Kappa Troop Shuttle Sheathipede
Craft: Republic Sienar Systems Kappa-class Shuttle
Affiliation: Old Republic / Empire / Alliance / General
Era: Old Republic
Type: Troop Shuttle
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 35 meters
Skill: Space transports: Kappa shuttle
Crew: 2, gunners: 2
Crew Skill: Space transports 4D, starship gunnery 4D, starship shields 3D
Passengers: 40
Cargo Capacity: 50 metric tons (rarely + 2 AT-PTs)
Consumables: 1 month
Cost: Not generally for sale
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x1
Hyperdrive Backup: x10
Nav Computer: Yes
Maneuverability: 1D
Space: 5
Atmosphere: 295; 850 kmh
Hull: 4D
Shields: 1D
Sensors:
- Passive: 20/0D
- Scan: 40/D
- Search: 80/2D
- Focus: 4/2D+2
Weapons:
- Fire Arc: Turret
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 2D
Space Range: 1-3/12/25
Atmosphere Range: 100-300/1.2/2.5 km
Damage: 4D
- 2 Repeating Blaster Cannons (fire-linked)
- Fire Arc: Front
Scale: Speeder
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 2D
Atmosphere Range: 1-50/100/250
Damage: 3D+2
Capsule: The Kappa-class had an angled cockpit area with wide viewport, a ventral debarkation hatch, and three stubby stabilization fins. It was designed to transport troops directly into a hot landing zone. Its blaster cannons protected the shuttle during flight, while its repeating blaster cannons cleared its destined landing area of any enemy forces, thus allowing the shuttle to establish a safe zone for its carried platoon to disembark.
The Kappa-class shuttle featured an aft vehicle bay containing two AT-RT walkers. Port and starboard exit hatches from the vehicle bay allowed the AT-RTs to disembark over low ramps. The AT-RTs provided heavy firepower and armor support to ground troops landing in a combat zone. This concept saw limited employment on the battlefield since the Kappa-class shuttle was replaced with newer dropships.
These shuttles were designed by Republic Sienar Systems, which later became Sienar Fleet Systems. During the Clone Wars, most Victory-class Star Destroyers were equipped with these craft.
Eventually, Kappa-class shuttles were replaced by more modern shuttles and dropships, which featured greater troop capacity and the capability to transport ground vehicles like the AT-AT and AT-ST walkers. As a result, many Kappa-class shuttles were transferred to secondary ships within the Imperial Navy.
Regardless of its status in the Imperial Starfleet, the interior troop cabin was open to modifications, including altering the seat arrangement or removing a seat altogether. Unfortunately, most of the Kappa-class shuttles' AT-PT complement were scrapped in favor of its more intimidating and larger cousins. By the time of the Galactic Civil War, these vehicle bays were often used to contain cargo or other more conventional ground-vehicles.