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The LAAT/le gunship, also known as patrol transport, police gunship, known first as the Republic police gunship and later as the Imperial patrol transport, was a gunship introduced during the Clone Wars to perform law enforcement functions on the Republic capital of Coruscant. Designed to be sleeker and smaller as well as less heavily armed than the Republic attack gunship, the patrol transport was better suited for policing the dense, planet-wide city while reducing the risks of collateral damage.

After the formation of the Galactic Empire, the patrol transport saw a broader use as a patrol craft for the Imperial Military on various worlds, as well as an escort carried on some of its capital ships. Patrol transports saw extensive use against various rebel cells and factions during both the early Rebellion and the Galactic Civil War.

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Description Edit

The LAAT/le gunship[1] was the civilian model of the LAAT/i gunship and was sleeker, smaller, and less heavily armed.[2] Designed for crowd control, the gunship was fast, maneuverable and armed with light but efficient weaponry, making it ideal for law enforcement in heavily built-up locales.[9] The police gunship possessed a spoked cockpit and solar gatherer panels which acted as the power generator for the ship. Two ball-mounted laser cannons were underneath the cockpit and one laser cannon was mounted on the rear of the ship which were better suited for patrolling the city scape as well as having a lower risk overall in causing collateral damage.[2]

The patrol transports were also equipped with searchlights in the event that they had to conduct searches at night or in areas of Coruscant where visibility was low, such as the underworld. The gunship's cockpit also had two seats for the pilot and gunner, with the pilot being slightly behind of and elevated over the gunner. The side hatches opened for entry, and had a ramp near the rear in the event that the circumstances required rapid deployment of its personnel.[2]

The patrol transport was armed with ball-mounted turrets and fixed cannons. A troop bay allowed for the rapid deployment of police officers. Though utilized primarily by the Coruscant Security Force, the patrol transport also was available to the Coruscant Guard shock troopers who could procure them if need be. Following the formation of the Galactic Empire, the patrol transport was used as a patrol craft and as an escort carried on some capital ships.[2]

History Edit

Clone Wars Edit

The LAAT/le was manufactured by Santhe and Rothana Heavy Engineering[1] initially for the forces of the Galactic Republic for use on the ecumenopolis Coruscant, although it would also come to be used by the Coruscant Guard and Jedi Order.[9] During the Clone Wars it was available to both flesh-and-blood police officers and the GU-series Guardian police droids of the Coruscant Security Force, as well as the shock troopers of the Coruscant Guard.[5]

Two of these gunships were used on Coruscant by two teams of Coruscant Guards led by clone officers Captain Rex and Commander Wolffe and Jedi Anakin Skywalker and Plo Koon to search for Skywalker's padawan Ahsoka Tano in the lower levels, after Tano escaped from the Republic military base.[10]

The gunships were utilized by several troopers of the Coruscant Guard to search the planet for the clone trooper Fives. They eventually found him in a warehouse in the lower levels where he was shot by them.[11] Some were stationed in the Jedi Temple's hangar.[12]

Age of the Empire Edit

Following the creation of the Galactic Empire, the vessel was renamed to the Imperial Patrol Transport and sent to every far flung corner of the galaxy by Imperial commanders in order to ensure the citizens of the new Empire were brought to heel.[9] The gunship was used by the Imperial Military on various planets such as Lothal as a patrol craft to help in putting down rebellious activity.[6] Some were also held on Imperial-class Star Destroyers, such as Admiral Kassius Konstantine's Relentless[7] and Captain Slavin's Star Destroyer, the latter of which used them to assist a freighter in docking with it.[13]

In 14 BBY, one such transport was dispatched to the Tomb of Miktrull to deploy a Purge Trooper to hunt down Padawan Cal Kestis.[8]

Patrol transports were stationed at an Imperial airfield which served as a testing ground for Grand Admiral Thrawn's TIE/D Defender Elite prototype. Patrol transports were later used to search for the wrecked prototype and the fugitive rebels Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren. However, the rebels managed to stay ahead of their Imperial pursuers.[14] Thrawn's Noghri assassin Rukh later arrived on a patrol transport to hunt down the Spectres and Ryder Azadi's rebel cell.[15]

Patrol transports were later dispatch to investigate an incident aboard the Mining Guild ore crawler Crawler 413-24. However, the rebels managed to deceive their Imperial captors by posing as Mining Guild personnel and indentured prisoners.[16] Governor Arihnda Pryce rode a patrol transport during General Hera Syndulla's failed airstrike against the Imperial Armory Complex.[17]

After Hera and Kanan Jarrus escaped the "Dome", the Empire dispatched three gunships after them. Ezra and Sabine hijacked one and shot down the other gunships. They then rendezvoused with Hera and Kanan at the Lothal City fuel depot. Governor Pryce then attacked the fuel depot with AT-AT walkers. Kanan was killed but managed to use the Force to protect his rebel comrades from the explosive wave.[18] The other rebels escaped on their stolen patrol transport to the Lothal cliff dwelling.[19]

Governor Pryce later brought a fleet of patrol transports carrying stormtroopers and Jumptroopers to attack the Lothal cliff dwelling, which served as the base of the Lothal rebels. Though the gunships and stormtroopers succeeded in overwhelming the base's defenses, Pryce's forces were defeated when General Syndulla arrived with reinforcements. Pryce's remaining gunships were shot down and the Governor herself was taken prisoner.[20] The rebels later used two captured gunships to infiltrate the "Dome" during the Liberation of Lothal. Rukh also used a gunship to return to the base while Ezra used a gunship to fly aboard the Star Destroyer Chimaera to meet with Thrawn.[21]

During the Imperial occupation of Mon Cala, the patrol transports were used to scout territory. One such gunship came across the secret rendezvous between Regent Urtya and Leia Organa's team. The smuggler Han Solo approached the boarded stormtroopers with a bribe, and during the distraction, blew it up with a thermal detonator.[22]

The gunships were also found on Sergia. A patrol was close to discovering the Rebel base there, but the stormtroopers were distracted by Commander Luke Skywalker, who rammed a stolen speeder into the craft, downing it so the base staff could escape.[23]

Behind the scenes Edit

The Republic police gunship first appeared in the Season 5 episode "To Catch a Jedi." The ship was originally designed for another Star Wars-related project, and was inherited by the Clone Wars team for use in this episode.[24]

Appearances Edit

Sources Edit

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Notes and references Edit