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The bladeship is a remote-controlled fighter craft of the Comitat.
Similar in scale to the Colonial Viper and its opposite number, the Cylon Raider, bladeships are the interception craft deployed by Comitat frigates. Unlike these counterparts, bladeships use energy weapons capable of incapacitating organisms and ships for capture as part of their creed against harming life (Battlestar Galactica Classic #0—#3). Such weapons can also be used in destructive applications (Battlestar Galactica Classic #5).
Bladeships greater agility, speed, and coordination allow for effectual containment measures, as demonstrated by swarming Galactica's outer launch tube paths to prevent the launch of Vipers (Battlestar Galactica Classic #1).
Remotely controlled by Thanes from frigates or other command ships, bladeships reduce the loss of life by not being controlled by pilots housed in said craft (Battlestar Galactica Classic #0-#1). This also allows the ships to be used as weapons themselves, impaling into their targets and delivering a powerful electro-magnetic pulse, thus disabling the ship for later boarding and recovering of persons of interest aboard (Battlestar Galactica Classic #2).
Integrated within each bladeship is a homing system that allows the ship to find its launch point, despite the interference of the Empyrean Expanse. Captain Apollo has Doctor Wilker extricate this device from a damaged bladeship recovered after a battle to integrate it into his own Viper, so as to locate the Comitat forces (Battlestar Galactica Classic #2).