Pathfinder

This article is about the scout vessel. You may be looking for the Alliance Special Forces Pathfinders.

Vangaard Pathfinder

Production information
Manufacturer	Vangaard Industries^[1]
Model	Vangaard Pathfinder^[1]
Class	Scout vessel^[1]
Technical specifications
Length	36 meters^[1]
Maximum speed (atmosphere)	950 km/h^[1]
Hyperdrive rating	x3, x15 backup^[1]
Shielding	Unique to Vaangard Pathfinder^[1]
Sensor systems	Standard scout vessel package^[1]
Navigation system	Navigation computer^[1]
Armament	1 turret-mounted laser cannon^[1]
Crew	1 or 2^[1]
Minimum crew	1^[1]
Passengers	2^[1]
Cargo capacity	100 metric tons, 40 cubic meters^[1]
Consumables	6 months^[1]
Usage
Role(s)	Exploration^[1]
Era(s)	Late Rise of the Empire era, Rebellion era, New Republic era^[1]
Affiliation	Independent scouts^[1]

[Source]

The Vangaard Pathfinder was a scout vessel first produced by Vangaard Industries over sixty years before the formation of the New Republic. At the time, it was a cutting-edge scout vessel, one of the first ships of its size to include a hyperdrive and computer-assisted weapons systems.^[1]

The Pathfinder was notable for the unique design of its shield generator. When the shields absorbed a hit, the energy absorbed was diverted to the ship's laser cannon, increasing its firepower. After three hits, however, the generator overloaded, and the ship's shields were unusable for a brief period of time. Some early models were actually destroyed due to explosions in their shield generators. Many scouts and pilots operating Pathfinders replaced their ships' shield generators with more conventional ones which were not prone to overload. Others elected to keep the original generators, either to save the 10,000 credit price of a rebuilt shield generator or to keep the damage-absorbing properties of its weapons systems.^[1]

Although the problems with the shields led to Vangaard stopping production of the Pathfinder, it found success as a privately owned scout ship even as late as the New Republic era. It was inexpensive, had sufficient space for a scout's cargo and passengers, could operate for six standard months without supplies, and (except for the shields) was extremely reliable.^[1]

The Atrivis Advancer was a Pathfinder owned by the Alliance to Restore the Republic.^[2]