Jayborino wanted base defences. I'll give him base defences. . .
The 'Astley' is the product of a decade of refinement. It is a finely-tuned gun platform armed with a 128 milimetre cannon that can fire at extremely long ranges.
The 128mm's main feature is its range - this monster has a range of 100! This means it can fire clear across most maps, given it has the line of sight. And it hits hard, too: 400 damage, increasing by 33 with each Ground Weapons upgrade. Suffice to say, prudent commanders will want to upgrade these with haste.
These howitzers sure pack a punch! However, their main drawback is their incredibly large minimum range of 10. This means that anything than can attack the 'Astley' can't be shot into oblivion back. The 'Astley' also cannot target airborne or voidborne units, so anti-air is still left up to Stormmarines and Escorts.
Another limiting feature of the howitzers is their reload time. The howitzers take over three times the time for a Siege Mode Siege Tank to reload. Careful timing and precise bombardments is key with these, as one bad case of overkill can undo an infantry push.
But if you need an answer to the swarms of xenos and the hordes of conscripts, the 'Astley' 128mm howitzer has got the cure for you!
Also, a video showcasing them in action: Youtube.com
There you have it: the newest addition to the Federate arsenal. How's that for a defencive building, Jay?
And yeah. It's named after him.