Harakoni Warhawks
"Hitler made only one big mistake when he built his Atlantic Wall... he forgot to put a roof on it."
- – Stephen E. Ambrose, Band of Brothers (the book)
Take the Elysian Drop Troops, add 50% more badass, and replace their flak jackets with carapace armour and you have the Harakoni Warhawks, one of the most elite Guard drop units in the galaxy.
Origins[edit]
All Harakoni Warhawks hail from the Hive World of Harakon. Thanks to the planet’s lower gravity, the spires of its Hive Cities stretch to the upper atmosphere. Their homeworld also hosts massive airborne creatures called Vapour Wyrms, which the Harakoni population hunt through the valleys using grav-gliders. This experience provides them with excellent skills in high-altitude jumps and judging air currents. Residents of Harakon speak a deviant dialect of Low Gothic called Konndar, which is quite distinctive.
Organization, Equipment, and Operations[edit]
The Harakoni Warhawks are heavy jump infantry. Where a light infantry force like the Elysians typically makes initial assaults or performs low-footprint reconnaissance missions, heavy infantry forces fight out pitched battles and set-piece slugfests that require a much different loadout and tactical approach. The Harakoni Warhawks are unique among Guard regiments for their universal issue of the more-protective carapace armour to increase survivability in the meatgrinder of heavy infantry operations. The tradeoff is reduced tactical mobility due to the increased weight, which the Harakoni offset by making their initial deployments via airborne insertion.
In keeping with their heavy infantry mission, Harakoni Warhawks make full use of Heavy and Special Weapons Squads, allowing them to pack a MUCH stronger punch. Since they’re a drop regiment, they have no armoured vehicles. Couple this with their lower numbers as a heavy infantry force and support from other regiments becomes crucial to their continued survival. GW is somewhat loathe to supply us with examples of them fighting in the 41st Millenium for some fuckwit reason.
Basically when you absolutely, positively, need to GET SHIT DONE and require the kind of force that is able to deal with high-threat environments and come out on top, the Warhawks will not disappoint.
Playing the Warhawks[edit]
As of 7th Edition and the introduction of the Tempestus Scions, the Harakoni are now more easily represented than ever. While Elysians are meant for airborne invasions and high-mobility operations utilizing their air-transportable vehicles, the Harakoni are smaller elite insertion teams brimming with special weapons and carapace armour. This makes them ideal candidates to be represented by the Militarum Tempestus. While the basic Scions have very... Distinctive models, an alternative consists of splicing together Cadian bits (including the Forge World Hostile Environment sets) and greenstuff, possibly including Anvil Industry PASGT with Gasmask or Council Marine Helmets. If you can get hold of them now that Forge World has ceased production, Elysian Grav-Chutes are another key bit in any Harakoni Warhawks model, though failing that, Mad Robot Miniatures produces Grave-Chute/Jump Packs that will work just fine. Mad Robot Miniatures also makes "Maraconi Nighthawks", for about the same price as GW's Cadians.