There's a bit of a discrepancy with the stats of Lightnings. They're used in a couple of lists, with different stats, but no official or approved list, and as there's no AC for the Navy I thought it best to discuss it openly to come to an agreement.
First, what do we know about the Lightnings. They're a faster, lighter plane than Thunderbolts, with less thick armour. There are two varients:
The Lightning Attack Fighter, armed with a twin lascannon and long barrelled autocannon, is designed as an interceptor, intended to be the best anti air plane the Imperium has.
The Lightning Strike Fighter swaps the autocannon for a pair of Hellstrike missiles, and is much more intended as a ground attack specialist.
Although the background says they are less well-armoured, the 40k rules for them have the same armour profile as the Thunderbolt. The long barreled autocannon has a significantly longer range than a normal autocannon (72"). Hellstrike missiles are basically one-shot battle cannon shots.
My Adeptus Ministorum list has:
Code:
Lightning Fighter AC Fighter - n/a n/a
Long-barrel Autocannon 45cm AP5+/AT6+/AA6+ FxF
Twin Lascannons 30cm AT4+/AA4+ FxF
The Elysians have:
Code:
Lightning Fighter AC Fighter 6+ n/a n/a
Lightning Autocannon 30cm AA5+ FxF
Wingtip Lascannons 30cm AT6+/AA5+ FxF
Lightning Strike Fighter AC Fighter 6+ n/a n/a
Wingtip Lascannons 30cm AT6+/AA5+ FxF
2x Underwing Rockets 30cm AT4+ FxF
I think that our aim should be to get something on par with a Thunderbolt in terms of cost.
Let's start with the areas we can definitely agree on:
Speed: Fighter - It's a pure fighter, faster than a thunderbolt.
Can we agree on the naming? It should be "Lightning Attack Fighter" and "Lightning Strike Fighter", as seen on this blurb from the FW webstore:
"The kit comes with the option of a centreline Autocannon for its 'Attack' variant or an additional two Hellstrike Missiles on a centreline mount for its 'Strike' variant."
Weapon naming:
The correct names for the weapons are:
Long Barreled Autocannon
Twin Lascannons
Hellstrike Missiles
Given that the "one weapon>one profile" rule doesn't apply to aircraft, I think we can agree to stick with these names, whatever the stats.
A direct conversion of Hellstrike Missile stats from 40k gives AP4+AT4+, but I can understand hesitation about giving two of those to a plane every turn!
Armour: There are two options here: 6+ or no armour. The background suggests the plane is more lightly armoured than the Thunderbolt (30mm hull armour compared to 45mm), and it is described as being less robust. However, the 40k and AI rules for them have the same armour. Basically, this one can go either way.
Autocannon: The weapon in 40k is specifically a Long Barreled Autocannon, and I believe that additional range needs to be represented in epic, so it should be 45cm compared to the usual 30cm that a plane mounted autocannon would have. The other argument is whether it needs to be able to ground attack with it. Personally I can swing either way on this one.
Lascannons: 40k treats these as a twinned, and I think that's fine since they're fixed forward on each wingtip. I believe AA4+ is the correct stat for them, as air based lascannons are normally AA5+, and it really helps hammer home the air to air speciality.
Thoughts?