Variable Geometry Self - Propelled Battle Droid , Mark I / Legends The Variable Geometry Self - Propelled Battle Droid , Mark I ( also known as the " Vulture " - class droid starfighter or simply as the vulture droid ) was a droid starfighter used by the Trade Federation . Later , in much greater numbers , it was utilized by the Confederacy of Independent Systems . It participated heavily in the Clone Wars , at engagements such as the Battles of Kamino and Coruscant . Like most of the Trade Federation ' s armed forces , it carried no living pilot , but rather a droid brain that was linked to a central control computer , often aboard a " Lucrehulk " - class Droid Control Ship . Each Trade Federation battleship carried 1 , 500 such droid starfighters . The " Vulture " - class was designed by Haor Chall Engineering , which was founded by the fanatical Xi Char , a religious order dedicated to high - precision manufacturing . As a result , it represented classic Xi Charrian design — an insectoid appearance , multiple weapons emplacements , and a compact body that offered only a small target for enemy fighters . Characteristics . The starfighter carried four blaster cannons and two energy torpedo launchers , and could reach 1200 kilo - meters per hour in a planet ' s atmosphere . When not in flight , the ship could transform into a walking weapons platform , used for ground patrol and troop support . While in this mode , a vulture droid could also latch onto surfaces in zero gravity , allowing it to launch directly from the external hull of a capital ship . The class featured thrust damper s , which if disabled forced starfighters to switch to the walker mode to operate . When docked in a hangar , they would often flex their components as part of self - maintenance . " Vulture " s were also programmed to self - destruct if their link with their host control ship was severed . The ships were controlled via a Central Control Computer on " Lucrehulk " - class Droid Control Ships . A droid starfighter was capable of maneuvers that would kill an organic pilot , but they lacked the resourcefulness and cunning of living pilots , although they were capable of responding much faster . Vulture droids had an unusual fuel system , relying on solid - fuel concentrate slugs that provided propulsion upon ignition . However , they could only function for 35 minutes before having to be refueled . The Trade Federation solved this issue by sending Vulture droids into battle in timed , rotating swarms . Although they could react quicker to new situations than organic pilots , they had trouble responding to friendly units firing on them , a weakness Mace Windu exploited on Haruun Kal and the Battle of Coruscant . Vulture droids were also capable of communication with one another , normally with chattering . In addition to this , it is safe to assume " Vulture " - class droids were capable of communicating with other battle droids , as shown during the Jedi ' s visit to the " Saak ' ak " , Nute Gunray ' s flagship . Vulture droid starfighters were usually named by a six - digit designation number , consisting of " DFS - " and a three - digit alpha - numeric combination , as illustrated by the fighters DFS - 1VR and DFS - 4CT . " Vulture " - class fighters were launched in overwhelming numbers and excelled in both atmospheric and space combat . The vulture droid ' s weapon systems consisted of four blaster cannons with two per wing . In standard flight format , the drone ' s wings were collapsed to conceal its blaster cannons . In combat , these wings split up to reveal these blaster cannons . In addition , the droid possessed two energy torpedo launchers that would weaken enemy targets before the starfighter delivered a blaster cannon barrage . In walker - mode , the " Vulture " - class could only use its two torpedo launchers as its cannons were situated on the legs and pointed downwards . During the Clone Wars , vulture droids were modified to carry six blaster cannons and four buzz droid discord missiles instead of energy torpedoes , however it ' s more than likely that they could carry other types of missiles . The " Vulture " droid design was used to produce the " Hyena " - class bomber , another type of automated droid starfighter used by the Separatist Alliance . The " Vulture " - class fighters , at least by the time of the Battle of Coruscant , also developed at least some capability of speech , as several were heard making statements in Neimoidian before making various maneuvers . Operational history . Pre – Clone Wars . The droid starfighter endured rigorous testing before being deployed in the Trade Federation Invasion of Naboo in 32 BBY . Only months before Darth Sidious gave the order for Naboo ' s blockade , through machinations with the Trade Federation he commissioned Trinkatta Starships of Esseles in the Darpa sector to outfit 50 " Vulture " - class droid starfighters with hyperdrives — which the Republic had outlawed for that type of small fighter . The Sith Lord wished for the starfighters to be used to take over the planet Brentaal , which would then have allowed the Trade Federation to control with impunity two major galactic trade routes : the Perlemian and the Hydian Way . The pre – Clone Wars plot was foiled when the Jedi High Council , unbeknownst to the Republic Senate ( members of which might have been implicated ) , sent a team headed by Qui - Gon Jinn to investigate what party or parties had placed the illegal order . Droid starfighters were employed during skirmishes with Dega n pirates in the Elrood sector and were responsible for defeating the pirate Nym ' s forces on Lok . The Naboo first encountered these drones when Echo Flight pilots led by Essara Till battled them during an assault on Station TFP - 9 , not long before the assault on Naboo . The droid starfighter then saw action in the Invasion of Naboo , during which they at first provided general air superiority , and later swarms of them fought Naboo N - 1 starfighters in the battle above the planet . The vultures were ultimately neutralized when Anakin Skywalker disabled the " Lucrehulk " - class Droid Control Ship . Reports later suggested that the droid starfighters performed sluggishly during the battle due to an overwhelmed Central Control Computer , which also had to direct large numbers of ground troops . After the battle , droid starfighters commanded by Raith Sienar participated as part of the Trade Federation Defense Fleet alongside Republic forces during the attack on the living world Zonama Sekot . They would also be part of the Trade Federation force sent to destroy " Outbound Flight , " but were neutralized thanks to the Chiss Commander Thrawn , who exploited their reliance on the droid - control signal by jamming its entire spectrum , nullifying the whole force . The captured trader Jorj Car ' das later reflected on the incident and mentioned the reports he had read about the starfighters ' performance during the Battle of Naboo . They also saw action during the Trade Federation ' s occupation of the Karthakk system . Clone Wars . During the Clone Wars , many " Vulture " - class droids were painted with the blue and white hexagonal insignia of the Confederacy of Independent Systems , although many were seen in the early and middle stages of the war with Trade Federation brown coloring , and were upgraded with buzz droid missile launchers , which they opened their wings to launch . Other manufacturers , chiefly Baktoid Armor Workshop , began production of the " Vulture " which had originally been built solely by its Xi Char developers . Vulture droids were fielded by the Confederacy against the Republic in numerous battles and conflicts including the First Battle of Geonosis and the Battle of Coruscant , although the Confederacy also made substantial use of other fighters , such as the " Nantex " - class territorial defense starfighter . However , they did not pose a serious challenge for Jedi ace s such as Anakin Skywalker , as demonstrated in the Battle of Terra Sool . In addition to being launched from capital ships , vulture droids were also deployed from satellite pods to defend areas from potentially hostile approaching vessels . At some point during the conflict , the Separatists entered into a trade agreement with the House of Vane from the planet Valahari . The inhabitants of this world were famous for being excellent starship engineers . After the formation of this pact , which was formed between Count Dooku and his old friend Harko Vane , who believed in neutrality but that the exchange of Valahari technology would benefit his world ' s economy . Thus , despite aiding the Separatists , the Valahari claimed to be neutral in the Clone Wars . This alliance led to Valahari fighter components being added to advanced Vulture droid models , increasing their speed and destructive power . These improved droid fighters were dispatched against the Republic , where they destroyed a battle group led by Jedi Master Toluz Cheq in the Rial Kroon system . Before he was killed , he managed to upload a transmission and a scan of the droid fighters to Coruscant , thus informing them of this new threat . This led the Jedi Council to dispatch Obi - Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to Valahari to negotiate an end to the Confederacy - Valahari alliance . When Anakin Skywalker and Obi - Wan Kenobi arrived on Iego looking for the antidote to the deadly Blue Shadow Virus , a young Human boy named Jaybo Hood had a reprogrammed army of droids left over from the Separatists , which included several vulture droids . During the Battle of Coruscant , Mace Windu rode a vulture by tugging on its cranial wires . General Grievous often used them for suicide attacks designed to sow chaos , by making them perform kamikaze attacks on civilian targets . An advanced model was deployed prior to and during the Clone Wars . Late in the war , " Vulture " s were augmented by droid tri - fighters , which were sturdier but less common . Galactic Civil War . Despite the deactivation of the droid armies , " Vulture " - class units were apparently being used by some parties by 18 BBY . In addition , several " Vulture " - class starfighters were modified by Separatist holdouts during the Reconquest of the Rim to accompany organic pilots , of which the 77th Air Wing encountered on Kelrodo - Ai in 17 BBY in the Western Reaches Operation . Between 1 BBY and 0 BBY , several vulture droids were deployed to Naboo from " Lucrehulk " - class battleships belonging to an unknown party , resulting in a battle over Naboo ' s atmosphere by a Rebel Alliance cell on Naboo . Years after the Clone Wars , Gizor Dellso utilized " Vulture " - class starfighters to defend his facility on Mustafar . However , the Galactic Empire uncovered his plan , and the stormtroopers of the 501st Legion stormed the planet , destroying the orbiting defense ships and decimating the facility . Even after this , " Vulture " s would continue to be used by various parties , such as smugglers . Additionally , some groups of independent sentient " Vulture " droids were spotted in remote parts of some star systems , including the Detritus Satellites or the Scintilla Defenders . Behind the scenes . The Vulture droid ' s first appearance was in the . In the early plans for " " , the Trade Federation was intended to use more conventional starfighters that were merely piloted by B1 battle droids , like those in the " " games . An early concept sketch depicted a fighter whose cockpit strongly resembled those of the TIE Series . It was later decided that the fighters should themselves be droids . In the " " cartoon , " Vulture " s are depicted with brown coloring during the attack on Coruscant , despite being depicted as blue in the film . This can be considered an artistic inconsistency in the cartoon , though the cartoon itself was released before the movie . In the games " Star Wars : Battlefront " and " " , Vulture droids ( as well as other droid starships , such as the Droid Tri - fighter ) are depicted as requiring a pilot . This can be attributed to game mechanics . During the movie " The Clone Wars " , Vulture droids fire their blaster cannons from their energy - torpedo ports rather than from between their wings . This is possibly due to artistic license ; however , it ' s established that Vulture droids can fire blaster bolts from their torpedo emitters but primarily only when they are in walker mode . This may have also been done to make animating and tracking the shots easier for the animators . There is a size variation of the Vulture droid ( despite being much larger than the average droid ) . The difference is visible on the " Star Wars : The Clone Wars " TV series and " " . Until now , the figures of the vulture droid that have been made by Hasbro and listed in " " match exactly with the established size of 3 . 5 meters , as can be seen in Cartoon Network ' s animated mini - series . In 2009 , Hasbro stipulated that the new larger model of the droid starfighter will be released as an action figure . Five variations of the Vulture Droid Starfighter were released by the LEGO Company , in 1999 , 2005 , 2007 , and , for " Star Wars : The Clone Wars " , 2009 and 2014 .