This is Why The Droid Gunship Was Terrifying During The Clone Wars

Star Wars

Oct 23

Do you remember Darth Maul’s double-bladed lightsaber from The Phantom Menace? Of course you do. Just looking at the thing is absolutely terrifying, but as it is literally a double-edged sword, it’s also a threat to the user. This is also how many confederate civilians, politicians, and generals saw one of their most powerful ships, the Droid Gunship.

The Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS)-owned Heavy Missile Platform (or HMP) droid gunship does probably the exact thing you’d expect after hearing its name. The ship was capable of flying at up to 100km (62 miles) per hour, and was controlled by a droid “brain” inside that was linked to a droid control ship, allowing it to integrate seamlessly into the separatists’ battle plans. This is particularly devastating when you learn its arsenal contained a forward-mounted heavy laser cannon and a pair of turrets with lighter turrets, all of which could be aimed with stunning accuracy. Its flanks were guarded by a medium laser cannon on each side, and it had ordinance racks that could fire any missile that the CIS used, allowing each ship’s main barrage to be tailor-made pre-battle to suit its projected needs. They could also carry and deploy battle droids for a ground assault to finish off any opponents who had successfully retreated.

If you think this makes it sound like an absolute terror to anyone, you’d be correct. However, this wouldn’t calm down many of the separatists, at least not the ones unable to command them. War makes monsters out of everyone, and the CIS is no exception. One of the most notable incidents of this was the incident at Onderon. Sanjay Rash, the illegitimate king of Onderon, formed a dictatorship with himself as the leader. When a group of rebels fought back, Rash got a super tactical droid to counter them. The droid and Rash decided, after a failed execution of the former legitimate leader, to send some HMPs into the rebel camp to finish them off. The rebels were only bailed out by Anakin Skywalker, who took out the ships with rocket launchers. During the fight, Steela Gerrera perished, leading to the radicalization of her brother Saw. Another similar case was Ado Eemon, who used the gunships to bring down anyone who threatened his ruling of Caramm V.

The Gunship made its most well-known appearance in Revenge of the Sith, giving Yoda and the Wookiees some problems in the Battle of Kashyyk.