Low Altitude Assault Transport/infantry/Legends

Low Altitude Assault Transport/infantry "These gunships fly like butcherbugs and cut into us like Blood Carvers. We must have one."

- Archduke Poggle the Lesser

The Low Altitude Assault Transport/infantry (LAAT/i), often referred to as the Republic attack gunship, was a specialized gunship produced by Rothana Heavy Engineering and used by the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars, and the Galactic Empire afterwards.

The LAAT/i was affectionally known as the "larty" by clone troopers.

Characteristics


The LAAT/i was a repulsorlift infantry transport capable of carrying up to thirty troopers. Secondary functions included reconnaissance, fire support, search-and-recovery, and low-altitude air-to-ground and air-to-air strikes against vehicles ranging from airspeeders to starfighters.

In addition to its trooper complement, housed on a deckplate protected by drooping wings and a sliding side door, the LAAT/i could carry four military speeder bikes in an aft-deployable rack. The crew complement was comprised of a clone trooper pilot and co-pilot/forward gunner in the hunchbacked cockpit, and two auxillery gunners stationed in composite-beam turrets extending on articulated arms from the troop cabin. An IM-6 medical droid was commonly carried aboard in an emergency locker.

The LAAT/i was a fully armed gun platform, with a complete arsenal of weaponry that consisted of three anti-personnel laser turrets, two forward-facing, one covering the stern hatch; two top-mounted mass-driver missile launchers fed by rear-mounted ordnance belts and commonly loaded with short-range homing missiles; four composite-beam, pin-point laser turrets, two of which were automated bubble-turrets located on either wing; and eight light air-to-air rockets stowed on the underside of each wing.



Infantry gunships were equipped with atmospheric containment shielding and could be deployed from space, although their optimal fighting range was still in the lower atmosphere, where they could reach speeds in excess of six hundred kilometers per hour. A single Acclamator I-class assault ship could carry up to eighty LAAT-series gunships, while a Venator-class Star Destroyer had space for half that complement.

History


An early LAAT-design was used as a prisoner transport by the Jedi Order at least ten years before the Clone Wars, but the more familiar infantry version gained fame as an air assault vehicle during the war.

The LAAT/i was first deployed in a military operation at the Battle of Geonosis, where six gunships rescued the surviving Jedi from the Petranaki arena under the command of General Yoda. The gunships proved invaluable for the Republic during the battle, eliminating many Hardcell-class transports and clearing the battlefield of many Separatist armored units, especially Hailfire droids, which were proving deadly for the Republic AT-TEs.

Flights of LAAT/i gunships attempted to disable and destroy many of the fleeing Lucrehulk-class core ships on the battlefield. Infantry gunships saw continued use throughout the war, with some stationed at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. They would prove pivotal for the Republic many times throughout the brutal conflict, helping win many battles. At some point, the Confederacy unvieled their answer to the LAAT, the MAF, followed by the HMP. Ultimately, remaining Republic LAAT/i gunships would be assimilated into the Imperial Army with the formation of the Galactic Empire. Eventually, the Empire would phase out the LAAT for various reasons.

During the Galactic Civil War, the Rebel Alliance found several disabled, yet still functional, LAAT gunships. The Alliance used these vehicles to further their cause in overthrowing the Empire. When in use by the Rebels, they were known as either "Alliance Assault Craft" or "Rebel Assault Transports". Other rebel groups not affiliated with the Alliance would also come to rely on the aging military transports, like the Jabiim and Kaminoan rebels.



Variants
Rothana Heavy Engineering produced a number of LAAT variants, including the LAAT/c, a carrier gunship capable of delivering walkers and fighter tanks onto the battlefield; the LAAT/v with deck space for sixteen speeder bikes or eight military landspeeders; and a variant commonly used by Advanced Recon Commandos.

Behind the scenes

 * The LAAT was inspired by real-world helicopter gunships, notably the Soviet (Russian) Mil Mi-24 Hind helicopter gunship.