
The official StarCraft 2 website has been updated with
a new page, containing little information and some nice art of one of Terran’s newest machines, the AH/G-24 BANSHEE.
Builds From: Starport
Armament: Backlash Cluster Rockets
Role: Tactical Strike Aircraft
Terran’s Banshee is a completely new unit - neither an upgrade nor an update of any unit in Terran’s arsenal. The unit’s role on the battlefield appears to be
somewhat similar to the
Zerg Guardian’s role of heavy Air-to-Ground striker, able to eliminate lightly defended expansions and provide powerful anti-ground support for capital ships and and Terran’s infantry forces.

As a planetary craft, the banshee wouldn’t need high-powered engines to achieve escape velocity and fight in orbit, so instead technicians fitted it with economical twin turbofans. Any air-to-air weaponry was deemed unnecessary: the banshee would only hunt ground targets. Thus, it was equipped with powerful air-to-ground cluster rockets.
While hit and run attacks are mentioned multiple times on Banshee’s web page, experience shows that aerial hit and run tactics are often impractical and costly, due to cheap stationary anti-air defences and most importantly, other airborne units that the Banshee simply has no weapons against. Banshee’s true role on the battlefields is yet to be decided, but there will always be a room for a heavy Air-to-Ground bomber.

Banshee’s design was obviously inspired by the
famous ORCA series of machines, used by the GDI faction in the
Command and Conquer RTS series. StarCraft 2 is full of Command and Conquer
influences , and Banshee’s design and function is no exception -
Dustin Browder’s touch is more evident than ever.
From the Starcraft 2 Blog.