Raider (RDM)

The Raider is the primary air/space superiority fighter used by the Cylons against the peoples of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. There have been at least two designs used since the outbreak of hostilities between the two powers.

Cylon War-era Raider

Cylon War-era Raider
[show/hide spoilers] Spoilers hidden in infobox by default only.
Race:	Cylon
Type:	Military
FTL:	Yes
Propulsion:
Crew:	Up to 3 Centurions
Capacity:
CO:	{{{co}}}
XO:	{{{xo}}}
Role:	Space superiority fighter, dropship
Weapons:	2 triple barrel rotary guns, missiles
Armaments:	{{{arm}}}
Defenses:	{{{def}}}
Aircraft:	{{{aircraft}}}
Aviation facilities:	{{{facilities}}}
Fate:	{{{status}}}
Emblem:	[[File:{{{patch}}}|175px|Ship's patch]]
Other Images:	Gallery
Dimensions
Length:
Width:	{{{width}}}
Height:
Weight:	{{{weight}}}
Wingspan:
Other:	{{{otherdi}}}
Game Information
Cost:	{{{construction}}}
Construction Time:	{{{construction}}}
Hull Size:	{{{hull size}}}
Hull:	{{{hull}}}
Mobility
FTL Cooldown:	{{{ftl cooldown}}} turns
Speed:	{{{speed}}} m/s
Turn Rate:	{{{turn rate}}}°/turn
Armor Sum
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}}}
Armament
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

During the Cylon War, raiders resembled a big "flying wing," and carried a crew of at least three Centurions piloting under the command of a specifically designated model. They are a mainstay in the Cylon arsenal of the time ^{(TRS: "Miniseries", "Razor" and "Blood and Chrome")}.

Deployed en masse by the Cylon basestar, Raiders are used to great effect against Colonial battlestars and are nearly a match in maneuverability against their Colonial counterparts, the Viper Mark II and Mark III. They are also used as drop-ships for deploying ground forces (as seen in the Battle of Tauron) and are capable of vertical take-offs and landings, much like the Colonial Raptor ^{(TRS: "Razor" and "Blood and Chrome")}.

In the tenth year of the Cylon War, Viper pilots train for combat using holobands to simulate battles between the Viper Mark IIIs and Cylon Raiders ^{(TRS: "Blood and Chrome")}.

During the last days of the Cylon War, Raiders destroy the battlestar Columbia in tandem with basestar missile salvos during Operation Raptor Talon ^{(TRS: "Razor")}.

Some forty years later, some Cylon War-era Raiders are still in active service. A contingent of Raiders is present aboard a lone Cylon War-era basestar which houses the First Hybrid. When the battlestar Pegasus inadvertently discovers this "Guardian basestar," a squadron of Raiders engages with the battlestar as well as its defending force of Viper Mark VIIs ^{(TRS: "Razor")}. A small number of original Raiders also appears at the Cylon Colony, shortly before its destruction by Galactica ^{(TRS: "Islanded in a Stream of Stars" and "Daybreak, Part II")}.

The Cylon War-era Raider is based heavily on the Original Series Raider. However, it is not identical as the TRS design has enlarged engines and wings that protrude forward from the main hull.

Modern Raider

Modern Raider
[show/hide spoilers] Spoilers hidden in infobox by default only.
Race:	Cylon
Type:	Military
FTL:	Yes
Propulsion:
Crew:	None (biomechanical being)
Capacity:
CO:	{{{co}}}
XO:	{{{xo}}}
Role:	Space superiority fighter
Weapons:	2 kinetic energy weapons, conventional/nuclear missiles.
Armaments:	{{{arm}}}
Defenses:	{{{def}}}
Aircraft:	{{{aircraft}}}
Aviation facilities:	{{{facilities}}}
Fate:	{{{status}}}
Emblem:	[[File:{{{patch}}}|175px|Ship's patch]]
Other Images:	Gallery
Dimensions
Length:	29.3 feet (8.94 meters)
Width:	{{{width}}}
Height:	4.97 feet (1.52 meters)
Weight:	{{{weight}}}
Wingspan:	18.3 feet (5.59 meters)
Other:	{{{otherdi}}}
Game Information
Cost:	{{{construction}}}
Construction Time:	{{{construction}}}
Hull Size:	{{{hull size}}}
Hull:	{{{hull}}}
Mobility
FTL Cooldown:	{{{ftl cooldown}}} turns
Speed:	{{{speed}}} m/s
Turn Rate:	{{{turn rate}}}°/turn
Armor Sum
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}}}
Armament
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 modern Raider, called sparrow in Colonial military jargon ^{(TRS: "Maelstrom")}, radically redesigned but still resembling its past incarnation as a giant flying wing, is first encountered 0 BCH (2000BYR) when the Cylons launch their devastating surprise attack on the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. During this attack, Raiders transmit commands to Colonial vessels utilizing the compromised Command Navigation Program (CNP ^{(TRS: "Miniseries", "Razor" and "The Plan")}.

