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 designed for aerial-based support and infantry transportation. It was 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 affectionately 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, direct 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 comprised a clone trooper pilot and co-pilot/forward gunner in the hunchbacked cockpit, and two auxiliary gunners stationed in pinpoint composite-beam turrets extending on articulated arms from the troop cabin. An IM-6 medical droid was commonly carried aboard in an emergency locker. In the event of emergencies, the cockpit capsule could separate from the main craft to act as an escape pod.

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, HE (high explosive), HEAP (high explosive armor-piercing), and APF (anti-personnel fragmentation) rounds; 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-class assault ship could carry up to eighty LAAT-series gunships, while a Venator-class Star Destroyer had space for half that complement. The LAAT was highly effective but lacked large amounts of armor making it a vulnerable target.

When approaching a target, the main cabin would light up red, a visual indicator to stand by, when troopers would conduct last moment preparations including checking their ammunition and communication systems. Once touching down, the red lights would change to green, signaling clearance to disembark.

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 valuable 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. During the war, Jedi would occasionally pilot the gunships, as demonstrated by Mace Windu at Geonosis and Obi-Wan Kenobi at the Battle of Thule. 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 unveiled their answer to the LAAT, the MAF, followed by the HMP, both of which matched the LAAT in terms of firepower. 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 Jabiimi and Kaminoan rebels.

During the Galactic Civil War, an Imperial storm commando named Sarkli, along with many other stormtroopers, landed in a canyon on Geonosis after a skirmish in the asteroid field with Rogue Squadron. Sarkli's escape pod landed near an LAAT/i gunship left over from the Clone Wars. The Imperials were attacked by B1 battle droids, also from the Clone Wars. Sarkli commandeered the LAAT/i in an attempt to escape the droids.

Wedge Antilles, who had also crashed on Geonosis, fought his way through stormtroopers and droids and was attacked and almost killed by Sarkli when he came out of the chaos. The LAAT was severely damaged when Wedge took control of an E-Web blaster. Swearing revenge on Wedge, Sarkli crashed the LAAT/i into the canyon wall.

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 command variant commonly used by Advanced Recon Commandos. Some models lack the bubble turrets on the sides of the deck (possibly because of the suicidal exposed position on the craft; though there were still were some models with the turrets, most likely because of the expendability of a clone) and painting on the sides instead like Kowakian lizard monkeys or Twi'leks.

Behind the scenes
The LAAT was inspired by real-world helicopter gunships, notably the Soviet (now Russian) Mil Mi-24 Hind helicopter gunship. The ARC LAAT/i's "nose art" was inspired by the decoration found on some real-world combat aircraft such as the Curtiss P-40 from the 1st AVG Flying Tigers.

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Kowakian Monkey-Lizzard
 * Giant spiders are awesome
 * Always count your clones before take-off
 * Star Wars: Republic Commando: Order 66
 * Old Wounds