"Vulture" Droid Starfighter

"Crewed" by a Droid brain, and controlled by a Remote Processor, the "Vulture" Droid Starfighter is a completely mechanized vessel. Armed with blaster cannons and torpedo launchers, "Vulture" Droid Starfighters are fast and agile. Unlike conventional Starfighters, however, they can reconfigure themselves into "Walk Mode," allowing them to patrol on the ground, as well as in space. Switching between Flight Mode and Walk Mode requires a Standard Action.

Additional "Vulture" Droid Starfighter Data[]

Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Starships of the Galaxy

A favored weapon of The Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars, the Droid Starfighter is a marvel of engineering and artificial intelligence. Combining the deadly technology of a Starfighter with the advanced brains of a Battle Droid, Droid Starfighters provide the Separatists with an endless supply of combat-worthy vessels without the need to recruit and train living Pilots.

Droid Starfighters are small, cheap, and expendable, just the way the Trade Federation likes them. Mostly manufactured by companies supporting the Confederacy, Droid Starfighters are churned out of factories nearly as quickly as Republic forces can destroy them. The only limits on the number of Droid Starfighters that can appear on the battlefront lie within the command and control computers or a Lucrehulk-Class Droid Control Ship. Though the automated nature of Droid Starfighters makes them more prone to large-scale difficulties (a single computer virus can scramble the programming of thousands of Droid Starfighters at a time), it also makes them easier to coordinate and command as a group.

The most common Droid Starfighter, the "Vulture" Droid Starfighter, operates in both a flight mode and a walker mode and was used as early as the Battle of Naboo. These fighters are common throughout the duration of the Clone Wars, but when the Separatist fleet was deactivated, many of these Starfighters were lost or destroyed.

Capabilities[]

Droid Starfighters usually receive their commands from a Lucrehulk-Class Droid Control Ship, which coordinates their attacks for maximum efficiency. Though the failure of a single Lucrehulk-Class Droid Control Ship can have devastating results on the Droid Starfighters under its control (as seen in the Battle of Naboo), few squadrons are refitted with independent Droid Brains due to cost issues. For the most part, the Confederacy combats this problem by having redundant control vessels present at any battle, ensuring that if one such ship is destroyed, the Droid Starfighters will continue to operate.

Given the computerized nature of it's piloting system, a Droid Starfighter can attack with all Weapon Systems as though each has its own Gunner, despite the fact that the ship has no actual crew. This allows the ship to use each of its formidable Weapon Systems in a single round, without the need to coordinate multiple crewmembers.

Droid Starfighters also have the added benefit of not being affected by The Force or other effects to which living Pilots would be susceptible. They cannot be bargained with; they cannot be reasoned with; they do not feel pity, remorse, or fear. Droid Starfighters have all the immunities of Droid Traits, including immunity to Mind-Affecting effects, and will not willfully communicate with enemy Starships. They cannot be demoralized and will never contradict their orders; in essence, they are the most disciplined Starfighter corps in the galaxy.