OAV-142

The VA-46, also known by its nickname "Shaska", was a close air support aircraft of the, and later the. Developed from 2420 to 2436 as part of a bid to build the UNSC's new close air support by as part of a rapid modernization program following the, the VA-46 entered service with the  in.

Although the aircraft served UNSC forces well in peacekeeping on frontier colonies, it was eventually sidelined to the in 2478. However, this also led to gaining the aircraft through sympathizers within the CMA, which was part of the string of scandals that went public in.

With this, the aircraft were withdrawn from CMA service, and placed in aircraft boneyards on various planets, ready to be scrapped. In a string of raids in the 2500's by pirates, the UNSC lost a large amount of equipment from the boneyards, including VA-46's, which later ended up in the hands of the rebels.

The aircraft, although antiquated by UNSC standards, was used by rebels to great effect, its VTOL ability allowing it to be camouflaged in secluded areas without the need for a runway. Due to heavy casualties in daytime raids, most rebel groups relegated the aircraft to exclusively nighttime attacks.

As the broke out in, and new, more advanced, black market equipment came out of the chaos, most rebel groups got rid of the VA-46, or traded them for better equipment. Despite this, some underfunded rebel groups without large amounts of funds continued to use them until the influx of and  equipment flooded the criminal underworld in the 2550's.  With this, most of the aircraft were cannibalized for spare parts or destroyed, although two models remained in the hands of private citizens by