starviper starfighter

The StarViper-class attack platform was a model of heavy attack starfighter manufactured by a subdivision of MandalMotors called Mandal Hypernautics. The fighter was lightly armored, but compensated for this with heavy weaponry and fast speed. Its high price meant that it was primarily found in use by larger crime syndicates like Black Sun and the Zann Consortium.


The StarViper-class attack platform was designed by Mandal Hypernautics. The fighter had a unique design, with four wings extended from a central cockpit that could be extended or retracted for various combat needs. When in maneuvering mode, the wings were folded back horizontally allowing for greater speed and maneuverability for dogfighting. This mode locked the swiveling twin heavy laser cannons in forward position. When not required for close-quarters combat, the wings opened out which allowed the laser cannons to rotate forward and aft. The StarViper's hull was adequately strong, but it had relatively weak armor for a heavy starfighter. It compensated for it with speed, agility and dual forward-mounted proton torpedo launchers that could fire on enemy ships before they were in range to return fire.^[​1]


While the StarViper was designed by a Mandalorian company, it was not often used by their fighting forces. Because of the fighter's high price tag of 160,000 credits, only the more substantial underworld organizations, such as the Black Sun or the Zann Consortium, could afford them. The latter criminal venture used them as part of its arsenal and at one point sent a force of StarViper-class attack platforms to assault a privately-run space station whose owners were deeply indebted to it.^[​1]


During the Galactic Civil War, a wealthy crime lord hosted an unrestricted, anything-goes race through the primordial landscape of a proto-planet. Participants navigated around active volcanoes, through dangerous canyons and in the middle of treacherous storms in the hopes of winning the prize of a jewel-encrusted crown that rumor said included rare and valuable kyber crystals. The favored racer piloted a StarViper attack platform with preternatural reflexes and an almost eerie ability to predict and navigate around any obstacle. The individual's abilities drew the attention of the Galactic Empire.^[​1]