Aircraft

AIRCRAFT occupy a narrow, specialised role on the battlefield: they scream across the table constantly rather than holding ground, and a distinct set of rules governs how they deploy, move, shoot, and fight. This guide covers each of those exceptions.

Deployment

AIRCRAFT never begin the game on the table. In the Declare Battle Formations step, every AIRCRAFT unit in your army must be placed in Strategic Reserves. They therefore enter play later via an ingress move, like any other reserves unit.

Movement

The way AIRCRAFT move reflects their constant forward motion:

• An AIRCRAFT unit's only eligible move is ever an ingress move. It is barred from a normal move, an Advance, a Fall Back, or a move of any other kind.
• Once your opponent's turn finishes, each of your AIRCRAFT units still on the battlefield has to return to Strategic Reserves — they never linger over the table between turns.
• When any unit makes a move of any kind, its models are allowed to move through AIRCRAFT models, so a grounded formation is never blocked by a flyer overhead.
• Whenever a unit performs a pile-in, consolidation, or surge move, AIRCRAFT units are disregarded for the purposes of picking enemy units and working out the closest enemy unit — unless the moving unit can FLY, in which case AIRCRAFT are considered normally.
• Being engaged solely with AIRCRAFT units never prevents a unit from staying eligible for a normal move or an Advance.

Shooting

The Plunging Fire rule has no bearing on AIRCRAFT. It never improves attacks made by AIRCRAFT units, and it never improves attacks made against them, regardless of height or the TOWERING keyword.

Charging and Fighting

Melee against and by AIRCRAFT is tightly restricted, keeping them a predominantly aerial threat:

• An AIRCRAFT unit is not eligible to declare a charge, and any melee attacks it does make can only target FLYING units.
• On the other side, an AIRCRAFT unit can be picked as a charge target only by a FLYING unit, and melee attacks against an AIRCRAFT unit can be made only by FLYING models.

The net effect is that AIRCRAFT and ground units largely cannot tie one another up in combat: earthbound infantry can neither charge a flyer nor be pinned by one, and the AIRCRAFT reserves itself at the end of each enemy turn to sweep back in later.

Frequently asked questions

How do AIRCRAFT deploy in Warhammer 40,000 11th edition?

AIRCRAFT never start on the table. In the Declare Battle Formations step every AIRCRAFT unit must be placed in Strategic Reserves and then enters play later via an ingress move.

How do AIRCRAFT move in 40k?

An AIRCRAFT unit's only eligible move is an ingress move; it may not make a normal move, Advance, or Fall Back. When your opponent's turn ends, any AIRCRAFT of yours on the table returns to Strategic Reserves.

Can you charge an AIRCRAFT in Warhammer 40,000?

An AIRCRAFT unit can be chosen as a charge target only by a FLYING unit, and only FLYING models may strike it in melee. The AIRCRAFT itself is unable to declare a charge and may direct melee attacks only at FLYING units.

Does Plunging Fire affect AIRCRAFT in 40k?

No. The Plunging Fire rule never improves attacks made by AIRCRAFT units and never improves attacks made against them, regardless of height or the TOWERING keyword.

Can ground units get stuck fighting AIRCRAFT in 11th edition?

No. A unit engaged only with AIRCRAFT units stays eligible for a normal move or an Advance, and any unit's models are allowed to pass through AIRCRAFT models as they move.