HK-Aerial

HK-Aerial

Dragon - Scorpion - Manta - Aerial Recon Unit - HK-Fighter - HK-Bomber (FK Bomber) - HK-Scout - HK-Drone (HK-Airstrike) - HK-VTOL - FK Raker - FK Carrier - Transport

The term HK-Aerial refers to a wide variety of Skynet's large airborne VTOL-capable Non-Humanoid Hunter Killers. Featuring a devastating array of under-slung and wing-mounted lasers, missiles, and plasma cannons, the HK-Aerial is fearsome and terrifying to behold.

Specification

Often operating in support of ground sweeps by swarms of Series 800 Endoskeletons, they are one of the more dangerous targets for the members of the Resistance to engage.^[1]^[2]

HK-Aerials can be brought down by shoulder fired surface to air missiles.^[3]

Known variants

There are light raiders seen patrolling the wastelands of the Future War,^[4]^[1] massive and heavily armed ground support craft,^[5] as well as troop transport variants^[6] which on occasion have been captured and subverted for use by the Resistance.^[7]^[8]The HK-Aerial has been deployed in many configurations by both Skynet and the Soviet Artificial Intelligence MIR.^[6]

In Terminator Salvation timeline, an HK-Aerial is able to carry T-700 Terminator onboard.^[9]

In Terminator Genisys timeline, an HK-Aerial is able to store and carry a Spider Tank.

Dragon

CSM-300 A-1000 "Dragon" is a variant of the HK-Aerial.^[10]

Judging by its appearance, the Dragon is possibly the standard HK-Aerial as seen in the film The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

HK-Bomber

Main article: HK-Bomber

Aerial Recon Unit

An HK-8475 Hunter-Killer Aerial Recon Unit is able to destroy a target from long distance.^[11]

HK-VTOL

Main article: HK-VTOL

Continually engineering upgrades to the original design, a smaller, more agile air unit is available in a sleeker, more organic design with the HK-VTOL,^[12] a unit powerful enough to carry a Boeing 747 jet engine in a cargo sling.

Notes

The HK-Aerial was the very first Hunter Killer seen, appearing in the opening moments of the first film of Terminator series.
The HK was redesigned for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator Salvation and Terminator Genisys, which can be explained as a result of the alternation of the timelines in-universely.
In Terminator Salvation: Movie Preview, a HK Aerial from Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is depicted, rather than the Terminator Salvation HK Aerial.
In Terminator Salvation, the Transport is able to store two HK-Aerials.