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IG-227 Hailfire-class droid tank

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IG-227 Hailfire-class droid tank
Production information
Manufacturer

Haor Chall Engineering[1]

Model

IG-227 Hailfire-class droid tank[1]

Class

Wheeled

Cost

60,000 credits[1]

Technical specifications
Height/depth

8.5 meters[2]

Maximum speed

45 km/h[1]

Armament
Crew

Integrated droid brain[1]

Passengers

None

Usage
Availability

Military[1]

Role(s)
  • Anti-air vehicle
  • Anti-armor
Era(s)

Rise of the Empire era

Affiliation

Confederacy of Independent Systems[2]

[Source]
"Be careful, Mace! Their missiles are lethal!"
―Luminara Unduli to Mace Windu[src]

The IG-227 Hailfire-class droid tank, also known as simply the Hailfire droid or the wheel droid, was a droid tank constructed by Haor Chall Engineering for the InterGalactic Banking Clan prior to and during the Clone Wars. It was highly effective against armor.[5]

Contents

[edit] Characteristics

A Hailfire droid.

The Hailfire-class droid tank was a self-aware mobile missile platform capable of destroying entire platoons of enemy soldiers. It ran on large hoop-like wheels on either side of the main armored command module, which enabled it to operate on almost any terrain at impressive speed.[4]

The Hailfire-class was well equipped, with missile launchers fitted on each side of its head, each missile rack carrying 15 guided rocket warheads powerful enough to cause terrible damage to enemy targets. A well-placed shot with one of these missiles was enough to destroy a Republic AT-TE walker.[6]

Each Hailfire droid also had a retractable double blaster for use against infantry and other "soft" targets.[3]

The Hailfire-class also had many different configurations that boasted different types of weapons. Some of the configurations included heavy blaster artillery, ion cannons, or anti-personnel stun weapon batteries. The wheels' inward design gave Hailfires a wider lateral range and the ability to crush tightly grouped soldiers and small vehicles.[7]

[edit] History

"We've come to repossess the planet."
―InterGalactic Banking Clan commander Horgo Shive[src]
A Hailfire droid firing missiles during the Battle of Geonosis.

Before the Clone Wars, the Hailfire droid was used by the Banking Clan's euphemistically named "Collections and Security Division" to punish customers which had failed to pay their debts on time.[4]

Hailfire droids first appeared as part of the army of the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Battle of Geonosis, where they disabled or destroyed numerous AT-TEs and injured or killed countless clone troopers before being destroyed by LAAT/i gunships. During the war, many Hailfires of various models and types continued to fight in battles against the Republic's army, and were used extensively during the first parts of the war.[4]

Due to the limited supply of 30 warheads for each unit, the Banking Clan retired the Hailfire from the battlefield for some time. The Clan came up with an answer to this problem, though: air-mobile refresh droids that could resupply the Hailfires with warheads were partnered with them in the battlefield, and once again, the Hailfire became the scourge of slow-moving vehicles.[5] During the Clone Wars, like many other vehicles, the hailfire droid was re-painted in the Separatist color scheme.

Front view of a Hailfire droid.

Following the execution of the Separatist Council by Darth Sidious's new apprentice, Darth Vader, these units were deactivated. However, some Hailfire components were reactivated and used by the Wookiees against Imperial landing parties during the Empire's subjugation of the planet in 19 BBY.[8]

[edit] Behind the scenes

In Attack of the Clones, Confederate rockets, including those of Hailfire droids, were keyed to leave black smoke in contrast to the white trails left by Republic missiles.

The Hailfire droid had a real life counterpart, the Russian Tsar Tank, designed in 1914. It followed a similar design, with two large hoop-like wheels along with a third smaller steering wheel mounted on an axle with guns mounted in turrets in the middle. However, this tank never made it past the prototype stage, being deemed too unwieldy and vulnerable to enemy artillery fire.

Another Russian design similar in function to the Hailfire droid is the Katyusha rocket launcher, which acted as mobile artillery much like the Hailfire droid.

In Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, the Hailfire Droid is incorrectly classified as an anti-air unit.

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Non-canonical appearances

[edit] Sources

Wookieepedia has a collection of images related to IG-227 Hailfire-class droid tank.

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 The Clone Wars Campaign Guide
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Battlefront II: Prima Official Game Guide
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Star Wars: Battlefront
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4  Hailfire droid in the Databank
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary
  6. ↑ Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
  7. ↑ Ultimate Adversaries
  8. ↑ Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader

[edit] External links


Major vehicles of the Confederacy of Independent Systems
Repulsorcraft
Armored Assault Tank - Ground Armored Tank - Heavy Missile Platform
Multi-Troop Transport - Trade Federation troop carrier - Single Trooper Aerial Platform
Heavy Artillery Gun - Multi-Utility Transport - Mechanized Assault Flyer - Droid transport carrier
Walkers
OG-9 homing spider droid - Octuptarra combat tri-droid - Tsmeu-6 personal wheel bike - DSD1 dwarf spider droid
Wheeled/tracked
NR-N99 Persuader-class droid enforcer - IG-227 Hailfire-class droid tank - Tsmeu-6 personal wheel bike
[edit]
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