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.
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. After the war concluded, many Mark IIs were removed from service and scrapped. A squadron's worth of the fighters, however, were tracked down and refitted in time for the Battlestar Galactica's decommissioning ceremony, where they were maintained as museum exhibits.
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.
Specifications#
The Viper Mark II was approximately 8.4 meters in length and was powered by a small nuclear reactor. It was capable of firing the same type of ammunition as the Mark VII, a fighter that entered service more than thirty years later, and both types could be launched from the same launch tubes. This commonality pointed to a deliberately standardized design carried across multiple Viper generations.
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?
- The Mark II began to be supplanted by the newer Mark III about ten years into the First Cylon War. Despite this, it continued to see active service through to the war's end.
- 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?
- After the First Cylon War many Mark IIs were scrapped, but a squadron's worth were tracked down and refitted in time for Galactica's decommissioning ceremony, where they were kept as museum exhibits. Because they could not be hacked, these preserved fighters were made operational again and returned to combat when newer fighters were rendered useless.
- What were the specifications of the Viper Mark II?
- The Viper Mark II was approximately 8.4 meters in length and was powered by a small nuclear reactor. It could fire the same type of ammunition as the much later Mark VII, and both types could be launched from the same launch tubes.
Sources
- WikiViper Mark II — Battlestar Wiki entry
- WikiViper — Battlestar Wiki entry
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Related entries
Colonial Viper
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.
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
The Colonial Fleet was the naval arm of the military of the United Colonies of Kobol, founded during the Cylon War to unite the forces of the Twelve Worlds. At its height it numbered some 120 battlestars, yet a single Cylon exploit reduced it to two ships in the opening minutes of the Fall.
Cylon War
The Cylon War, also called the First Cylon War, was a twelve year interstellar conflict between the Cylons and the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. It began when the Cylons rose against their human creators and ended in a sudden Armistice that held for over 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 decades long war, and forty years later returned to annihilate humanity.
Fall of the Twelve Colonies
The Fall of the Twelve Colonies, also called the Second Cylon War, was a single-day Cylon campaign of total annihilation against Colonial space. It wiped out almost the entire human population of over twenty nine billion and left barely fifty thousand survivors in a fleeing refugee fleet.
Mentioned in3 entries
Colonial Viper
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.
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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