Kyriaki
Dark Phoenix
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Drone warfare.
Image Source: Here.
Canon Link: N/A.
Permissions: N/A
Primary Source: N/A
PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Manufacturer: Tephrike
Affiliation: Tephrike
Market Status: Closed-Market
Model: Retaliator Sky-Strike Drone
Modularity: Aesthetics, ordnance, release mechanism. Theoretically, the drone can be equipped with a shield generator, but the cost is prohibitive since it requires a far more expensive power system. The people building and deploying these drones are insurgents, who are operating on a very limited budget. Thus it is more cost-effective for them to have three unshielded units than one shielded one.
Production: Minor
Material: Durasteel, electronics, standard components.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Classification: N/A, remotely operated.
Weight: Light
Height: Small
Movement: Propellers
Armaments:
- Explosive munitions. Ordnance can range from IEDs and standard infantry grenades to anti-tank grenades, thermal detonators, detonite bombs and mines etc.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Variable ordnance. Usually a couple grenades are carried. Bigger munitions increase weight and may impact the unit's speed.
- Release mechanism can also be simple. Something as simple as a crude electric contact fuse is sufficient. Bomb dropping mechanism can also be controlled by a servomotor, with a plastic container underneath the drone housing the munition. A plastic apparatus and a tail may be attached to the rear part of the ordnanace so that from the point where it is disposed, it follows a linear path and drops on its ground target.
- The drone's quiet engines and low profile make it good at escaping detection. This also makes it more difficult to shoot it down because using sophisticated guided munitions against a couple small drones is not very cost-effective. However, the Retaliator lacks high-tech stealth systems.
- The drone can be modified to function in a kamikaze role.
- Very fast, agile and has quiet engines.
- For its compact size and low cost, it can cause a lot of carnage. Depending on the payload, the bombs dropped by a drone can have a destructive power equal to that of rifle grenades and 60mm mortar rounds. Three to six grenades dropped by a drone can cause quite a blast, even though they are unguided. Essentially, they are ground attack gunships on a shoestring budget.
- Limited range.
- Basic armour and lacks a shield generator. Missile launchers, heavy weapons and anti-air platforms are a problem.
- Requires a remote operator. Advanced electronic warfare systems can potentially impair the drone's ability to distinguish control signals from the remote pilot.
It has been said that the use of small, remote controlled airborne drones to launch attacks is a poor man's air force. This is certainly true for the Republican Guard, a vanguard insurgent movement that fights to free Tephrike from the tyrannical grip of the Jedi-led Dominion of Light and the human supremacist, Vader-worshipping 'Greater Sith Imperium'. Rebellions may be built on hope, but they are fought with viciousness. The deployment of improvised drones to drop munitions on the enemy is a low-cost tactic that allows the partisans to cause carnage. One such model utilised by the Republican Guard is the Retaliator Sky-Strike Drone, which is based on a commercial drone repurposed for warfare. The way these devices works is that the operators set up a release mechanism, and strap some small bombs to the drones.
Then the Retaliator hovers over a target and drops the explosives on them. The release mechanism can be simple, the same applies to ordnance. A standard 40mm grenade where the release mechanism pulls the pin works fine. Even something as simple as a crude electric contact fuse is sufficient. A little plastic attachments to add a tail and fin stabiliser to grenades is often employed. Although the drones tend to be armed with small, simple munitions, they perform well within their niche. Depending on the payload, the bombs dropped by a drone can have a destructive power equal to that of rifle grenades and 60mm mortar rounds. Three to six grenades dropped by a drone can cause quite a blast. Each strike can also cause also damage enemy morale, at relatively low cost. The Republican Guard does not have much of an air force, but this is a way for it to retaliate against Dominion and Vaderite terror bombings.
Moreover, the drones are fairly cheap. Obviously this means their armour and advanced systems are very limited, but they are deployed in swarms. Their greatest strengths are speed and having a quiet approach. The airborne device can also be modified to perform as a suicide drone. Some partisans are fond of attaching explosives, including land mines or mortar shells, to the drones and simply sending them on kamikaze runs against the enemy.
The Retaliator can fly at night, even in bad weather conditions. Having moving-head cameras and the ability to hover increase the likelihood of the unit's munitions hitting the intended target. Lacking an genuine, autonomous droid brain, the drone must be controlled by a remote operator, who obviously needs to remain hidden at a safe distance. Basic but surprisingly functional software is used to control the drones, determine flight tracks, input commands, determine altitude and speed parametres and so on. Parametres, routes and commands can be altered while the software is running. The training of a single drone pilot operator takes between two weeks and a month.
Vehicle convoys are preferred targets for drone strikes, as are infantry patrols. But the partisans also use them to strike at logistical targets, wreaking havoc behind enemy lines. Hitting logistics is especially valuable. That is always a key target for a guerilla force trying to grind someone down. Naturally, they are also employed for targeted assassinations and plain terror strikes. Moreover, the Retaliator can be outfitted with surveillance equipment. Drone operators thus also act as navigators for partisans.
Though originally designed by the Republican Guard, this model of drone has been adopted by the Unchained, a group of Tephriki exiles and former concentration camp prisoners with libertarian socialist convictions. They are now being deployed against Firemane, a tyrannical megacorp. The Tephriki have begun instructing Tygaran rebels in the devices' use.
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