Colonial Viper
the Fleet space superiority fighter
The Viper was the primary space superiority fighter of the Colonial Fleet, developed on Caprica before the Cylon War and fielded through seven major marks. The Mark II and Mark VII bookended its service from the first war to the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.
The Viper was a series of space superiority fighters originally developed on Caprica at least a decade before the Cylon War. Beginning life as an atmospheric air superiority fighter, by the Mark I it had grown into the space superiority fighter that became the mainstay of the Colonial Fleet and the standard fighter aboard Galactica. It served against the Cylons across both wars, fielded in seven major marks.
Prelude to war and the First Cylon War#
The Viper traced its origins to the Caprican Air Force Viper jet, which had been in service for some time before 58 BCH. When the Cylons rebelled roughly a decade later, the Colonial Fleet was ready to deploy a new design, the Viper Mark I, to meet the threat. By the third year of the First Cylon War, the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards fielded the Viper Mark II. Though successful on its introduction, the Mark II was eventually outmatched by newly deployed Cylon fighters in the second half of the war, prompting development of the Viper Mark III, which served alongside the Mark II until the conflict ended.
The interwar period#
Little is recorded of the Colonial Fleet during the interwar period. Vipers Mark IV, V, and VI were developed and fielded over the following thirty years. The Viper Mark VII had entered its experimental phase by 10 BCH, and alongside it the Fleet developed a distinct variant of the Viper design, the Stealthstar.
The Second Cylon War#
By 0 BCH the Mark VII had become the mainstay of the Colonial Fleet, replacing all earlier versions except the Stealthstar. Heavily computerized and networked, it relied on the newly deployed Command Navigation Program. That dependence proved a fatal weakness in the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, when the Cylons used a CNP exploit to disable Mark VII fighters across the Fleet. Pilots later found the Mark VII significantly harder to control than the Mark II once its CNP and networking were switched off. Uniquely among the series, the Mark VII came in two variants, the older Mark VIIa and the newer Mark VIIb.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Colonial Viper in Battlestar Galactica?
- The Viper was a series of space superiority fighters originally developed on Caprica at least a decade before the Cylon War. It became the mainstay of the Colonial Fleet and the standard fighter aboard Galactica, serving against the Cylons across both wars and fielded in seven major marks.
- What were the Viper's origins?
- The Viper traced its origins to the Caprican Air Force Viper jet, which had been in service before 58 BCH. When the Cylons rebelled roughly a decade later, the Colonial Fleet was ready to deploy a new design, the Viper Mark I, to meet the threat.
- Which Viper mark was the frontline fighter at the Fall of the Twelve Colonies?
- By 0 BCH the heavily computerized Mark VII had become the mainstay of the Colonial Fleet, replacing all earlier versions except the Stealthstar. It came in two variants, the older Mark VIIa and the newer Mark VIIb.
- Why did the older Viper Mark II survive the Fall when the Mark VII failed?
- The Mark VII relied on the newly deployed Command Navigation Program, and the Cylons used a CNP exploit to disable Mark VII fighters across the Fleet. The older, unnetworked Mark II proved decisive aboard Galactica, though pilots found the Mark VII significantly harder to control once its CNP and networking were switched off.
Sources
- WikiViper — Battlestar Wiki entry
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Related entries
Scorpion Fleet Shipyards
The Scorpion Fleet Shipyards were a vast orbital shipbuilding installation above Scorpia, a principal builder of Colonial warships from the First Cylon War until they were destroyed in the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.
Stealthstar
The Stealthstar was a Colonial infiltration fighter derived from the Viper, used shortly before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies to probe Cylon space across the Armistice Line.
Viper Mark I
The Viper Mark I was the first generation of Viper space-superiority fighter fielded by the Colonial Fleet, serving primarily during the First Cylon War. Its reliable design became the foundation for every later Viper variant.
Viper Mark II
The Viper Mark II was the second generation of Viper space-superiority fighter used by the Colonial Fleet. Its lack of networked systems left it immune to Cylon hacking, allowing recommissioned museum pieces to fight on after the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.
Viper Mark III
The Viper Mark III was the third generation of the Colonial Viper series of space-superiority fighters, introduced near the end of the First Cylon War as the successor to the Mark II. A single-pilot multi-role strike ship, its design influenced every later Viper up to the advanced Mark VII.
Caprica
Caprica was a planet in the Cyrannus star system and the cultural, economic and military center of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Birthplace of the first Cylons, it became the capital of the United Colonies and was devastated in the Cylon assault that ended colonial civilization.
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