VoidSeeker
Sarna News
The Mark 39 VoidSeeker Attack Drone is an automated defense system of the SLDF based on the (then experimental) 60-ton F-90 Stingray aerospace fighter. Designed to work in conjunction with the much larger Caspar SDS drone WarShips, the VoidSeeker is capable of engaging fighter-sized targets which the Caspars are unable to target with their naval size armament.[1]
The VoidSeeker eventually replaced the Mk.20 SwiftStar and Mk.30 BlackWasp drones. The Mk.30 was deemed the gold standard drone fighter of the Star League but was susceptible to electromagnetic radiation. Its detrimental ability to go "rogue" led to the Star League's hesitancy to place the BlackWasp in populated areas, and eventually, enemies found its close-in abilities lacking and confused the electronic brain of the drone. Military experimentation continued and progress led to the heavier Mark 31 and lighter Mark 32 performing worse than the Mk.30 and were quickly discarded. The Marks 33 through 38 were attempts to harden the drone's electronic warfare gear, eventually culminating in the 39.[2]
Like the BlackWasp, the VoidSeeker could be launched from the WarShip Caspar drones or DropShip carriers or satellites, and advances in ECCM miniaturization allowed the SDS systems to be protected in the fighter-sized hulls required.[2]
The most notable feature about the VoidSeekers was their sophisticated battle computers capable of coordinating attacks with other VoidSeeker and Caspar units by forming a decentralized computer network, which allowed the drones to collectively make tactical decisions. The advantages included preventing overcommitting drones against a single target, and the impossibility of neutralizing the defenders by taking out any central command unit. The VoidSeeker drones could also be slaved to a human controller.
After the initial VoidSeeker design was created and deemed successful, engineers created two successful versions: The VoidSeeker Interceptor and the VoidSeeker Striker aerospace fighters.[2]
The VoidSeeker family was very successful and deployed in vast numbers, sometimes by the thousands, in areas that did not warrant the deployment of Caspars. This included deep space naval installations and planetary systems of minor value. It was common for large numbers of these drones to be deployed along expected lines of contact. They would lie in wait in a passive listening mode, aggressively responding to all ships that failed to provide a correct IFF code.
Thousands of Voidseekers were produced in the few years before the onset of the Star League Civil War.[2] Most VoidSeekers had been destroyed, deactivated, or otherwise neutralized by the end of the Second Succession War. Any functional examples encountered after that were considered an unusual rarity, such as those found at Camelot Command.[1]
Related Designs[edit]
- F-90 Stingray
- base chassis for VoidSeeker line[2]
- Mark 39-004 VoidSeeker Interceptor : 60-ton dogfighter VoidSeeker version[2]
- Mark 39-005 : failed 100-ton VoidSeeker version[2]
- Mark 39-007 VoidSeeker Striker : 75-ton anti-DropShip VoidSeeker version[2]
- Mark 39-009 : failed 30-ton VoidSeeker version[2]