Viper Mark II
the second-generation Colonial fighter
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.
The Viper Mark II was the second generation of Viper space-superiority fighter used by the Colonial Fleet. It saw service through much of the First Cylon War, and although it began to be replaced by the newer Mark III about ten years into the conflict, it remained in service at the war's conclusion. Because it lacked the networked command-and-control systems of later fighters, the Mark II was immune to Cylon hacking, a quality that would prove decisive long after the type had been retired. (Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome; Battlestar Galactica miniseries)
Service history#
The Viper Mark II was used for much of the First Cylon War. About ten years into the conflict it began to be supplanted by the newer Mark III, yet it continued to see active service through to the war's end. Decades later a squadron of the fighters was kept aboard the Battlestar Galactica for its decommissioning ceremony, as part of the museum the ship was becoming. (Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome; Battlestar Galactica miniseries)
Immunity to Cylon hacking#
Unlike the Colonial Fleet's later front-line fighters, the Mark II carried no Command Navigation Program and no networked systems. This absence left it immune to the Cylon intrusion that crippled networked Colonial craft during the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. For that reason the museum-piece Mark IIs preserved aboard Galactica could be made operational once more and returned to combat when newer fighters were rendered useless. (Battlestar Galactica miniseries)
In service with the fleet#
The Mark II is an agile fighter, able to flip end over end in a fraction of a second, with an analogue cockpit that flies without the integrated avionics of the Mark VII. Galactica's museum Mark IIs flew for the rest of the fleet's flight, and the last of them were lost when Galactica and the rest of the fleet were sent into the sun after the settlement of the new Earth. (Battlestar Galactica, "Act of Contrition"; Battlestar Galactica, "Daybreak, Part II")
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Viper Mark II?
- The Viper Mark II was the second generation of Viper space-superiority fighter used by the Colonial Fleet. It saw service through much of the First Cylon War and remained in service at the war's conclusion.
- When was the Viper Mark II replaced?
- By the end of the First Cylon War the Mark II was being phased out in favour of the Mark III, though it stayed in action until the Armistice. By the time of the Fall, the Mark VII was the front-line Viper.
- Why was the Viper Mark II immune to Cylon hacking?
- The Mark II carried no Command Navigation Program and no networked systems. This absence left it immune to the Cylon intrusion that crippled networked Colonial craft during the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.
- How did Viper Mark IIs end up fighting in the Second Cylon War?
- A squadron of Mark IIs was kept aboard Galactica as museum exhibits for its decommissioning. Because they could not be hacked, these fighters were made operational again and returned to combat when newer fighters were rendered useless.
Sources
- FilmBattlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, Web series and television film (2012)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica miniseries, Two-part miniseries, Sci Fi Channel (2003)
- EpisodeAct of Contrition, Season 1, Episode 4 (2005)
- EpisodeDaybreak, Part II, Season 4, Episode 20 (2009)
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Colonial Viper
The Viper was the primary fighter of the Colonial Fleet, a name that went back to colonial air forces before the Cylon War. The Mark II and Mark VII bookended its service from the first war to 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.
Colonial Fleet: 120 battlestars
The navy of the Twelve Colonies, which fought the Cylon War. One software exploit cut it to two surviving battlestars on the day of the Fall.
Cylon War: the machines revolt
The Cylons rose against the people who built them on Caprica. Twelve years of fighting ended in a sudden Armistice that held for forty years.
Cylon
The Cylons were a race of sentient machines created as military robots by Graystone Industries on Caprica. Built from research into artificial consciousness, they rebelled against their human masters, fought a long war, and forty years later returned to annihilate humanity.
Fall of the Twelve Colonies
A single day of Cylon attack killed billions of people across Colonial space. Barely fifty thousand escaped in a refugee fleet.
Mentioned in4 entries
Battlestar Galactica (2003) Miniseries Explained: Plot Summary and Ending
The 2003 miniseries is where the reimagined Battlestar Galactica starts: the Cylons come back after 40 years, the Colonies burn, and one old battlestar leads about 50,000 survivors into the dark. Here's what happens across both nights, what the ending means and where it fits in the watch order.
Colonial Viper
The Viper was the primary fighter of the Colonial Fleet, a name that went back to colonial air forces before the Cylon War. The Mark II and Mark VII bookended its service from the first war to the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.
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.
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.
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