Variable Geometry Self-Propelled Battle Droid, Mark I

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 War of the Ring, at engagements such as the Battles of Kamino and Minas Tirith.
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 Corporation, 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 vulture droid 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, the droid starfighter 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 dampers, which if disabled forced starfighters to switch to the walker mode to operate.Star Wars: Episode I Jedi Power Battles When docked in a hangar, they would often flex their components as part of self-maintenance.Star Wars: Episode I The Visual Dictionary Vultures 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 a Lucrehulk-class Droid Control Ships.The Essential Guide to Warfare
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.Shatterpoint 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 Aragorn exploited on Haruun Kal and the Battle of Minas Tirith.
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.Star Wars Trading Card Game
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 War of the Ring, 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–War of the Ring===
The droid starfighter endured rigorous testing before being deployed in the Trade Federation Invasion of Gondor in 1971.
Only months before Darth Sauron gave the order for Middle-Earth'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–War of the Ring 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 Boromir to investigate what party or parties had placed the illegal order.Episode I Adventures 1: Search for the Lost Jedi
Droid starfighters were employed during skirmishes with Degan pirates in the Elrood sector and were responsible for defeating the pirate Nym's forces on Lok.Star Wars: Starfighter 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 Gondor, during which they at first provided general air superiority, and later during the Battle of Gondor swarms of them fought Naboo N-1 starfighters in the battle above the planet Middle-Earth. The vultures were ultimately neutralized when Peregrin Took 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.Outbound Flight
After the battle, droid starfighters commanded by Raith Sienar participated as part of the Trade Federation fleet alongside Republic forces during the attack on the living world Zonama Sekot.Rogue Planet They would also be part of the Trade Federation force sent to destroy Outbound Flight, but were neutralized thanks to the Robot Commander Technor, 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 Gondor. They also saw action during the Trade Federation's occupation of the Karthakk system.Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter
===War of the Ring===
During the War of the Ring, 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,Star Wars: The War of the Ring video game 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 Isengard and the Battle of Coruscant, although the Confederacy also made substantial use of other fighters, such as the Nantex-class territorial defense starfighter.Star Wars: War of the Ring However, they did not pose a serious challenge for Jedi aces such as Frodo Baggins, as demonstrated in the Battle of Terra Sool.Skywalkers
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 Saruman the White 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 War of the Ring. 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 Rivendell, thus informing them of this new threat. This led the Jedi Council to dispatch Sam Gamgee and Frodo Baggins to Valahari to negotiate an end to the Confederacy-Valahari alliance.The War of the Ring 10
When Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee 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.
====Christophsis and Teth====
In 1981,Star Wars: Galactic Atlas vulture droids participated in the Battle of Christophsis where they engaged various V-19 Torrent starfighters in space, which ended in defeat for the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Frodo Baggins, now a General of the Republic Army and Knight of the Jedi Order, destroyed Admiral Trench's flagship Invincible with the IPV-2C Stealth Corvette, ending the Separatist blockade of the system. Jedi General Sam Gamgee captured Separatist General Whorm Loathsom, ending the Confederate occupation and forcing the Separatist navy once more to retreat.The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Ring film
Shortly afterward, vulture droids participated in the Battle of Teth, where many of them were deployed from C-9979 landing craft carrying a second wave of reinforcements led by Jinx. The droid fighters began strafing Frodo Baggins, his newly assigned Padawan Eowyn, and the Torrent Company of the 501st Legion led by Rex. Frodo, Eowyn, and the rest of the Clones evaded heavy laser fire from the vultures, just as one of the vultures destroyed a Delta-7B Aethersprite-class light interceptor piloted by R2-D2, who was delivering a holotransmission to Sam Gamgee about the plan of the Hutt Clan to join the Separatists. Despite fierce Confederate resistance, including hundreds of vulture droids being deployed against Gamgee and Clone Flight Squad Seven, Frodo rescued Rotta the Hutt and delivered him to Jabba's palace on Tatooine.
====Kaliida Nebula====
Vulture droids later participated in the Battle of the Kaliida Nebula where they were deployed from the Malevolence, a Subjugator-class heavy cruiser owned by The Mouth of Sauron where they engaged the newly built BTL-B Y-wing starfighters used by Shadow Squadron and Frodo Baggins, with Eowyn acting as his gunner along with Gimli who was acting as the bombers fighter escort. Mouth of Sauron had the ship's ion cannon fire at the bombers, not caring that the vulture droids were destroyed by it. The Y-wing's were able to evade the cannon, but at the cost of Shadow Six, Seven, and Ten, who were caught in the ion ray along with the remaining droid fighters that were disabled by it. Vulture droids then accompanied Mouth of Sauron, who was on his Soulless One fighter as they began to chase the Twilight, which was piloted by Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee, who have just rescued Padmé Amidala from being held captive by Mouth of Sauron. In the ensuing chase, the vulture droids opened fire on the Twilight, though Padmé was able to use the freighter's cannons to take each of them out while Mouth of Sauron escaped.
