 Name: Rothana Heavy Engineering Low Altitude Assault Transport/infantry repulsorlift gunship
Type: Air Speeder
Scale: Walker
Length: 17.4 meters
Width: 17 meters (wingspan)
Height/depth: 6.1 meters
Skill: Repulsorlift operation: Air Speeder
Crew: 2 + 2-4 Gunners
Passengers: 30
Cargo Capacity: 1 Ton
Cover: Full
Altitude Range: Ground level-2km
Cost: 38,500 (used)
Maneuverability: 3D
Move: 280; 620kmh
Body Strength: 4D
Complement:
Speeder bikes (4)
IM-6 battlefield medical droid
Weapons:
3 Anti-personnel laser turrets
Fire Arc: Turret
Scale: Character
Crew: Controlled by Co-Pilot
Fire Arcs: 2 Front, 1 Rear
Skill: Vehicle Blasters
Fire Control: 2D
Range: 2-50/100/200
Damage: 5D
4 Composite Beam Laser Turrets
Fire Arc: Turret
Scale: Speeder
Crew: 4 (1 each)
Fire Arcs: 2 Front,Left,Rear, 2 Front,Right,Rear
Skill: Vehicle Blasters
Fire Control: 1D
Range: 2-100/200/500
Damage: 5D
2 Mass Driver Missile Launchers
Fire Arc: Front
Scale: Walker
Crew: Controlled by Co-Pilot
Fire Arc: Front
Skill: Missile Weapons
Fire Control: 1D
Range: 4-40/75/150
Damage: 9D
8 Light Air-to-Air Rockets
Fire Arc: Front
Scale: Walker
Crew: Controlled by Co-Pilot
Fire Arc: Front
Skill: Missile Weapons
Fire Control: 3D
Range: 3-75/150/350
Damage: 7D
Description: The Low Altitude Assault Transport/infantry (LAAT/i), often referred to as the Republic attack gunship or Republic Gunship, was a specialized gunship designed for aerial-based support and infantry transportation. It was produced by Rothana Heavy Engineering and used by the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. The Galactic Empire also used it for a brief period after the conclusion of the war.
The LAAT/i was affectionately 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, direct 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 comprised a clone trooper pilot and co-pilot/forward gunner in the hunchbacked cockpit, and two auxiliary gunners stationed in pinpoint composite-beam turrets extending on articulated arms from the troop cabin. An IM-6 battlefield medical droid was commonly carried aboard in an emergency locker. In the event of emergencies, the cockpit capsule could separate from the main craft to act as an escape pod.
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, HE (high explosive), HEAP (high explosive armor-piercing), and APF (anti-personnel fragmentation) rounds; four composite-beam, pin-point laser turrets, (on some models, the slot for these Balls were inter-changeable with floodlights) 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, yet could not reach orbit altitude without a carrier vessel. The LAAT/i's optimal fighting range was in the lower atmosphere, where they could reach speeds in excess of six hundred kilometers per hour. A single Acclamator-class assault ship could carry up to eighty LAAT-series gunships, while a Venator-class Star Destroyer had space for half that complement. The LAAT/i was highly effective but lacked large amounts of armor making it a vulnerable target.
When approaching a target, the main cabin would light up red, a visual indicator to stand by, when troopers would conduct last-moment preparations including checking their ammunition and communication systems. Once touching down, the red lights would change to green, signaling clearance to debark.
Within the main cabin were various handles attached to cables hanging from the ceiling of the main cabin. When the gunship's hatches were open, clone troopers would hold on to these to help keep their balance while the gunship was in flight. In the case of rapid deployment, clone troopers could hang on to these as the cables were lowered to the ground for quick deployment so the LAAT/i wouldn't need to land. However, during this process, both the clone troopers and gunship were vulnerable to enemy fire, so landing and debarking in the regular manner was the more common way to deploy troops.
LAAT/i gunships were often a welcome sight for exhausted clone troopers and their Jedi commanders.
The assault gunships were capable of being fitted out for stealth missions by the addition of engine baffles and shields, an electromagnetic emission and heat signature-reducing black polymer, as well as the removal of its weaponry. Those modifications made the main hold almost sound-proof.
Variants
Rothana Heavy Engineering produced a number of LAAT variants, including the LAAT/c, a carrier gunship capable of delivering walkers and fighter tanks onto the battlefield; the LAAT/v with deck space for sixteen speeder bikes or eight military landspeeders; and a command variant commonly used by Advanced Recon Commandos. Some models lacked the bubble turrets on the sides of the deck, or had painting on the sides instead such as Kowakian monkey-lizards or Twi'leks. Non-standard paint schemes appeared more frequently on craft assigned to serve elite units such as ARC Troopers.
On units that had them, the side-mounted bubble turrets were mounted on armatures that normally held the forward half of the passenger bay doors. As the LAAT/i was equipped with an atmospheric pressure containment shield specifically for use in a vacuum, it was used for various actions in sub-orbital combat situations and also for boarding missions between carrier vessels and enemy cruisers in outer orbit and deep space battles. Bubble turrets were fitted to LAAT/i gunships engaged in combat above the atmospheric ceiling of planets and in space on numerous occasions. At least one longer-range voyage was undertaken by a LAAT/s during the Clone Wars, with bubble turrets fitted in conjunction with fully enclosing, sealed passenger/cargo bay doors. However, the craft crash-landed after atmospheric entry due to complications with weather conditions.
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