The Raptor is a multipurpose military spacecraft featured in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica.
The Raptor is designed for reconnaissance, scouting, and electronic countermeasures operations. Raptors have a multitude of electronic countermeasure and monitoring tools including jamming transmissions, scrambling signals of guided weapons, and Viper IFF operations.
Description
Normally, Raptors accompany Viper squadrons and provides targeting information as well as electronic counter measures. Raptors can also carry external munitions to assist Vipers against large targets.
As a scout, Raptors can operate independently using short and medium-range scans to detect radio, heat, or other signatures from spacecraft, scanning planet surfaces for life, energy output, and mineral content and location, scouting ahead and looking for hazards ahead of its battlestar's FTL jump.
The Raptor's non-combat roles include SAR (search and rescue) operations and transport of military personnel in hostile areas. Raptors, like Vipers are capable of atmospheric operations. Unlike Vipers, however, Raptors are also capable of short-range FTL jumps. Its standard crew includes a pilot and electronics countermeasure officer (ECO)[1]
Technical Specifications
A Raptor can carry about eight to ten adults in addition to its two-person crew functioning as a transporter and can carry about eight marines including their equipment as an assault vessel. The crew of a Raptor operate using their flight suits and helmets in order to ensure their protection in case of any hull breach causing depressurization of its cabin.
It cannot takeoff from a Battlestar's launch tube like the Vipers because of its large size; it is launched from a flight pod instead.
Raptors can fly in both atmosphere and space, but in order to maintain lift in an atmosphere its engines must be constantly running which consumes more fuel. At low speeds, Raptors may experience poor handling.