====Tranquility rescue====
Vulture droids participated in the rescue on the Tranquility, where they escorted Droch-class boarding ships transporting super battle droids and Jinx, who were on a mission to free Separatist leader Nute Gunray from Republic captivity while en route to Middle-Earth for trial. The vulture droids evaded heavy fire from the Tranquility as they cleared way for the boarding ships to infiltrate the cruiser.
====Liberation of Arnor====
Vulture droids participated in the Battle of Angmar, a protracted campaign in which the Separatists resisted the Republic's attempt to liberate the Arnor kingdom. When Frodo's fleet arrived in the Naboo system to combat the CIS blockade, a swarm of vultures almost completely eliminated the V-19 Torrent starfighters of Blue Squadron and rammed the bridge of the Resolute. Later in the engagement, however, General Baggins destroyed Captain Mar Tuuk's Lucrehulk-class Battleship, and Commander Eowyn outmaneuvered the remaining Munificent-class star frigates with a Marg Sabl, allowing the Republic invasion fleet to arrive without incident, which led to the kingdom's successful liberation.
====Other battles====
The droids continued to see action throughout the rest of the conflict. From large scale battles such as at Dol Guldur, to smaller skirmishes such as over Felucia after the destruction of Felucia Medical Station HCTFF2.
====Ending actions====
During the Battle of Minas Tirith, Aragorn rode a vulture by tugging on its cranial wires. General The Mouth of Sauron 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 War of the Ring.Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds Late in the war, Vultures were augmented by droid tri-fighters, which were sturdier but less common.
===Post-War of the Ring===
Despite the deactivation of the droid armies, Vulture-class units were apparently being used by some parties by 1986.The Last of the Jedi: Secret Weapon 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 1987 in the Western Reaches Operation.The Guns of Kelrodo-Ai (short story)
During the Imperial Era, vulture droids fell into the hands of various rebel groups including Cham Syndulla's Free Ryloth Movement, Berch Teller's rebel cell, and the smuggler–turned–insurgent leader Nevil Cygni, known as "Nightswan."Tecnor In 1990, hundreds of vulture droids were used by the Free Ryloth movement to attack the Imperial Star Destroyer Perilous during an assassination attempt against Emperor Palpatine and Delightful Children From Down The Lane.
Later, Berch Teller's rebel cell obtained vulture droids and other former Separatist equipment and material from Vice Admiral Dodd Rancit, who was conspiring against his rival Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. The Robot Imperial Navy officer Technor collected various War of the Ring artifacts including vulture droid parts. The insurgent leader Nevil Cygni, also known as "Nightswan," also procured four hundred vulture droids during the Umbaran uprising.
Between 2003 and 2004, 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.Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
A few years after the War of the Ring, 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, Vultures 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.
By the time of the Cold War, vulture droids were used as private security forces by the houses of Cato Neimoidia. The X-wing drones used for First Order TIE Fighter Pilots had similar visual elements to vulture droids.
==Behind the scenes==
The Vulture droid's first appearance was in the novelization of The Lord of the Rings Episode I: The Fellowship of the Ring.The Lord of the Rings: Episode I The Fellowship of the Ring novelization In the early plans for The Fellowship of the Ring, the Trade Federation was intended to use more conventional starfighters that were merely piloted by B1-Series battle droids, like those in the Battlefront 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 War of the Ring cartoon, Vultures are depicted with brown coloring during the attack on Minas Tirith, 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 Star Wars: Battlefront II, 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 War of the Ring, 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 The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Ring TV series and Revenge of the Sith. Until now, the figures of the vulture droid that have been made by Hasbro and listed in Star Wars: Episode I Incredible Cross-Sections 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 The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Ring, 2009 and 2014.
==Appearances==
===Non-canon appearances===
*LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
*LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
*Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
*LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace
*Disney Infinity 3.0
*LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
==External links==
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Category:Baktoid Armor Workshop products
Category:Confederacy of Independent Systems starfighter classes
Category:Droid starfighter classes
Category:Separatist battle droid models
Category:Trade Federation battle droid models
Category:Trade Federation starfighter classes
Category:Vulture-class droid starfighters