Hyena-class Droid Bomber

Hyena-class Droid Bomber
Production information
Manufacturer	Baktoid Armor Workshop
Model	Hyena-class bomber
Class	Starfighter Bomber
Cost	120,000 credits
Technical specifications
Length	12.48 meters (in flight)
Height/depth	3.1 meters (in flight)
Maximum atmospheric speed	1,150 kph
Sensor systems	3 photoreceptors
Armament	Quad laser cannon Missile pods (2) Proton torpedoes (6) Concussion missiles (6) Bomb chute Proton bombs (4)
Consumables	48 hours
Usage
Role(s)	Bomber
Affiliation	Confederacy of Independent Systems Confederacy of Independent Systems Navy

"We need to add some pressure on those who are sent to rescue our enemies on Christophsis. Send the Hyena bombers to hit Senator Organa on the surface."

―Admiral Trench

Hyena-class Droid Bombers, also known as Hyena-class bombers, Hyena droid bombers or Hyena bombers, were droid starfighters manufactured by Baktoid Armor Workshop. They were designed for heavy ordnance bombing runs. Based on vulture droid designs, Hyena bombers had wider and sturdier hulls with huge wings to gain stability during flight. Like vulture droids, it could transform its shape into walking mode. These were used by the Confederacy of Independent Systems, against the Republic forces during the Clone Wars.

Hyena bombers were heavily used in multiple battles during the Clone Wars, conducting bombing raids on enemy fortifications, or taking out vehicles.

Description

Hyena bombers in walker mode

The Hyena-class Droid Bomber was a model of droid starfighter that was the technical successor to the smaller, less sturdy, and more lightly armored Variable Geometry Self-Propelled Battle Droid, Mark I, also known as vulture droids. Like its predecessor, it was designed to be cheaper and easier to construct than equivalent starships driven by organic pilots, also making it more disposable. The space that would usually be taken up by a pilot was instead used to carry a hefty armament of ordnance, including light laser cannons, proton torpedos, concussion missiles, and proton bombs.

One of the Hyena-class bomber's greatest strengths was its versatility. The bomber was slower and less maneuverable than a vulture droid, but was still light enough to perform the role of a starfighter rather than a bomber if required, working alongside vulture droids and making good use of its laser cannons. The bomber's droid brain was made versatile enough to handle this switching of roles, and could use its own initiative in battle or follow precise orders blindly, even including suicide runs. The integrated droid brain also allowed the bombers to execute physically demanding maneuvers that biological pilots would not be able to withstand, making it a tough opponent for biological pilots not at the top of their game.

Hyena-class bombers were able to fly in both deep space and atmosphere, but were also capable of entering "walker mode" like their predecessors. In walker mode, the bomber's wings would split to fold beneath the body and become legs, allowing it to walk in an upright configuration. While walking, the bombers towered intimidatingly over most ground troops and gave Separatist tacticians yet another deployment option for the versatile craft.

History

Proof of concept

Baktoid technicians work on a Hyena-class bomber prototype

The Hyena-class Droid Bomber was designed and constructed in initially limited numbers by Baktoid Armor Workshop for use by the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars. The bombers quickly proved their worth at the Battle of Christophsis, where Separatist Admiral Trench used Hyena-class vessels to run repeated and deadly bombing raids on Republic-controlled areas of the planet Christophsis. The battle allowed the speed and efficiency with which the bombers could strike and return to base to be fully demonstrated, and it was not long before the Hyena-class started to show up in Separatist flight wings across the galaxy.

As Hyena-class bomber became a serious player in the increasingly deadly aerial arena of the war, the addition of the light bomber to compliment and fly alongside the other droid starfighters of the Confederacy navy added a new dimension for the Galactic Republic's strategists to deal with. Throughout the war the Hyena-classes's ordnance proved devastating to Republic forces on a number of occasions, and their versatility and efficiency when used alongside vulture droids gave the Separatists the upper hand in a number of key battles.

This lead to Republic commanders making their destruction a top priority and targeting the bombers from the outset of any battle in order to reduce the havoc they could wreak on vulnerable ground targets or strongholds. This singling out of the vessels was seen as a nod to the proficiency of Baktoid Armor Workshop and the ships they produced, being as near to a compliment as any military leader could pay another.

