15 m from nose to tail, it looked ridiculous. Even more ridiculous were the two 85mm cannons mounted smack down the nose of the plane. One evaluator, a retired air force colonel, was famously quoted to have said, "If that thing ever gets off the ground, I will eat my hat." He was sent to the hospital later after nearly choking on his ushanka. Miraculously, the plane took off. With its two turbojet engines, it easily caught up with a passing YaK. As it approached the line of tanks it was supposed to destroy, somehow it fired its entire payload of 10 rounds without a hitch before turning back to land at the airfield. It was clear that against all odds, Ilyushin Design Bureau had designed a winner, albeit only given to Gorizont, as other Voshkod air forces prefer the advanced Su-34 Fullbacks.