Aeronautica Imperialis - Faction Review - Orks
The Orks (along with the Imperial Navy) were one of the first two factions released for Aeronautica Imperialis. They've been a core part of the Warhammer 40,000 universe since its earliest days, and in Aeronautica Imperialis, they bring the same chaotic character and ramshackle charm. Orks are a straightforward faction, full of personality, but they aren’t the most powerful force on the table. Choosing to play Orks is a bit like turning the difficulty up to Hard mode.
This article includes several example aircraft with various weapon loadouts, each showing the average damage output you can expect in a single round of firing.
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Ork firepower is most effective at short range, and their aircraft are designed to close the distance with the enemy as quickly as possible. The smaller Dakkajets and Fighta Bommerz boast high speed, allowing them to rapidly engage opposing planes. While the larger Bommerz are slower, they compensate with durability and resilience.
A key strength of the Orks lies in their access to the cheap and cheerful Dakkajet, which allows them to field more aircraft than their opponents. In Aeronautica Imperialis, where players alternate movement and firing actions, this numerical advantage becomes a strategic asset. Less valuable planes can be moved first, baiting out your opponent's responses and revealing their positions. This gives your more critical aircraft the opportunity to react and strike with precision. The core of Ork strategy is using this numerical superiority to control initiative and dictate engagements in the early game.
Overall, Orks play exactly as the lore suggests: they swarm the skies with crude, aggressive aircraft, unload a ridiculous number of dice in a flurry of close-range fire, and then crash and burn in spectacular fashion. They are one of the most challenging factions to master in Aeronautica Imperialis, lacking high-end Ace Manoeuvres and heavy-hitting weapons. But what they lack in finesse, they make up for in sheer fun and mayhem.
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| Some of my Dakkajets |
The Dakkajet is a light fighter designed to close the distance fast and unleash devastating firepower at short range. With one of the highest speeds in the game, it excels at engaging enemies quickly. True to its Orky nature, the Dakkajet is limited to just five Ace Manoeuvres—but crucially, it can still perform a Stall Turn, giving it some tactical flexibility.
This aircraft is cheap. At just 16 points (making it the lowest-cost plane in the game, aside from the Tau Remora), it allows you to field swarms of them. You can add upgrades like Rokkits or an extra Kustom Big Shoota to boost firepower—but be wary. Adding too many upgrades undermines its key strength: volume. Think of Dakkajets like Ork Boyz in Warhammer 40,000—you want lots of them, and you shouldn’t be too concerned if one crashes and burns. More aircraft means more control of initiative, which lets you move your less valuable planes early and keep your best-positioned craft until last, when your opponent has already committed.
Loadout 1 (Barebones). My personal favourite.The base Dakkajet with no upgrades. For its points cost, this is an incredibly efficient and reliable setup.
Loadout 2 (Rokkits). Adds Rokkits, which are especially powerful at short range but are ammo 1, so they’re only effective for one turn. After that, this loadout essentially becomes Loadout 1 again.
Loadout 3 (Extra shooty) Adding an extra Kustom Big Shoota increases your dice pool, turning a decent baseline into a real threat.
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| Some of my FIghta Bommers |
Despite this, the Fighta Bommer compensates with solid forward firepower from its Quad Big Shoota, supported by a Turret Big Shoota and a Tail Gun. These rear-facing weapons help cover its weaker arc and add defensive value, especially in prolonged engagements.
The Fighta Bommer can be tailored for two distinct battlefield roles: dogfighting or ground attack. Loadouts 1–4 focus on aerial combat, while Loadouts 5–8 turn it into a dedicated bomber.
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| Fighter, Fighta Bommer loadouts |
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Loadout 1 (Barebones)
The most basic version, with no upgrades. At 19 points, it’s durable but underwhelming in firepower. -
Loadout 2 (Kustom Big Shoota)
For just 3 more points, this version adds a Kustom Big Shoota, giving a much-needed boost to its forward output. This is a solid all-round fighter. -
Loadout 3–4 (Rokkits)
These loadouts include Rokkits, giving the Fighta Bommer a huge burst in firepower—but only for a single phase (ammo 1).-
Loadout 4 combines Rokkits with a Kustom Big Shoota, creating a serious threat at close range. It’s powerful enough to threaten even a Thunderbolt, potentially dealing close to 3 Structure Points of damage in one round of shooting.
