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Viper
Affiliation: Twelve Colonies
Commander: Viper Pilot
Compliment: 1
A The attack craft used by Colonial pilots, a Viper is capable of being launched rapidly from its vessel and intercepting
the enemy in quick fashion. Vipers have three primary engines and two forward-mounted turrets as well as an array of attitude
thrusters for the pilot to maneuver their craft with fine precision.
There are two models of Vipers, the older Mark II and the new Mark VII. The Galactica had 20 Mark IIs aboard when it was
being decommissioned and these were rapidly put back into service following the discovery that the Mark VII Vipers were susceptible
to the Cylon software virus. At a later time the Mark VII Vipers onboard Galactica were retrofitted with Mark II computer
systems, eliminating the possibility of Cylon software infiltration.
Mark VII Vipers appear to have more computerization in the cockpit than the Mark II craft. It is unclear whether the Vipers
can land and take off from a planet's surface. Unlike the Raptor craft, Vipers are not capable of making FTL jumps.
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Raptor
Affiliation: Twelve Colonies
Commander: Raptor Pilot
Compliment: 2 (pilot and electronic communications officer [ECO]), can hold up to 8 additional passengers.
A Raptor is a two-man craft that is used for scouting, survey or light transportation missions. A typical Raptor crew
compliment consists of a pilot and an electronic countermeasures officer (ECO), but there is room to fit approximately 10
others if the mission calls for it. Raptors have a jump drive and are capable of landing on planetary surfaces and are therefore
ideal for shuttling personnel from vessels in space to a planet.
Lt. Sharon 'Boomer' Valerii was a Galactica Raptor pilot before her identity as a Cylon sleeper agent was revealed. It
was Boomer that flew a Raptor armed with a nuclear warhead inside a Cylon Basestar, and was successful in destroying the enemy
vessel ("Kobol's Last Gleaming Part I"). Before he became Galactica's latest XO, Karl "Helo" Agathon was
Boomer's ECO.
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