IG-227 Hailfire-class droid tank/Legends

"Be careful, Mace! Their missiles are lethal!"

- Luminara Unduli to Mace Windu

The IG-227 Hailfire-class droid tank, also known as the wheel droid, was a droid tank constructed by Haor Chall Engineering for the InterGalactic Banking Clan prior to and during the Clone Wars. It was highly effective against armor.

Characteristics


The Hailfire-class droid tank was a self-aware mobile missile platform capable of destroying entire platoons of enemy soldiers. It ran on large hoop-like wheels on either side of the main armored command module, which enabled it to operate on almost any terrain at impressive speed.

The Hailfire-class was well equipped, with missile launchers fitted on each side of its head, each missile rack carrying 15 guided rocket warheads powerful enough to cause terrible damage to enemy targets. A well-placed shot with one of these missiles was enough to destroy a Republic AT-TE walker.

Each Hailfire droid also had a retractable double blaster for use against infantry and other "soft" targets.

The Hailfire-class also had many different configurations that boasted different types of weapons. Some of the configurations included heavy blaster artillery, ion cannons, or anti-personell stun weapon batteries. The wheels' inward design gave Hailfires a wider lateral range and the ability to crush tightly grouped soldiers and small vehicles.

History
"We've come to repossess the planet."

- InterGalactic Banking Clan commander Horgo Shive



Before the Clone Wars, the Hailfire droid was used by the Banking Clan's euphemistically named "Collections and Security Division" to punish customers which had failed to pay their debts on time.

Hailfire droids first appeared as part of the army of the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Battle of Geonosis, where they disabled or destroyed numerous AT-TEs and injured or killed countless clone troopers before being destroyed by LAAT/i gunships. During the war, many Hailfires of various models and types continued to fight in battles against the Republic's army, and were used extensively during the first parts of the war.

Due to the limited supply of 30 warheads for each unit, the Banking Clan retired the Hailfire from the battlefield for some time. The Clan came up with an answer to this problem, though: air-mobile refresh droids that could resupply the Hailfires with warheads were partnered with them in the battlefield, and once again, the Hailfire became the scourge of slow-moving vehicles.

Following the execution of the Separatist Council by Darth Sidious's new apprentice, Darth Vader, these units were deactivated. However, some Hailfire components were reactivated and used by the Wookiees against Imperial landing parties during the Empire's subjugation of the planet in 19 BBY.

Behind the scenes
In Attack of the Clones, Confederate rockets, including those of Hailfire droids, were keyed to leave black smoke in contrast to the white trails left by Republic missiles.

The Hailfire droid had a real life counterpart, the Russian Tsar Tank, designed in 1914. It followed a similar design, with two large hoop-like wheels along with a third smaller steering wheel mounted on an axle with guns mounted in turrets in the middle. However, this tank never made it past the prototype stage, being deemed too unwieldy and vulnerable to enemy artillery fire.

Another Russian design similar in function to the Hailfire droid is the Katyusha rocket launcher, which acted as mobile artillery much like the Hailfire droid.