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| Bomber, Fighta Bommer Loadouts |
These versions equip the Fighta Bommer with bombs for ground assault. The damage values for these loadouts assume all bombs are used in a single strike.
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Loadout 6 (Wing Bombs)
Carries three pairs of Wing Bombs, offering multiple smaller bombing runs. -
Loadout 8 (Big Bombs)
My personal preference—this version carries two pairs of Big Bombs, offering heavier damage per strike. Combined with the aircraft’s high speed, it becomes a fast and dangerous ground-attack platform, almost matching the bomb capacity of an ‘Eavy Bommer but at nearly double the speed.
The Fighta Bommer should be the backbone of any Ork Air Waaagh! It offers a strong balance between speed, durability, and customisation. Its only real drawback is its Fighter classification, which means in missions requiring a Bomber, you'll still need to include a Grot Bommer or an ‘Eavy Bommer to meet the scenario requirements.
Whether you’re gunning for dogfights or blasting ground targets, the Fighta Bommer offers flexibility, reliability, and that classic Orky aggression.
The 'Eavy Bommer and Grot Bommer are the Ork Air Waaagh!’s dedicated bomber-class aircraft, and both are notable for their durability, boasting 6 Structure Points each. However, that resilience comes at a cost: they’re slow and highly unmanoeuvrable, making them easy targets in dogfights. What they lack in agility, they make up for in raw firepower and presence.
The 'Eavy Bommer is bristling with weapons. Its numerous Shootas and Turrets provide 360-degree fire arcs, allowing it to shoot in all directions. While this won’t stop a coordinated assault, it can certainly chip away at attacking fighters and even deter less aggressive opponents.
The primary role of the 'Eavy Bommer is, of course, to bomb ground targets. It comes with one set of bombs as standard, but it absolutely needs upgrades to be effective. If possible, opt for Big Bomms over regular ones—the extra damage on a 4+ is well worth the increased points cost.
Interestingly, the 'Eavy Bommer also has a transport capacity of 2, meaning it can drop troops into a landing zone. That said, this is a role better suited to the Grot Bommer, which is cheaper and arguably more efficient for this specific task.
Having built and played with two 'Eavy Bommers, I’m still not convinced they’re always worth the investment. The Fighta Bommer, when equipped with bombs, can perform similar bombing roles with greater speed and flexibility.
Where the 'Eavy Bommer truly shines is in its role as a psychological threat. Opponents tend to fixate on bringing it down, often spending multiple turns pouring fire into it. During that time, your Dakkajets and Fighta Bommers can operate with less interference, which might be the true value of the 'Eavy Bommer.
Ultimately, you'll most likely include this aircraft when a mission specifically requires a bomber, or when you want to soak up enemy fire and disrupt their focus.
he Grot Bommer is another Ork aircraft which is classed as a Bomber. It has the same airframe as the 'Eavy Bommer, giving it 6 Structure Points, slow movement, and access to 3 Ace Manoeuvres. Like its heavier cousin, it has Shootas and Turrets pointing in all directions, which gives it decent defensive firepower. The main differences are that it does not carry conventional bombs, these have been replaced with Grot Bomms, and it has a transport capacity of 3 rather than 2, making it of greater value in missions that require troop delivery compared to the 'Eavy Bommer.
Because of this, the role of the Grot Bommer is quite different. It's not really a bomber in the traditional sense. It’s more of a heavy transport that happens to fire self-guided Grot Bomms. In missions that require Transport, this is my go-to aircraft for the Orks.
The Grot Bomms themselves are a very interesting weapon. They are currently the only Autonomous Weapon in the game. Each Grot Bommer can carry four Grot Bomms and fire two per turn. Once launched, the bomms fly around the board in a relatively straight line. They can’t be attacked, but if they finish their move in the same hex as an aircraft, they may detonate. They cause damage on a 2+, with extra damage on a 4+. If they fail to damage, they continue to fly, creating a lingering threat. It's important to note that Grot Bomms can't be used to attack ground targets, their rules specify they activate when occupying the same hex as another aircraft.
Years ago, I played the Tau in Battlefleet Gothic, and I always used their self-guiding torpedoes in the first turn, not to do damage, but to break up the opponent’s formation. I see the Grot Bomms in much the same way. They should be launched early, sending them flying across the board to disrupt your opponent’s plans. Once all the bomms are in the air, the Grot Bommer can then switch to its secondary job of landing troops.
