The Droch-class boarding ship, also referred to as the Droch dropship, the Separatist boarding ship, droid landing pod, or pod-hunter, was a model of boarding craft manufactured by Colicoid Creation Nest and used by the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars against the Galactic Republic.
During the early stages of the Malevolence campaign, the craft were used to hunt down and destroy the escape pods of destroyed Republic fleets so the existence of the Malevolence would be kept secret. However, to full exploit the potential of the boarding ship required a level of genius like that of General Grievous of Confederacy. They were also used to deploy troops onboard enemy vessels, including the Venator-class Star Destroyer Tranquility and the Coronet.
The Droch-class boarding ship manufactured by Colicoid Creation Nest was one of many boarding and utility vessels used the Confederacy of Independent Systems' naval forces during the Clone Wars against the Galactic Republic. They were small, starfighter-sized vessels with a bell-shaped hull loosely based on the toothspike raptor from the planet Colla IV, and were 18.5 meters in length and had an approximate radius of 8.8 meters. Its engines were mounted where a bell's yoke would be located, and around its base were four long, retractable spikes measuring approximately 11.4 meters in length. Centered inside the base was a hatch that provided access to a cramped passenger compartment and a single-seat flight deck.
As its name suggested, the Droch-class was designed for boarding actions against enemy ships. Launched en masse from their mother ships, they could carry six fully equipped troops or battle droids, and they could fly at their targets at a maximum speed of 850 kilometers per hour, where they would proceed to use their spikes to pierce a target ship's hull and anchor themselves. Once a Droch had attached, a plasma cutting ring burned a hole through the hull, and a boarding tube extends from the hatch, where the troops would proceed to enter the target ship. These vessels were also armed with four turret-mounted twin light laser cannons, and were equipped with close-ranged sensors and had one day's worth of consumables.
The Droch-class boarding ship first appeared in "Rising Malevolence," the second episode of the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars' first season, which originally aired on October 3, 2008. The ship was later identified in the 2017 reference book Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia, written by , Cole Horton, and Tricia Barr, and published by Dorling Kindersley.
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