<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Viper Mark VII (BSG 2003)
Name: Viper Mark VII, usually referred to simply as a Viper
Type: Intercept Fighter
Registration: Colonial military
Specifications: L: 32.5' Wingspan: 18.5' H: 10.43'

The Colonial Viper Mark VII is a high-performance fighter. Designed for ultra-fast maneuvering in both space and atmospheric environments, its thrust-to-mass ratio is beyond impressive — it is actually dangerous. A pilot, if unprepared for the enormous acceleration potential of the Viper, could easily apply control inputs that result in maneuvers that would pulverize his or her body, despite the Viper's sophisticated inertial dampers. As flight instructors often warn new Viper pilots, "This thing can kill you." Battlestar Galactica currently has very few operational Mark VII Vipers. Most were lost to Cylon cyber-tactics during the recent sneak attack on the Twelve Colonies of Kobol.

To eliminate this threat, the software-based "fly by wire" control systems that proved so vulnerable to Cylon interference have been removed from the remaining Mark VIIs and the systems retrofitted for manual control. However, this makes the Mark VII a handful for all but the most experienced pilots.

The older, slower, but still reliable "Mark II" Vipers currently make up the bulk of Galactica's air group. The Mark II was designed before the sophisticated "fly by wire" controls that made the Mark VII so agile. However, when flown by skilled pilots such as Lt. Kara Thrace, the Mark II is a match for its more modern cousin—and its Cylon opponents.

Maintenance on both models of Vipers and the Raptors is an ongoing logistical nightmare. The hangar crews are constantly scrounging for parts, raw materials, and fabrication equipment. In addition, the fuel shortage has already led to rationing and the curtailment of nonessential flight operations, seriously compromising the training of new pilots and the quantity and quality of recon intel.

On occasion, when repair is deemed either impractical or impossible to damaged Vipers, salvage is typically in order to compensate for the perpetual supply shortages present in upkeeping Galactica's complement, with one exception that gave birth to Galactica's first experimental fighter from former scrap 289, the Blackbird, aka "Laura".

Constructed entirely from the same spirit that had kept Galactica and her fleet alive for so long, the Blackbird was a conceptual design by Galactica's Deck Chief Tyrol, sacrificing maneuverability for speed, with the eventual realization of stealth capabilities through carbon skinning and lowered profiling. The Blackbird was crucial in key surveillance to secure the safety of the Colony ships, with a lifespan cut unfortunately short during critical operations against the Cylon fleet.

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