If nothing else, the Grot Bommer is fun and extremely Orky. It’s likely to act as a bullet magnet and makes a great troop transport. It’s not really a “Bommer” in the traditional sense, that role is better filled by the Fighta Bommerz. But those Grot Bomms are fantastic and can dish out serious damage. With multiple Grot Bombers on the table, it’s entirely possible to wreck an enemy squadron in a single turn.
The Ork Mega Bommer wasn’t part of the original Aeronautica Imperialis release. It came later from Forge World, and it is an absolute beast of a plane. With 10 Structure Points, it has more durability than any other aircraft in the game—even more than the formidable Thunderhawk. The Mega Bommer is also bristling with Shootas and Turrets, giving it firepower in every direction.
When using this aircraft, your goal should be to get it into the middle of the opponent’s force and start stripping structure points from as many enemy aircraft as possible. Start by moving it up one edge of the board, then use its limited manoeuvrability to arc into the centre where it can cause maximum disruption.
The Mega Bommer is also equipped with a Mega Bomb [10/0/0/2+(4+)] that can flatten almost any ground target. On top of that, it can be upgraded with four additional Big Bombs and two pairs of Rokkits. Of course, all this extra firepower comes at a steep points cost, and the Mega Bommer is already one of the most expensive planes in the game.
I don’t see the Mega Bommer as a particularly competitive option, it’s too big, too slow, and too expensive to be a staple in a tournament-style Ork Air Waaagh! But it is undeniably fun and extremely Orky. More than anything, it feels like the centrepiece of a narrative mission, something to build a game around rather than slot into a regular list.
The Flak Platform has a weapon profile of [8/4/2 5+], with an effective altitude of 2. This ground defence is highly effective at Altitude 1 and 2 when targeting aircraft at short range. Unfortunately, its usefulness drops off quickly at longer ranges and higher altitudes. That said, it’s an excellent piece of ground defence, especially when positioned to fire on enemy aircraft attempting to land and drop off troops.
The 'Eavy Flak Platform, by contrast, is simply a big cannon that lobs explosive shells into the skies. It has an effective altitude of 4 and a weapon profile of [2/2/1 4+ (6+)], which lets it steadily thud away at any aircraft that stray into its long range. If you’ve got the points spare, there’s almost always a good reason to include one of these somewhere in your defensive line.
When using Orks, I like to include lots of basic Dakkajets to give me numerical superiority, but I always keep them cheap. After that, I like to add a few fighter-style Fighta Bommers. This means a Fighta Bommer equipped with two pairs of Rokkits and Kustom Sig Shootas, totalling 27 points. It’s a solid, aggressive loadout that can deal serious damage in a single round.
If the mission requires the elimination of ground targets, I’ll bring along a couple of bomber-build Fighta Bommers, preferably with Big Bombs. They’re fast, well-armed, and pack a decent payload, perfect for hit-and-run bombing runs.
For missions that specifically require a plane with the 'Bomber' type, I tend to favour the Grot Bommer if transport is part of the mission objective. If no transport is needed, then the 'Eavy Bommer might be worth considering, but personally, I prefer the Grot Bommer for its versatility and those wonderful Grot Bomms.
Overall, this force is straightforward to play but hard to win with consistently. Orks never make it easy, but they always make it fun. They are up there as my favourite faction in the game.
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No matter which aircraft you choose or how you build your force, remember that the skies are a dangerous place. Strategy, positioning, and quick thinking are key to survival. So, gear up, plan your moves carefully, and always watch your six—because in Aeronautica Imperialis, the enemy is never far behind.
Great faction review, this is the first one I've found that gives a lot of details for each unit.
ReplyDeleteDo you have any recommendations for which and how many boxes of each item should I buy if I want to start playing orks? Thanks!
Thank you for the comment. It is really nice to hear you found it useful. I would recommend getting one box of each of the Ork Aircraft plus the Ground Defences. This will be more than enough to play any game. To start playing I would get some Dakka-Jets and then either the Grot Bommers or Eavy Bommers. After these, go with the Fighta Bommers.
DeleteI hope it works out. Catch you later.
Great reviews all round, thank you. Do you have any ideas how captured thunderbolts and marauders will fit in to the ork lists?
ReplyDeleteI think I will write up my thoughts on this later this week. Glad you are enjoying the reviews.
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