| First appearance | Midnight on the Firing Line |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Raiders |
| General characteristics | |
| Armaments | Pulse cannons Missile hardpoints |
The Raider Fighter is an aerospace fighter used by various outlaw groups in the fictional universe of the Babylon 5 television series.
These ships have played pivotal roles in Babylon 5 both during the series and subsequent movies. They have been seen in episodes such as Midnight on the Firing Line, Believers, Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers (movie) and others.
In the episode Midnight on the Firing Line G'Kar, the Narn ambassador to Babylon 5 is proved to be supplying weapons to the Raiders under official orders from his government. These weapons were said to be far superior to typical Raider weaponry because of the intensity of the blast damage to a discovered cargo ship.[1]
The Raider fighter is a delta winged craft with simple weapons and weak armor.[2] The Raider ships cannot form their own jump point thus limiting their ability to attack larger ships or also to run from the more powerful escorts from the other races. Because of this they have been known to utilize a "Battle Wagon" class of ship that can form its own jump point into hyperspace. The "Battle Wagon" is not an actual combat ship in its own right but more of a carrier for the Belt Alliance fighter. The "Battle Wagon" first appeared in the Babylon 5 episode Signs and Portents.[3] An alternative version of it is seen in the tv movie Babylon 5: Thirdspace.
Generally speaking, Zephyr fighters are inferior in weapons and capabilities to fighters from the Earth Alliance, Centauri Republic, Minbari Federation, and other alien races. Partly this is because they are an older design; they tend to be slower and less-maneuverable than fighters from more advanced races. In several episodes of Babylon 5, Earth Alliance Starfury fighters were able to destroy or disable large numbers of Zephyr fighters while losing few or no ships themselves. As a result of this weakness, Zephyr fighters are primarily used by pirates, raiders, and other "outlaw" groups to attack and capture or destroy unarmed civilian merchant starships. They are rarely used in combat against other fighters. Zephyr is also capable of atmospheric flight.[4]
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