| "They're all over me! Get them off my-" - A clone trooper pilot during the Battle of Coruscant. |
| Droid Tri-Fighter. | |
|---|---|
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| Production Information: | |
| Manufacturer: | Colla Designs; Phlac-Arphocc Automata Industries. |
| Model: | Tri-fighter. |
| Class: | Starfighter. |
| Cost: | New: 20,000 credits; Used: 8,000 credits. |
| Technical Specifications: | |
| Length: | 5.4 meters. |
| Width: | 3.45 meters. |
| Maximum Acceleration: | 3,600 G. |
| MGLT: | 125. |
| Maximum Speed (atmosphere): | 1,180 km/h to 37,000 km/h. |
| Hyperdrive system: | None. |
| Shielding: | None. |
| Armament: | Medium laser cannon (1); Light laser cannons (3); Buzz droid discord missiles (2-6). |
| Crew: | Integrated droid brain. |
| Passengers: | None. |
| Cargo Capacity: | None. |
| Consumables: | None. |
| Usage: | |
| Year Introduced: | 20 BBY. |
| Era(s): | Impirial Era; Rebellion Era. |
| Affiliation: | Confederacy of Independent Systems; Separatist holdouts. |
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| A trio of Droid Tri-Fighters over Coruscant. | Tri-fighters in space. |
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The droid tri-fighter was designed by the Colicoid Creation Nest-makers of the deadly droideka-and manufactured by Colla Designs and Phlac- Arphocc Automata Industries. The droid's ridged, three-armed design was based on the skull features of a fearsome predator native to the planet Colla IV.
The bracing arms surrounded the droid's advanced artificial brain, housed in a rotating, gyroscopic core. The droid tri-fighter had three independent thrusters, providing it with great agility, and a powerful reactor and control/communications transceiver that gave the craft unusual range for a fighter drone.
It was armed with one heavy laser cannon protruding from the central ball, and a light laser cannon for each of the three arms. They could fire independently or together and could slightly tilt on rail to improve its deadly aim. Two to six missiles of variable payloads were housed within each arm. The nose-like cannon made the droid tri-fighter similar in appearance to the DSD1 dwarf spider droid also used by the Confederacy.
The droid tri-fighter was capable of deploying buzz droids via discord missiles fixed to the underside, and quickly became rival to the ARC-170 starfighter and the V-wing starfighter. Although it could not outrun the Eta-2 Actis Interceptors favored by the Geh 'Dia, it was bulkier and more heavily armed, making it a challenge for even the best living starpilots to overcome.
History
The droid tri-fighter was introduced into the Confederate Navy relatively late in the conflict, and its usage would further deplete Trade Federation coffers. One of its first recorded uses was on Praesitlyn, where they fought against the T-19 starfighters of the Praesitlyn Defense Force. Tri-fighters were also deployed at Boz Pity, Saleucami, and Belderone. It would prove troublesome for even Geh 'Dia pilots, as evidenced when three tri-fighters came close to overcoming them.
Many tri-fighters fought during the Battle of Coruscant, where they decimated ARC-170 squadrons. Swarms of them also fought in the battle within the city, harassing Geh 'Dia and clone pilots. Following the execution of the Separatist Council by Darth Sidious's new apprentice, Darth Vader, these units were de-activated. At least one tri-fighter comprised part of the Imperial junkyard during the Galactic Civil War.
Current Status
The UGC does NOT allow the use of armed variants of the Droid Tri-Fighter by any allied faction. The droid tri fighter has far too much baggage from the Forgotten Era, enough so that the factions within the Rakatan Galaxy refuse to use them. However, they do allow unarmed or significantly downgraded versions, and in fact they are "used" in the sense of utilized by many Rakatans- As target drones. In this they actually excel with one of the highest dodging and engagement algorithms, which have increased over the last million years of experience. This makes the pilots they train that much better- Better, even, than UGC fighter pilots for those who drilled against the Tri Fighter (not every faction has them and few have enough to train all of their pilots). They also are used as various types of probes where a biological crew is undesirable but loosing a fully expendable droid is considered not a loss- Despite the fact that the Tri Fighters have gained limited sentience by UGC legal standards.
Powerplant:
The Tri-fighter was ordinally equipped with Confederacy Of Independent Systems standardized Berile Flash Impellers; Now they use a very wide array of powerplants, ranging from much worse to much better than the original design.
Drive System:
The same Berile Impellers also provided thrust; Now they use many types also ranging from much better to much worse.
Electronics:
The original electronics of the Tri Fighter was pretty limited, being only that necessary to identify a target, differentiate it from a friendly, and engage. Since then they have been upgraded fairly universally.
Defensive Systems:
As originally built, the Tri Fighter had little to no defensive systems; Almost universally, they have been upgraded with missile decoys, shields, etc. Results vary widely based on the users needs, and many have been changed many times.
Weapons Systems:
As originally designed, the Tri Fighter had light laser cannons and missiles, either medium concussion or "buzz droid discord missiles." There are no surviving examples of buzz missiles, and scant recordings of what they were and how they worked.
Currently they are required to be unarmed, but pirates and criminals routinely ignore this requirement. Most are armed with light or medium laser cannons.
FTL Systems:
As originally designed Tri Fighters were not equipped with FTL drives and are rarely so equipped now although some users have installed them; The purpose varies, but usually only by those who are using them for some kind of probe.
A major exception is the GIB, who recovered the Rendquell Depot, consisting of nearly three quarters of a million Tri Fighters (and others) that they rebuilt. They use them as probes to discover new potentially interesting systems; The Tri Fighters will jump to a new system, making initial scouting operations, then jump to the next system. As the data file is filled, they jump back to their home station (the location is completely classified).
Manned Versions:
There are rarely found manned version. Such conversion require extensive overhauls, the process is QUITE expensive and serves very little purpose.