The Raider is the primary aerospace attack craft used by the Cylons.
Two variants of the Cylon Raider are known to have been developed:
- The piloted Raider
- The autonomous Raider
Piloted Raider[edit]
The piloted Raider was first encountered during the Cylon War. (Miniseries)
- The piloted Raider is the same as the Original Series Raider below.
- Within fan circles, when discussing the re-imagined series, it has been hypothesized that the original Raider was in fact a Colonial vehicle designed to be flown by a human crew. However, with the development of the Cylon Centurion, they were adapted to be flown by Cylons. Thus, their use during the Cylon War prompted the development of the Colonial Viper. Currently, there is nothing canon to support this.
Autonomous Raider[edit]
| Autonomous Raider | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Race: | Cylon | ||
| Type: | Military | ||
| FTL: | Yes | ||
| Propulsion: | |||
| Crew: | None (Shipboard AI) | ||
| Capacity: | |||
| CO: | {{{co}}} | ||
| XO: | {{{xo}}} | ||
| Role: | Space superiority fighter | ||
| Weapons: | 2 Kinetic Energy Weapons, missiles | ||
| Armaments: | {{{arm}}} | ||
| Defenses: | {{{def}}} | ||
| Aircraft: | {{{aircraft}}} | ||
| Aviation facilities: | {{{facilities}}} | ||
| Fate: | {{{status}}} | ||
| Emblem: | [[Image:{{{patch}}}|175px|Ship's patch]] | ||
| Other Images: | Gallery | ||
| Length: | (approx) 8.94 meters | ||
| Width: | {{{width}}} | ||
| Height: | (approx) 1.52 meters | ||
| Weight: | {{{weight}}} | ||
| Wingspan: | (approx) 5.59 meters | ||
| Other: | {{{otherdi}}} | ||
| Cost: | {{{construction}}} | ||
| Construction Time: | {{{construction}}} | ||
| Hull Size: | {{{hull size}}} | ||
| Hull: | {{{hull}}} | ||
| FTL Cooldown: | {{{ftl cooldown}}} turns | ||
| Speed: | {{{speed}}} m/s | ||
| Turn Rate: | {{{turn rate}}}°/turn | ||
| Armor Total: | {{{armor total}}} | ||
| Armor Left: | {{{armor left}}} | ||
| Armor Right: | {{{armor right}}} | ||
| Armor Front: | {{{armor front}}} | ||
| Armor Rear: | {{{armor rear}}} | ||
| Armor Top: | {{{armor top}}} | ||
| Armor Bottom: | {{{armor bottom}}} | ||
| DRADIS Range: | {{{dradis range}}} m | ||
| Processing Power: | {{{processing power}}} | ||
| Munition Slots: | {{{munitions}}} | ||
| Munition Cooldown Period: | {{{munition cooldown}}} turns | ||
| Squadron Slots: | {{{squadrons}}} | ||
| Squadron Size: | {{{squadron size}}} | ||
| Special Abilities: | {{{special abilities}}} | ||
| Additional Information | |||
The autonomous Raider was first encountered more than 40 years after the Cylon War, when the Cylons launched their devastating surprise attack on the Twelve Colonies. It is the new model that has superceded the old piloted Raider.
The vehicle is substantially different to the Piloted Raider, comprising a small fuselage mounted between two large forward-curved wings.
The autonomous Raider was initially thought to be wholly mechanical in design, with a high-level AI controlling it. However, following the recovery of a Raider that had been forced down onto a planetoid during a firefight with Lieutenant Kara Thrace (Act of Contrition), it was discovered the new Raider is, in fact, biomechanical in nature (You Can't Go Home Again), incorporating a number of large organs in its design, including an biomechanical brain.
Much like the Cylon agent models, the Raiders are capable of transferring their consciousness into new bodies after their death (Scar).
The autonomous Raider has a broad weapons capability:
- Conventional missiles carried in internal wing bays (Miniseries)
- Nuclear missiles mounted on under-wing racks (Miniseries)
- Two different caliber sets of twin kinetic energy weapon guns mounted under the leading edge of the wings (33 onward)
During the Cylon attack, the new Raider was also capable of transmitting an electronic virus to any Colonial vessel utilising the Command Navigation Program (CNP). The CNP had been compromised prior to the attack, and provided a backdoor by which integrated systems aboard Colonial vessels could be rendered inoperable, rendering the ship defenseless (Miniseries).
The new model of Cylon Raider is also equipped with a small-scale FTL drive system (Miniseries). Following tests on the Raider captured by the Galactica, this FTL system was found to be far more capable than Colonial FTL systems. Estimates showed that the drive could carry the Raider from somewhere near the vicinity of Kobol back to Caprica in a single jump (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I).
Like the previous model of Raider, it is capable of atmospheric operations (You Can't Go Home Again).
Overall, the new Raider is an agile fighter craft, far more maneuverable than its piloted forebear, and able to match Colonial Vipers in combat.
Cylon Raider (Video Game)[edit]
| Video Game Raider | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Race: | Cylon | ||
| Type: | Military | ||
| FTL: | Unknown | ||
| Propulsion: | |||
| Crew: | 1 Cylon | ||
| Capacity: | |||
| CO: | {{{co}}} | ||
| XO: | {{{xo}}} | ||
| Role: | Space superiority fighter | ||
| Weapons: | 4 Kinetic Energy Weapons | ||
| Armaments: | {{{arm}}} | ||
| Defenses: | {{{def}}} | ||
| Aircraft: | {{{aircraft}}} | ||
| Aviation facilities: | {{{facilities}}} | ||
| Fate: | Active | ||
| Emblem: | [[Image:{{{patch}}}|175px|Ship's patch]] | ||
| Other Images: | Gallery | ||
| Length: | {{{length}}} | ||
| Width: | {{{width}}} | ||
| Height: | {{{height}}} | ||
| Weight: | {{{weight}}} | ||
| Wingspan: | {{{wingspan}}} | ||
| Other: | {{{otherdi}}} | ||
| Cost: | {{{construction}}} | ||
| Construction Time: | {{{construction}}} | ||
| Hull Size: | {{{hull size}}} | ||
| Hull: | {{{hull}}} | ||
| FTL Cooldown: | {{{ftl cooldown}}} turns | ||
| Speed: | {{{speed}}} m/s | ||
| Turn Rate: | {{{turn rate}}}°/turn | ||
| Armor Total: | {{{armor total}}} | ||
| Armor Left: | {{{armor left}}} | ||
| Armor Right: | {{{armor right}}} | ||
| Armor Front: | {{{armor front}}} | ||
| Armor Rear: | {{{armor rear}}} | ||
| Armor Top: | {{{armor top}}} | ||
| Armor Bottom: | {{{armor bottom}}} | ||
| DRADIS Range: | {{{dradis range}}} m | ||
| Processing Power: | {{{processing power}}} | ||
| Munition Slots: | {{{munitions}}} | ||
| Munition Cooldown Period: | {{{munition cooldown}}} turns | ||
| Squadron Slots: | {{{squadrons}}} | ||
| Squadron Size: | {{{squadron size}}} | ||
| Special Abilities: | {{{special abilities}}} | ||
| Additional Information | |||
Also known as the 'Standard Raider', this version of the Raider was the primary fightercraft of the Cylons in the Battlestar Galactica Video Game. It was similar in design to the Original Series Raider. Piloted by a single Cylon, it was armed with two forward-firing kinetic energy weapons. Several other Raider variants also exist in the video game continuity.