Last game I played one of our players used the Air Drop platoon upgrade to air drop a heavy walker onto the game table with a squad inside it.....a bit beardy I thought so I did some reading. The Air Drop rule states one UNIT in the platoon gains the Air Drop special ability (page 87) but upon further reading regarding the definition of UNITS (page 23) it states;

"When the rules make reference to a "unit," they mean all miniatures that are part of the unit. In the text the distinction between "unit" and "miniature" is used deliberately. A miniature is an individual combatant while a unit is the tactical element that miniatures create . In Dust Warfare, the terms are not interchangeable, even when the rules refer to a unit with a single miniature (such as a vehicle)."

It seems to me this implies only infantry units of 2 or more men (not walkers) can use the air drop rule, correct?

This also raised the second question, Heros using Air Drop. It mentions under both Allies and Axis headings (page 82 Allies & page 109 Axis) that;

"Heros often operate outside the platoon structure and are not considered to be a section of the platoon unless they are acting as a command section through the leader special ability"

To me this means that unless they are acting as the platoon command section or attached to a platoon they cannot receive platoon upgrades as they are technically not part of the platoon. In short, a Hero could only Air Drop in by attaching himself to a platoon at the start of the game?

Last Question, Blitzkrieg special order. It allows a unit to take a move action even with suppression and reaction markers on it and not gain a reaction marker. Does this still count as one of the two actions the unit can take per game turn or is it a free move like the "fast" or "agility" abilities?

Thank you

Mel, I don't have my rulebook with me because I loaned it to a friend only yesterday, but I can give your question a go. Although almost 2 months have passed since you asked it. I will answer your last question first. With the Blitzkrieg order, orders are given in the command phase. Units get to use their two actions in the activation phase. Since you don't give a unit a reaction marker when using Blitzkrieg, then they still get to use their full allotment of 2 actions when you activate them.

As for air-dropping units, take a look at the transport rules. I'm fairly certain that a transport air-dropping is allowed to do so with a unit embarked.

I know some heroes do airdrop (Action Jackson, for example), but I really can't address the rest of that question without my rulebook handy.