The Thunderhawk Gunship was a development of the later Great Crusade, designed to operate in atmosphere and void space as a flexible flying craft. It combines the roles of orbital troop lander, heavy gunship and medium bomber, and proved a highly successful addition to the fleets of the Legiones Astartes, scouring landing zones with its array of heavy weaponry before disgorging a payload of Space Marine infantry onto the battlefield. The Thunderhawk went on to become an icon of Astartes power in the air.