The Essential Guide to Force Exile/Javelin shuttle

Javelin shuttle

Description
Snub-nosed and ungainly, the Javelin shuttle was the workhorse transport of the Yanibar Guard, responsible for ferrying small numbers of troops and supplies to and from orbit, as well as across planetary surfaces. While the larger Discblade and Wan-Shen transports handled heavier lifting, neither was optimized for carrying personnel, which is where the Javelin occupied its role. Small and heavily-defended enough to deploy infantry into tight zones, Javelins were capable of slipping across hostile territory with an escort of only a few Shotos or Stilettos and coming back unharmed.

There was a distinct resemblance between the Javelin and the LAAT/i gunship employed by the Republic during the Clone Wars. This was deliberate, as the Javelin resulted from hours of planning sessions between the former ARC and head of the Yanibar Guard Army, Spectre Kraen, and Kraechar Arms design chief Sarth Kraen. Spectre's long history with the LAAT showed in the final design. There were significant differences, though, chiefly that the Javelin was more space-capable than the LAAT. It also packed less firepower and cargo-capacity, but boasted considerably more survivability due to armor and shielding increases, as well as a higher speed.

Twin tri-barreled repeating-blaster turrets on chin-mounted swivel emplacements provided a wide field of fire to cover friendly troops, literally hosing down hostile emplacements with blaster fire. Twin-mounted laser cannons allowed for some defense against larger targets and heavier airspeeders, while the dual concussion missile pods could be used for fire support or for targeting hostile aircraft. However, all the weapons were directed in the forward or sideward firing arcs, leaving the dorsal and rear surfaces undefended.

Redundancy and defense were heavily emphasized in the Javelin's design. Overly reinforced structural members made break-up unlikely, even in the event of a low-speed crash as the primary structural members were designed to transmit the loads to the wings. The hull of the Javelin was constructed from nano-reinforced durasteel alloys capable of withstanding light artillery fire. Four ion engines were equipped on each Javelin, though only two were needed to get the shuttle into orbit. A relatively small hyperdrive was installed as well, though the Javelin was not designed with intersystem transport in mind. Unlike some short-range transports, the Javelin was equipped with shields, though it had to lower them while deploying troops.

However, Javelins were relatively slow despite their engine power. They were heavy and the numerous redundant repulsorlifts to help keep the craft aloft despite battle damage required heavy amounts of energy. While a Javelin could carry up to twenty-four personnel, such loading reduced the vehicle's maximum speed by 100 km/h and created crowded conditions. As such, doing so was known to be unpleasant, particularly when ferrying heavily-loaded Yanibar Guard infantry. Complaints about the cramped nature of the shuttles eventually led to the Javelin II, an upgraded version with a 15% wider main hull. Another feature added in the Javelin II was the addition of a rear turret to the dorsal surface. This welcome addition was the result of dozens of bitter complaints from Javelin pilots and infantrymen who lamented the utter inability of the Javelin to protect its vulnerable stern and topside. While the turret had less firepower than one of the nose lasers, it was adequate to deter many types of chasers who quickly learned to latch onto a Javelin's tail and blow it out of the sky. This retrofit did result in a permanent speed reduction down to 800 km/h, however.

History and use
Javelin-class shuttles were first launched in 8 BBY alongside the larger Shii-cho-class transports. Designed with offworld force-projection in mind, the first lot of Javelins saw heavy use, leading to numerous breakdowns as proper maintenance procedures were developed. Gradually, crews adapted and Kraechar Arms filled orders for the Javelin. As the fleet standardized, the Javelin was emblematic of its growing pains. Too few Javelins were available and they were prone to mechanical failures. Javelins ended up being deployed on Shii-cho-class transports, Makashi-class frigates, Niman-class cruiser-carriers and other larger Yanibar Guard Fleet ships as well. At the same time, YGA wanted to have significant quantities of Javelins available for its patrols and quick-response units on Yanibar. Yanibar's civil response units also wanted them for search-and-rescue as well as firefighting, leading to even more demand. Kraechar Arms was kept busy cranking out Javelins as quickly as possible as its facilities were overwhelmed. This was in part due to impressive test flights and demonstrations and a hastened development schedule, which kept all of the maintenance flaws from being discovered before full operational status.

Javelins saw offworld action as early as 7 ABY, when Javelin shuttles from the cruiser Plooriod Bodkin were used to retrieve covert operations personnel from the embattled world of Saloch. They also saw duty on other missions as well, such as the instance in 3 BBY where two Javelin shuttles from the Adi Gallia assisted in a strike against an Imperial sensor station by dropping marine commandos to help subdue the garrison. Javelins also saw action in the Battle of Yanibar in 4 ABY and remained in service well beyond that.

Appearances

 * Iron Maiden
 * Yanibar Guard Sourcebook