Low Altitude Assault Transports

[Marcus Starkiller]

Low Altitude Assault Transport/carrier (LAAT/c)


The Low Altitude Assault Transport/carrier, also known as the LAAT/c, was a LAAT carrier gunship employed by the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. These atmospheric transports were also referred to as AT-TE carriers.

The Rothana Heavy Engineering LAAT/carrier variant was designed primarily to airlift assault walkers and other heavy cargo into battle.

Similar in design to the LAAT/i version, the carrier gunship removed the infantry model's troop hold, and featured heavy-lift agrav drives that held payloads in place under the main hull. A wide wingspan allowed for maximum distribution of repulsorlift vanes when carrying heavy weights.

At the Battle of Geonosis, a LAAT/c airlifted the Forward Command Center onto the battlefield while other carriers transported walkers onto the front lines. Some four hundred LAAT/carrier gunships were deployed during the battle.

During the Clone Wars, carrier gunships were known to transport Saber-class fighter tanks, RTT transports, and both AT-XT and AT-TE

Production information
Manufacturer Rothana Heavy Engineering

Product line LAAT-series

Model Low Altitude Assault Transport/carrier repulsorlift gunship

Class Repulsorcraft

Technical specifications
Length 17.4 meters

Armament Anti-personnel laser turrets (3)

Crew Pilot (1)

Usage
Role(s) Aerial assault
Combat service support
Carrier

Era(s) Rise of the Empire era

Affiliation Galactic Republic
Galactic Empire
Alliance to Restore the Republic

[Marcus Starkiller]

Low Altitude Assault Transport/infantry


The Low Altitude Assault Transport/infantry, often referred to simply as the LAAT/i or Republic attack gunship, was a specialized gunship produced by Rothana Heavy Engineering and used by the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars.

The LAAT/i was affectionally known as the "larty" by clone troopers.

The LAAT/i was a repulsorlift infantry transport capable of carrying up to thirty troopers. Secondary functions included reconnaissance, fire support, search-and-recovery, and low-altitude air-to-ground and air-to-air strikes against vehicles ranging from airspeeders to starfighters.

In addition to its trooper complement, housed on a deckplate protected by drooping wings and a sliding side door, the LAAT/i could carry four military speeder bikes in an aft-deployable rack. The crew complement was comprised of a clone trooper pilot and co-pilot/forward gunner in the hunchbacked cockpit, and two auxillery gunners stationed in composite-beam turrets extending on articulated arms from the troop cabin. An IM-6 medical droid was commonly carried aboard in an emergency locker.

The LAAT/i was a fully armed gun platform, with a complete arsenal of weaponry that consisted of three anti-personnel laser turrets, two forward-facing, one covering the stern hatch; two top-mounted mass-driver missile launchers fed by rear-mounted ordnance belts and commonly loaded with short-range homing missiles; four composite-beam, pin-point laser turrets, two of which were automated bubble-turrets located on either wing; and eight light air-to-air rockets stowed on the underside of each wing.

Infantry gunships were equipped with atmospheric containment shielding and could be deployed from space, although their optimal fighting range was still in the lower atmosphere, where they could reach speeds in excess of six hundred kilometers per hour. A single Acclamator I-class assault ship could carry up to eighty LAAT-series gunships, while a Venator-class Star Destroyer had space for half that complement.

An early LAAT-design was used as a prisoner transport by the Jedi Order at least ten years before the Clone Wars, but the more familiar infantry version gained fame as an air assault vehicle during the war.

The LAAT/i was first deployed in a military operation at the Battle of Geonosis, where six gunships rescued the surviving Jedi from the Petranaki Arena under the command of General Yoda. Flights of LAAT/i gunships disabled and destroyed many of the fleeing Separatist capital ships and Hailfire-class droids on the battlefield. Infantry gunships saw continued use throughout the war, with some stationed at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Ultimately, remaining Republic LAAT/i gunships would become part of the Imperial Army with the formation of the Galactic Empire.

During the Galactic Civil War, the Rebel Alliance found disabled, yet still functional, LAAT gunships. The Alliance used these vehicles to further their cause in restoring the Republic. When in use by the Rebels, they were known as either "Alliance Assault Craft" or "Rebel Assault Transports".

Other rebel groups not affiliated with the Alliance would also come to rely on the aging military transports, like the Jabiim and Kaminoan rebels.

Production information
Manufacturer Rothana Heavy Engineering

Product line LAAT-series

Model Low Altitude Assault Transport/infantry repulsorlift gunship

Class Aerial assault
Repulsorcraft

Technical specifications
Length 17.4 meters

Width 17 meters (wingspan)

Maximum speed (atmosphere) 620 km/h

Armament Anti-personnel laser turrets (3)
Composite-beam laser turrets (6)
Mass-driver missile launchers (2)
Light air-to-air rockets (8)
Droid busters

Complement Speeder bikes (4)

Crew Pilot (1)
Gunner (3)

Passengers 30

Usage
Era(s) Rise of the Empire era
Rebellion era

Affiliation Galactic Republic
Galactic Empire
Alliance to Restore the Republic

[Marcus Starkiller]

Low Altitude Assault Transport/vehicle

The Low Altitude Assault Transport/vehicle, or LAAT/v, was a modified LAAT/i gunship manufactured by Rothana Heavy Engineering.

It was specially made to hold up to 16 74-Z speeder bikes, among other means of transportation. It was similar to the LAAT/c, in the sense that they both carried vehicles into battle.

After the Clone Wars, they most likely entered Imperial service.