This incarnation of the Raider is initially thought to be wholly mechanical in design, with a high-level AI controlling it. However, from inspection of a damaged Raider forced down in a firefight and recovered by Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace ^{(TRS: "Act of Contrition")}, the craft is found to be bio-mechanical in nature ^{(TRS: "You Can't Go Home Again")}, incorporating a number of large organs in its design, including a central brain. These organs are housed in the center mass, with a sliding hatch access underside of the fuselage, protected by an interior fibrous tissue layer. Raiders require an oxygen-nitrogen mix for their biological functions, and thus an oxygen supply, or the ability to generate said supply, is integrated into the craft ^{(TRS: "You Can't Go Home Again")}.

Though Raiders are self-aware, their intelligence level is less than that of a humanoid Cylon and more like a trained animal ^{(TRS: "Six Degrees of Separation")}. Nonetheless, they are capable of independent thought and action, and can refuse to follow orders if they choose ^{(TRS: "Six of One")}. Much like the humanoids, the bio-mechanical Raider's consciousness resurrects in a new "body" if it is destroyed. While this allows the Raider to "learn" from its previous mistakes and become a more proficient killing machine, it can cause Raiders to develop what can be described as a desire for revenge after repeated deaths ^{(TRS: "Scar")}. Galactica's Viper pilots are regularly outnumbered and survive, indicating that Cylon Raiders are generally not matches for skilled human pilots, which is supported when Humanoid Cylons assume control of their Raiders for later conflicts ^{(TRS: "The Hub")}.

The Raider is equipped with a FTL drive system ^{(TRS: "Miniseries")}. Following tests on the Raider captured by Galactica, this FTL system is found to be far more efficient in jump calculations than Colonial FTL systems. The drive aptly demonstrates both accuracy and range when Thrace takes the Raider from a point somewhere near the vicinity of Kobol back to Caprica in a single jump ^{(TRS: "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I")}.

It is armed with conventional and nuclear missiles carried in internal wing bays and two pairs of kinetic energy weapons of different calibers mounted under the leading edge of the wings. Curiously, the only times the Raiders have been seen using their missiles are during the Fall of the Twelve Colonies and the Battle of The Colony. This may indicate that Raiders are not normally armed with missiles.

Like its counterpart, the Colonial Viper, the Raider is capable of atmospheric operations, and retains an aerodynamic shape ^{(TRS: "You Can't Go Home Again")}. In lieu of landing skids, its wings supports its bulk when landed; for manual conveyance of unpowered Raiders, a wheeled rig or suspension via crane are used, particularly by Galactica's deckhands ^{(TRS: "Act of Contrition", "You Can't Go Home Again" and "Hero")}.

The October 25, 2006 "Full Collated" version of David Eick's "Hero" screenplay provides additional detail about the Raider's organic nature, notably a "bony little nodule near [the] eye-hole slit" that Daniel "Bulldog" Novacek hit with his thumb, allowing the ship to FTL jump through a list of programmed coordinates.

Modifications

During the Battle of the Ionian Nebula, a Raider identifies one of the Final Five after their activation, causing a sudden about-face with the Cylons retreating from their certain victory against the Fleet ^{(TRS: "He That Believeth in Me")}. Cavil concludes that the Raiders exceeded their programming, and to regain control over them the humanoid Cylons must reconfigure the Raiders' neural architecture and shave down their heuristic responses, essentially lobotomizing them and "dumbing them down." This decision leads to a violent split among the Cylons ^{(TRS: "Six of One" and "The Ties That Bind")}. This split further leads to the Battle of the Resurrection Hub, resulting in the destruction of the resurrection technology used by both the Humanoid Cylons and the Raiders ^{(TRS: "The Hub" and "Sine Qua Non")}.

