Vulture
Terran Hover Bike
The vulture was a lightly armored terran hover bike built for speed and scouting. Fast, reliable and cheap, it served as cavalry for the Confederacy and later the Dominion, and remained a favorite of pirates and raiders.
The vulture-class hover bike, also called the vulture hover cycle, was a lightly armored one-man vehicle used by the terran nations of the Koprulu sector chiefly for scouting and patrol. Despite a reputation as a deathtrap, it was prized by enthusiasts as a classic piece of engineering, and its speed made it a natural choice for cavalry-style operations. The vulture served the Terran Confederacy and later the Terran Dominion, and remained popular with pirates, raiders and prospectors long after frontline forces moved on. Among its more famous riders was Jim Raynor. (StarCraft (manual); StarCraft Field Manual; StarCraft: I, Mengsk; StarCraft: Frontline Volume 1; StarCraft: Soldiers)
Design#
The vulture was built with speed and reliability in mind. Its limited gravity hover technology let the bike travel over rough terrain with little loss of traction or speed and reach velocities of up to 230 miles per hour. The magnetic frequency of the hover system could be adjusted to ease passage over certain obstacles, such as the tracks used by maglev trains. An onboard computer and sensors mounted in the nose kept the bike at a steady pace and provided navigation, qualities that made it well suited to patrolling the vast wildernesses around terran colonies. Built-in gravity accelerators allowed it to operate in low or zero gravity by generating artificial gravity. (StarCraft (manual); Vulture (StarCraft Compendium); StarCraft II: Devils' Due; StarCraft: Liberty's Crusade; StarCraft: Uprising)
The bike was not without danger. It could fail catastrophically if its repulsors froze up or its fuel cells began leaking radioactive material. The driver's seat could be enclosed depending on the model or operating environment and could be configured to carry a passenger riding shotgun, and a C-14 rifle could be holstered along the side of the nose. Technology similar to the vulture's appeared in civilian hover bikes such as the 428 model. (StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty; StarCraft: Speed of Darkness; StarCraft: Liberty's Crusade; StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Firstborn; StarCraft: Scavengers; StarCraft: Ghost: Nova)
Armament and tactics#
The standard vulture armament was an anti-personnel grenade launcher, and optional equipment included spider and cerberus mines, ion thrusters and a microfabricator. The bike's light frame made it ill suited to heavy combat, but it excelled as a skirmisher, especially against lightly armored targets. That made it the light, fast end of a long list of Terran ground and air units. (StarCraft (manual); StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty)
In the Confederate Armed Forces, vultures operated as a cavalry-style vanguard, speeding ahead of military columns to scout and to wreak havoc on resource operations behind enemy lines. They were sometimes formed into small squadrons attached to mechanized infantry, though the speed of the bikes made it difficult to keep such formations cohesive. Vultures were also tasked with scavenging, a role that earned them the occasional nickname of scavenger hover bike. (StarCraft Field Manual; StarCraft: Speed of Darkness; StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga)
Service and decline#
The vulture was in use by 2478. In the Confederate Armored Vehicle Corps, aspiring pilots had to pass a minimal physical fitness exam before qualifying to ride one. The bike remained in service under the Dominion Armed Forces, where Ghost Program trainees began learning to handle vultures in their second year of training. (StarCraft: I, Mengsk; Armored Vehicle Corps (StarCraft official site); StarCraft: Frontline Volume 1; StarCraft: Ghost: Nova)
The vulture's military prominence faded as the Dominion turned to the hellion to meet its scouting needs, the newer vehicle taking over the role the vulture had long held. Even so, vultures could still be found in Dominion service after the End War, and they remained especially popular with rebel and mercenary groups, pirates, raiders and prospectors who valued their speed and low cost. (StarCraft Field Manual; StarCraft: Scavengers; StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty; StarCraft: Soldiers)
Frequently asked questions
- What is a vulture in StarCraft?
- The vulture was a lightly armored, one-man terran hover bike used chiefly for scouting and patrol. Built for speed and reliability, it served the Terran Confederacy and later the Terran Dominion, and remained popular with pirates, raiders and prospectors.
- How fast could a vulture go?
- Its limited gravity hover technology let the bike travel over rough terrain with little loss of traction or speed and reach velocities of up to 230 miles per hour. The magnetic frequency of the hover system could be adjusted to ease passage over certain obstacles, such as maglev train tracks.
- What weapons did the vulture carry?
- The standard armament was an anti-personnel grenade launcher. Optional equipment included spider and cerberus mines, ion thrusters and a microfabricator.
- Why was the vulture replaced by the hellion?
- The vulture's military prominence faded as the Dominion turned to the hellion to meet its scouting needs, the newer vehicle taking over the role the vulture had long held. Even so, vultures could still be found in Dominion service after the End War.
- How were vultures used in combat?
- In the Confederate Armed Forces, vultures operated as a cavalry-style vanguard, speeding ahead of military columns to scout and to wreak havoc on resource operations behind enemy lines. The bike's light frame made it ill suited to heavy combat, but it excelled as a skirmisher, especially against lightly armored targets.
Sources
- BookStarCraft (manual), Peter Underwood, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn, Blizzard Entertainment, 1998
- GameStarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Blizzard Entertainment, 2010
- BookStarCraft Field Manual, Rick Barba, Insight Editions, 2015
- BookStarCraft: Liberty's Crusade, Jeff Grubb, 2001
- BookStarCraft: Uprising, Micky Neilson, 2000
- BookStarCraft: Speed of Darkness, Tracy Hickman, 2002
- BookStarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga, Gabriel Mesta, 2001
- BookStarCraft II: Devils' Due, Christie Golden, 2011
- BookStarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Firstborn, Christie Golden, 2007
- BookStarCraft: Ghost: Nova, Keith R. A. DeCandido, 2006
- BookStarCraft: I, Mengsk, Graham McNeill, 2008
- ComicStarCraft: Frontline Volume 1, "Why We Fight", Josh Elder (w), Ramanda Kamarga (a), Tokyopop, 2008
- ComicStarCraft: Scavengers, Jody Houser (w), Gabriel Guzman (a), Dark Horse Comics, 2018
- ComicStarCraft: Soldiers, Jody Houser and Andrew Robinson (w), Miguel Sepulveda (a), Dark Horse Comics, 2019
- WebVulture (StarCraft Compendium), Blizzard Entertainment, 1998
- WebArmored Vehicle Corps (StarCraft official site), Blizzard Entertainment, 1998
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
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