Priority target

Bombardment carried out by Hyena-class drones

The model was still relatively rare compared to the innumerable hordes of vulture droids deployed by the Separatists, but the bombers were highly desirable to the Confederacy's commanders and so saw action across many of the battlefields of the Clone Wars. Separatist leader Wat Tambor made use of Hyena-class bombers during the Battle of Ryloth, using the droids to target populated villages on the planet as part of a campaign of cruel shock tactics.

At the Battle of Sullust, the T-series tactical droid TJ-912 had a Hyena-class bomber carry out a suicide run on the hangar of a Republic starship in order to kill the personnel inside, although the attempt was ultimately thwarted. At the Battle of Malastare, Hyena-bombers proved that even upon failing in their objective the bombers could cause large amounts of damage to the enemy when RX-200 Falchion-class assault tanks targeted a Hyena-class squadron and disabled their primary weapons, forcing them to abandon their compromised primary aerial assault strategy and instead launch kamikaze runs on the Republic's armored columns. While this did prove successful, the tactic was nonetheless frowned upon.

Appearances

• Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
• Star Wars Battlefront II
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Cat and Mouse"
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Supply Lines"
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Liberty on Ryloth" (First appearance)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Zillo Beast"
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "ARC Troopers"
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Heroes on Both Sides"
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Nightsisters"
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Citadel" (In flashback(s))
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Citadel Rescue"
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Shadow Warrior" (In flashback(s))
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Massacre"
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Bound for Rescue"
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Secret Weapons"
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Unknown"
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Crisis at the Heart"
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Big Bang"
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Bad Batch" (In flashback(s))

Sources

•  hyena bombers in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
• "Liberty on Ryloth" Episode Guide – The Clone Wars on StarWars.com (backup link)
• Ultimate Star Wars (First identified as Hyena-class bomber)
• Star Wars Helmet Collection 15 (Databank A-Z: Dooku–Dwarf Spider Droids)
• Star Wars Helmet Collection 25 (Databank A-Z: Hydroid Medusas–Imperial Academies)
• Star Wars: On the Front Lines
• The Last Jedi: Bomber Command
• Star Wars Helmet Collection 37 (Highlights of the Saga: The Battle of Ryloth) (Indirect mention only)
• Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles
• Rise of the Separatists
•  Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition – Hyena-class Droid Bomber Expansion Pack (Card: Baktoid Prototype) (First identified as Hyena-class Droid Bomber, simultaneous with  Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition – Hyena-class Droid Bomber Expansion Pack (Card: Bombardment Drone),  Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition – Hyena-class Droid Bomber Expansion Pack (Card: DBS-32C),  Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition – Hyena-class Droid Bomber Expansion Pack (Card: DBS-404),  Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition – Hyena-class Droid Bomber Expansion Pack (Card: Landing Struts (Closed)),  Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition – Hyena-class Droid Bomber Expansion Pack (Card: Landing Struts (Open)),  Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition – Hyena-class Droid Bomber Expansion Pack (Card: Separatist Bomber),  Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition – Hyena-class Droid Bomber Expansion Pack (Card: Techno Union Bomber))
•  Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition – Hyena-class Droid Bomber Expansion Pack (Card: Bombardment Drone)
•  Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition – Hyena-class Droid Bomber Expansion Pack (Card: DBS-32C)
•  Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition – Hyena-class Droid Bomber Expansion Pack (Card: DBS-404)
•  Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition – Hyena-class Droid Bomber Expansion Pack (Card: Landing Struts (Closed))
•  Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition – Hyena-class Droid Bomber Expansion Pack (Card: Landing Struts (Open))
•  Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition – Hyena-class Droid Bomber Expansion Pack (Card: Separatist Bomber)
•  Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition – Hyena-class Droid Bomber Expansion Pack (Card: Techno Union Bomber)
• Collapse of the Republic
•  Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition – BTL-B Y-Wing Expansion Pack (Card: Foresight) (Reissued in Hotshots and Aces Reinforcements Pack) (Picture only)
• Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
•  Hyena Bomber Droid in the Databank (backup link)

Notes and references

In other languages

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