Swarm-class battle droid

These Swarm-class droids had a length of approximately two meters, classifying them among the smallest starfighters known. Their compact size and economical production allowed Ssi-ruuk warships to deploy them in vast numbers—at the initial Ssi-ruuvi invasion of Bakura in 4 ABY, at least 1,500 were deployed.

Their design was tetrahedral, and they were armed with four laser cannons, positioned at each vertex. The droid could rotate these laser cannons a full 360 degrees, providing a broad firing arc, even enabling them to engage pursuing enemies.

Entechment powered these droids, drawing upon the life essence extracted from sentient beings, typically P'w'ecks and occasionally even Humans. Each droid required two life-forces: one to manage the shields, and the other to pilot the fighter and operate the laser cannons and sensors. The Ssi-ruuk command ships transmitted orders to the life-forces within the battle droids through sensor arrays located on thrusters on each side of the vehicle.

Despite having relatively weak hulls, the droid incorporated microfilament grids to absorb and redirect incoming energy within its primary generator, a design element similar to the Vangaard Pathfinder. The fusion thrust technology used was somewhat less sophisticated than comparable Imperial systems, resulting in easier detection by sensors compared to many other fighters.

Due to the biological nature of the life-forces used for power and control, these droids could be seen as a form of cyborg rather than a conventional battle droid. This unique blend of technology and biology is thought to have influenced the later Shadow Droids created by Umak Leth and the resurrected Emperor Palpatine.

During the 4 ABY Invasion of Bakura, Imperial and Rebel Alliance forces first encountered this fighter. When deployed in overwhelming numbers against smaller enemy forces, these fighters proved highly effective. However, Imperial, Alliance, and Chiss Ascendancy pilots soon learned that individual droids were easily destroyed.

The Swarm-class battle droids continued to be used as late as the Yuuzhan Vong War. By this time, the entechment process had been refined to better sustain the life-forces, and the core technological systems had been upgraded using reverse-engineered technology from other galactic civilizations, but the droids still relied on captured life-forces for operation.

During a second attempted invasion of Bakura in 28 ABY, swarms of P'w'eck-piloted battle droids were deployed. These fighters were equipped with tractor beam projectors, which they used to capture Alliance and Bakuran pilots. However, following the death of the Keeramak at the hands of P'w'eck Emancipation Movement leader Lwothin, the battle droids later rebelled against their Ssi-ruuvi masters and sided with the Alliance and Bakurans.