Heuristically-reconfigured Raiders participate in the Battle of The Colony against Galactica's Vipers. For the first time since the Fall of the Colonies, they are observed firing ship-to-ship missiles ^{(TRS: "Daybreak, Part II")}.

Design and Development

Exterior Design Challenges

Designing the Cylon Raider proved to be equally challenging for visual effects supervisor Gary Hutzel and production illustrator Eric Chu, who had to produce a vessel that was cryptically described as a "squashed Cylon" at the start of the project. When they originally discussed the Raider, the production team wasn't sure where the producers wanted them to go with it, even wondering if they wanted a gigantic Cylon with feet and arms in space. David Eick then explained that they wanted to include the Cylon head in the design of the ship.

According to Chu, all of his initial designs maintained the same basic elements: a central fuselage (required by an earlier version of the miniseries' script), a face, and a general disc shape kept from the original Raider. The distinctive scimitar shape didn't come into existence until Charles Ratteray at Zoic Studios offered a variation on the design. Chu liked the basic shape and did a final pass to smooth the lines and give it a more organic feeling, which tied it in with the rest of the Cylon designs.

Bio-Mechanical Philosophy

The Cylon designs were based on the concept that they were machines evolving to become increasingly organic. Chu thought it was appropriate to add organic elements into their designs, influenced by electron microscope images of plant and animal life. The goal was to create the impression that Cylon vessels were cold and mechanical up close, but appeared organic from a distance.

Interior Design Approach

Production designer Richard Hudolin was tasked with designing the interiors of both Raiders and Basestars during the first season. Hudolin attempted to ensure that these designs were consistent with everything previously revealed about the Cylon race. Knowing that some Cylons were more evolved than others, he felt the ships were somewhere between the mechanical Centurions and Number Six, who is essentially organic. He figured the ships had evolved to a point where they were part-mechanical, part-organic units, integrating biomechanics with muscular skin and bone elements.

The interior of the Cylon Raider was specifically designed to reflect its bio-mechanical nature, as documented in concept art by Ken Rabehl. The inside of captured Raiders was custom designed to fit actors, particularly Katee Sackhoff in "You Can't Go Home Again," for filming scenes where characters interact with the bio-mechanical systems.

Notes

Production and Development

• In an homage to the Original Series Raider, the weapons fire of the Re-imagined Series Cylon Raiders is blue-white. Given the use of conventional weaponry only in the series, these are muzzle flashes and tracer rounds, and not energy weapons like in the Original Series.
• The design of the Raider has seen modifications since its debut in the Miniseries. Of note, the fore grill is not present until as early as Season 1's "Act of Contrition."
• As of "Razor," a new exterior design is being used for the modern Raider. This version displays a more reflective outer armor, and has a flatter face with a sharper jaw line. Overall, this affords the Raider a closer resemblance to the Centurion foot-soldier.
• A digital model of the Original Series Raider appears in Galactica's Museum during the Miniseries and, later, in "Daybreak, Part II."
• Visual effects supervisor Gary Hutzel was assigned the task of designing the exteriors of various ships, including the Cylon Raider, because production designer Richard Hudolin didn't have time to personally devise all the ship exteriors while also designing the production's sets.

Technical and In-Universe

• The concept drawings represent the interior of the modern Raider and emphasize the bio-mechanical nature of the craft. They are very close to the fully realized versions seen in the Re-imagined Series. However, there were several changes made and these drawings should not be considered completely canon.

Related Imagery

• 
  Raider, fore ^{(TRS: "Miniseries")}.
• 
  Raider, aft ^{(TRS: "Razor")}.
• 
  Raider missiles (Miniseries).
• 
  Raiders docked within a baseship ^{(TRS: "Torn")}.
• 
  Redesigned Raider cockpit
• 
  Closeup of the redesigned cockpit
• 
  Transmiting CNP Virus in The Plan
• 
  Raider on Galactica's hangar deck ^{(TRS: "You Can't Go Home Again")}.
• 
  Damaged Raider (Razor).
• 
  Raider functioning as a drop-ship (Razor).
• 
  Raider fires (Razor).
• 
  Internal workings.
• 
  The Brain.
• 
  Brain - Anterior view.
• 
  Starbuck in brain cavity.
• 
  Unused Raider concept by Chris Bell.
• 
  Render based on Chris Bell's concept, aft.
• 
  Render based on Chris Bell's concept, fore.

References