Viking

"Ladies, gentlemen, I give you the latest weapon in the Dominion's arsenal, a force both for pacification and protection as we forge further into the unknown. It is my pleasure to unveil the Viking ground/air combat facilitation system!"

- Terran Dominion spokesman

The viking is a terran unit with the ability to transform between a ground unit ("Assault mode") and an air unit ("Fighter mode").

Overview
"We start thinking of it as pretty or decorative, we risk forgetting its purpose is just downright ugly."

- Captain Jon Dyre (quoted by Wes Carter)

The Brood War revealed weaknesses in terran anti-air capability. Wraith combat fighters and valkyrie missile frigates proved to be an unwieldy combination against agile zerg airborne organisms. In addition, ground-based anti-air support from goliath assault walkers was too limited in its mobility: all too often airborne attackers would simply move out of the goliath's range.

In the aftermath of the war, terran weapon technicians proposed a radical new concept to resolve both of these problems; an armored vehicle with the ability to change its combat role from an assault walker to an air-superiority fighter, enabling it to switch smoothly to fulfill tactical needs in a developing battle. One such vehicle was the wyrm, identical in appearance to early viking concepts. However, it was followed by the more successful viking design, a craft with more armor, more options and a faster response time. As such, the viking was showcased at the colony of Ursa in 2502, where one single-handedly destroyed a military base.

Based heavily on the transformation design of the siege tank, the viking was designed to be the ultimate anti-air and ground-support weapon system, armed with MT50 Lanzer Torpedoes and twin gatling guns for both respective tasks. A targeting system exists for both, along with displaying height and location. The ability to self-destruct is also present. However, while the viking's versatility is its greatest asset, it is also one of its drawbacks. Few pilots are able to handle both combat modes and the majority of viking pilots are killed in their first battle. Those who survive however, become amongst the most skilled pilots.

Viking pilots are equipped with helmets with visors that lower when they take their vehicles into the air. However, regardless of whatever advantages the visor might bring, it is still possible to fly a viking without one.

Game Unit
The viking is produced from the starport.

Development
Karune stated that its ground mode could attack both ground and air units in February 2008 but that ability underwent balance testing and has since been removed.

At earlier builds the viking was built on the factory at ground mode, but needed a Fighter Tech upgrade to enable transforming to air mode.

Quotes

 * Main article: StarCraft II Quotations

Known Vikings

 * Viking 02

Known Viking Pilots

 * Captain Jon Dyre

Trivia
The Lost Vikings is a 1992 Blizzard Entertainment game featuring the adventures of three Vikings. One of the pictures on the official Viking page is labeled "the Lost Vikings".

A Blizzard employee also designed a mini-game called Lost Viking in which a sole Viking must fight a massive protoss air force, including a mothership.

The Viking, with an air and ground mode, resembles the variable fighters from the anime The Super Dimension Fortress Macross.