The Sterling assault bomber was designed for heavy ground support and for assaults on capital warships. It relied on energy just as much as on projectile weapons, unlike most contemporary bombers which tended towards explosive weapons. While it did carry thirty missiles designed to take out ground targets and damage ships, the Sterling's lasers and ion cannon, powered by a CCS AMF/4mk2 antimatter fusion reactor—the same powerplant used in Seventh Circle—made for a renewable source of assault firepower that didn't run dry when the missile magazines did. As a result, the Sterling was ideally equipped for small organizations with supply problems and for long-term deployments with limited support.