Pathfinder-class scout ship

Vangaard Pathfinder

The Vangaard Pathfinder was a scout vessel first produced by Vangaard Industries over sixty years before the formation of the New Republic. At the time, it was a cutting-edge scout vessel, one of the first ships of its size to include a hyperdrive and computer-assisted weapons systems. It was also

The Pathfinder was notable for the unique design of its shield generator. When the shields absorbed a hit, the energy absorbed was diverted to the ship's laser cannon, increasing its firepower. After three hits, however, the generator overloaded, and the ship's shields were unusable for a brief period of time. Some early models were actually destroyed due to explosions in their shield generators. Many scouts and pilots operating Pathfinders replaced their ships' shield generators with more conventional ones which were not prone to overload. Others elected to keep the original generators, either to save the 10,000 credit price of a rebuilt shield generator or to keep the damage-aborbing properties of its weapons systems.

Although the problems with the shields led to Vangaard stopping production of the Pathfinder, it found success as a privately owned scout ship even as late as the New Republic era. It was inexpensive, had sufficent space for a scout's cargo and passengers, could operate for six standard months without supplies, and (except for the shields) was extremely reliable.