Battlestar Galactica (2003)/Raptor

Raptor landing on Caprica.

The Raptor is a multirole support vehicle that was in common use with the Colonial Fleet at the time of the Cylon attack on the Colonies. Generally operated by a crew of two, the Raptor is capable of both space and atmospheric flight, can be used as anything from a dropship to a mobile sensor platform, and is capable of short FTL hops.

The Raptor's roles in the Fleet include use as a short-range scout, transport ship, Marine assault carrier, electronic warfare platform supporting Viper starfighter combat operations. The Raptor's long-range sensors can transmit target telemetry on incoming ships to newer-model Mark VII Viper fighter craft, serving as a mobile combat operations center. The Raptor is also capable of jamming target locks on incoming weapons and jamming outgoing transmissions from other spacecraft.

Raptors' crew positions include the pilot, copilot, and Electronic Countermeasures Officer. The ECO's job is to monitor sensor readouts and utilize the Raptor's extensive electronic warfare capability during combat situations, leaving the pilot to concentrate on flight operations. In some situations such as scout patrols, the pilot and ECO can separately monitor the sensor readouts, allowing two simultaneous sensor sweeps to be run.

Trivia

• The Raptor's design was inspired by the United States' Apache attack helicopter.