Universal-class Battlemech Droid

The Battlemech Droid, more commonly known as the “Bleep-Bloop” for the sounds it makes, was a 1.75 meter-long droid that had four legs, but often retracted them and used a repulsorlift and two engines. The original Battlemech Droid was a concept by Viper Dermo, an alias of Prophit Delphiki, which was sold to Incom Corporation as a “replacement for the astromech.”

Details
The ‘’Universal’’ Battlemech had rocket-like engines horizontally on either side of its rectangular body. Optical sensors which could see with great clarity the complete electromagnetic spectrum were placed on the tips of the engines. Mounted in-between the two optical sensors lays a blaster cannon that can be set to “stun” or “burn.” Various sensors and appendages with different purposes and functions were placed all over the droid’s body. A tow cable was placed under the droid’s main body and was used for various purposes in action.

Functions
A “Bleep-Bloop” had as many functions as a conventional R2 Unit, but it proved to serve as much more than an astromech in many cases.

Like an Astromech
The Battlemech droid stored data on the layout of many different vehicles, and new designs could easily be uploaded. Condorian craft were all modified to have a Battlemech slot instead of plain canopy or an astromech slot. Thousands of responses were created in a Battlemech’s system to various problems that occur in any ship’s mechanical, digital, and life-support systems. The Bleep-Bloop has more than a dozen tools to repair craft during flight and battle, including a miniature hydrospanner, a welding iron, a fire extinguisher, and slugs of leak sealant. The Bleep-Bloop did not take the astromech industry out of business, however, because the Battlemechs did not assist navigationally and could not override foreign computers with the efficiency of R2 units.

Like a Buzz Droid
If a ship the Bleep-Bloop is riding in were to be destroyed, a Battlemech was to eject and transfer its role as a mechanic to one as a mechanically-minded destroyer. The Bleep-Bloop models were capable of flight for large fractions of an hour, and could easily land on ships with its magnetic field generator and tow-cable. The Battlemechs then sawed into the ship’s hull, usually busting the shield generators beforehand, and would work into the ship’s systems. Once access to enough of the target’s internal functions was forced, the Battlemech would either shut down important systems or take control of the ship as a hijacking autopilot.

Like a Battle Droid
A small blaster cannon was installed in the Bleep-Bloop’s systems, meaning it could easily be deployed as a troop and have it fire upon enemies. But the ‘’Universal’’-class Battlemech Droid’s role in ground and manned combat was slightly more complicated, as the droid could defy gravity with its repulsorlift and had a tow-cable in hand. The tow-cable was modified by the Condorian manufacturers to include a small vibroblade within the cable itself, so a whip could be made of it by the user. This was used against lightsaber-wielding foes. The tow-cable was also used to divert lightweight speeder bikes off their course in tight-obstacle battlefronts and to disarm weakened foes. Because of the droids potential in battle, the droid was highly coveted and deployed in great numbers for all three main functions during the Second Clone War and later the Next Sith War.

Applications
The Battlemech acted as an astromech, a buzz droid, and a battle droid by design. It was used consistently during the many battles of the Second Clone War and afterward.

With the droid’s finely tuned sensors, the Battlemech was often put as a sentry. Sometimes a Bleep-Bloop was used as an Anti-Jedi by modifying it to carry a shield generator and use its vibro-tow-cable. The Bleep-Bloops were also useful in disabling enemy craft, and were efficient in targeting and firing their blasters.

Behind the Scenes

 * The ‘’Universal’’-class Battlemech Droid was created by I love yoda, but was categorized and expanded on by C3PO the Dragon Slayer
 * The “Bleep-Bloop” is based on a LEGO design