defy the tyrannous stars
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To sub a less common shielded variant of the canon T-47 for use by the Galactic Alliance.
- Image Source: Wookieepedia
- Canon Link: Canon T-47 Airspeeder
- Restricted Missions:
- Primary Source:
- Manufacturer: Incom
- Model: Incom T-81 Airspeeder
- Affiliation: Galactic Alliance
- Production: Minor
- Material: Durasteel hull
- Classification: Airspeeder
- Role: Aerial Assault/Patrol
- Size: 8 meters
- Weight: High for an airspeeder
- Minimum Crew: 1
- Optimal Crew: 2 (Pilot and gunner)
- Propulsion: Repulsorlift
- Speed: Very Fast: 600 km/h
- Maneuverability: Moderate
- Armament: Low
2 Medium Laser Cannons
1 Rear-facing blaster cannon - Defenses: High
- Squadron Count: 16
- Passenger Capacity: 0
- Cargo Capacity: 50kg
Ubrikkian Mo/Dk Energy Harpoon and Tow Cable
Standard Sensor Array
Standard Targeting Array
Standard Navigational Systems
Variant Subtypes
Snowspeeder: With frost resistant circuitry, additional thermal insulation, more powerful proximity sensors, and an enhanced internal heating system, the snowspeeder is ideal for operation in subzero temperatures and conditions of extreme wind and turbulence.
Swampspeeder: Includes flotation gear and water-tight seals, not a submersible craft in and of itself but specifically adapted for flying above and around the water, the swampspeeder can float on the surface of a body of most liquids for a short period and suffer very little in the way of damage to its systems.
Sandspeeder: Equipped with advanced filters to keep out sand and other particles, engine cooling units, and a long-range radar for navigating through sandstorms, like the snowspeeder this desert-adapted T-81 variant is adept at flying through hazardous weather conditions and in extreme atmospheric environments.
Skyspeeder: With a pressurized cockpit and more powerful repulsorlifts for operation at higher altitudes, the skyspeeder is not spaceworthy but is designed to function effectively at the upper limits of a planetary atmosphere. This subtype is an effective flier in an area where normally both starfighters and more conventional airspeeders suffer serious drawbacks.
Strengths:
- Shielded: Unlike the classic T-47 line, the Galactic Alliance commissioned Incom to specifically design an updated model possessing a limited deflector shield generator. Scaled up somewhat to accommodate the additional componentry and sacrificing some of the reinforced hull plating, the T-81's screen projector is not quite as powerful as the average starfighters' but still allows the airspeeder to take a few more glancing blows from a laser cannon.
- Adaptable: Coming in atmospheric variants for a variety of situations, given a week or so of retrofitting each T-81 is able to be more or less retrofitted into a subtype most suitable for their assigned conditions.
- Lightly Armed: Possessing only blaster mountings, like its forebear the T-81 remains weak against more heavily armored targets. In these situations, where the harpoon and tow cable are also ineffective, the airspeeder must rely on the firepower of ground artillery or friendly bombers.
- Exposed Stern: Still inherently based on a civilian model, the armor plating and screen projector strength covering the rear of the T-81 is less protective. An accurately placed shot to the dead center of the craft can cause critical damage, even in some causes fatally wounding the rear gunner. Flown in larger squadrons, the airspeeder relies heavily on its wing mates to fend off interceptors in an effort counteract this flaw.
For as long as there has been an Alliance, the speeders protecting their skies have looked a lot like the Incom T-47 Airspeeder. And for just as long, its pilots have wished that the atmospheric fighters weren't unshielded death traps. Tasking Incom Corporation with seeing what they could do to fix this problem, while the starfighter manufacturer wasn't able to innovate enough on the original design to produce an updated shielded model on a mass scale, they were able to use more expensive, compact componentry to design a line of versatile airspeeders possessing limited deflector screens.
Slightly larger than the original model, itself originally a civilian design that Rebels had retrofitted centuries ago to carry a limited armament, the T-81 stands by this basic design principle of speed over firepower. Relying on larger squadrons to overwhelm and evade the enemy long enough to damage their ranks through attrition, the Incom Airspeeder tends to be a last resort or home defense weapon, used by the desperate and stubborn. Its no wonder that they've remained such a prominent tradition in the Defense Fleet and Galactic Alliance Guard.
