Westwood heeft weer een nieuwe unit of the week op de offical Emperor: Battle for Dune website gezet. Deze keer gaat de aandacht uit naar de 'Ornithopter', een onmisbaar vervoermiddel op Dune.

Naast info over deze unit is er ook een filmpje van House Ordos online gezet met daarin wat info over dit belangrijke huis.Operation of flying crafts on Arrakis has always been a precarious situation. Intense heat, dust particles and preservation of fluids vital to operation are just a few items on the long list of problems that have plagued maintenance crews for decades. Once technicians overcame these obstacles in the flying cargo models, such as the Carry-all, tacticians yearned to take the same succe ful principles and apply them to a combat model. A design was needed that was highly maneuverable, could deliver a fair amount of ordinance, stay aloft during harsh wind conditions, and provide minimal life support in case of emergency. Fixed-wing aircraft could provide all but the required agility. Therefore designers turned to a model perfected centuries ago within Earth's biosphere - the delicate hummingbird. They deduced that a wing in motion was better suited to addre shifting wind conditions and high-pre ure solar swells that emanate from Dune's surface. It also allowed for decreased deceleration time in flight, which aided greatly in maneuverability. As a tribute to the avian model that inspired it, officials christened the craft as the 'Ornithopter.' To keep the Ornithopter in the air where it belongs, it sports minimal armor and a light, although adequate mi ile payload. As such, it is best used against isolated infantry formations and other 'soft' targets. Ornithopters make excellent surprise hit-and-run raiders, as most enemy forces expect opposition to come from the ground.De filmpje kan je van de FTP van Westwood downloaden, meer info over units in het spel kan je op de official homepage vinden.