What Galactic Empire research personnel had never been able to understand was how the Swarm Drones carried by the Consul-class aircraft carrier could possibly be so powerful.
The Swarm unmanned interceptors possessed tremendous speed, agile maneuverability, powerful firepower, and cunning combat logic. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for so many qualities to exist in a miniature drone barely 1.5 meters in diameter. Even the newly emerged Swarm II Drones were the same.
Two-thirds of their volume was occupied by their two engines, granting them unparalleled maneuverability. Yet where were their energy reserves? Where did the immense power behind those devastating plasma beams come from? And where was the AI terminal that enabled combat performance practically comparable to that of an ace pilot?
After extensive research, they concluded that this involved technology capable of transmitting energy over long distances, as well as remote-control technology. That also explained why Swarm Drones appeared only aboard Consul-class aircraft carriers, and why Consul-class aircraft carriers carried no other types of drones.
Yet that still could not explain why, during the Battle of Yag'Dhul, when the star's violent orbital shift created a massive EMP that rendered all other electronic equipment unusable, the Swarm Drones had still retained their formidable combat capability.
But regardless, imperial scientists believed they had at least uncovered a small part of the drones' secret. That was progress, however slight. More intelligence would require more real combat cases for analysis.
Still, the Imperial military had not been entirely idle. The Vindicator-class heavy cruiser they had assigned Sith Fleet Systems to develop was a cruiser specifically designed to counter such small fighters.
The Vindicator-class heavy cruiser was 600 meters long and equipped with 25 multifunction Turbolaser turrets, 20 quad-mounted light Turbolaser turrets, 10 point-defense laser cannons, 20 point-defense ion cannons, and 6 relatively