HK-Aerial

The term HK-Aerial, Aerial HK,^[1] or Flying HK,^[2] 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.^[3]^[4]

HK-Aerials can be brought down by shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles.^[5]

Known variants[]

In the original timeline, there were two known models of HK-Aerials: the Mark Seven Aerial, which looked like a helicopter, and the Mark Eight Aerial, the newest model.^[6]

There are light raiders seen patrolling the wastelands of the Future War,^[7]^[3] massive and heavily-armed ground support craft,^[8] as well as troop transport variants^[9] which on occasion have been captured and subverted for use by the Resistance.^[10]^[11]The HK-Aerial has been deployed in many configurations by both Skynet and the Soviet Artificial Intelligence MIR.^[9]

In the Salvation timeline, an HK-Aerial is able to carry T-700 Terminators onboard,^[12] while a Transport is capable of storing two HK-Aerials.

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

In the Dark Fate timeline, Legion also deployed HK-Aerials to hunt humans, however, the design of Legion's HK-Aerial differs greatly from the design of Skynet's.

HK-Bomber[]

Main article: HK-Bomber

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,^[13] 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.
A HK-Aerial is capable of storing several Mini Hunters as seen in T2 3-D: Battle Across Time.
The HK-Aerial was redesigned for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (as Hunter-Killer Aerial Weapons Platform), Terminator Salvation, and Terminator Genisys (as the AFJ-60), which can be explained as a result of the alternation of the timelines in-universely. The original design is used in the beginning of the comic Terminator 3: Before the Rise and later in the Future War scene at the beginning of the film Terminator: Dark Fate.
In Terminator Salvation: Movie Preview, a Hunter-Killer Aerial Weapons Platform from Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is depicted as the HK-Aerial, rather than the HK-Aerial as shown in Terminator Salvation film.