The Rothana Heavy Engineering Low Altitude Assault Transport is perhaps the most iconic
and memorable spacecraft to serve in the Clone Wars.
The Vehicle was introduced at the very outbreak of the conflict and carried troops into battle
through almost every major engagement fought across the three year conflict.
At a length of 28.8 Meters, the ubiquitous frame of the LAAT features a run-through troop
compartment flanked by sliding doors that can be pressure sealed on almost all variants.
The craft is operated by a pilot and co-pilot assisted by 2-4 gunners, and can carry up
to 30 clone troopers and four speeder bikes within its deployment bay.
The LAAT’s atmospheric speed limit stands at 620kph, but when in space the ship is able
to accelerate at an impressive rate for it’s mass.
The LAAT is armed with a pair of chin-mounted adjustable laser cannons useful for strafing
infantry and light vehicles.
These weapons are supported by a pair of huge dorsal mounted belt-fed missile launchers
and adjustable composite beam lasers on the wings.
The rest of the Gunship’s loadout is highly configurable, with options for additional
composite beams near the troop doors as well as light dumbfire rockets under the wings
and an automated tailgun on some versions.
The Republic Gunship was an extremely popular vessel among the men of the GAR, as the arrival
of the craft often meant salvation for battered and exhausted troops.
Clone units often named their LAAT’s and decorated them with nose art or sometimes
full paintjobs, placing great importance on the maintenance and skilled operation of the
craft that carried them safely into battle.
Despite their adequate functionality in space, LAAT’s are not designed to engage hostile
strike craft and are extremely vulnerable to fighter attack if left without an escort.
These escorts duties were usually performed by V-19 Torrents, Z-95 Headhunters or ARC-170s,
and were often preceded by bomber wings tasked with softening hostile defences before any
gunships reached the engagement.
When hostile point defence positions aboard a warship or on a planet’s surface are in
full effect, the large frame of the LAAT makes them a vulnerable target, and high casualties
are often incurred when attempting to deploy troops under such conditions.
A subvariant of the Republic Gunship known as the LAAT/c was used throughout the Clone
Wars as a deployment craft for the equally ubiquitous AT-TE Walkers of the Republic Army.
These vehicles allowed landing troops to heavily fortify their positions though the quick deployment
of an AT-TE, and were later modified to carry a variety of other assets such as TX-130 Fighter
Tanks, Forward Command Centres and Falchion Assault Tanks.
The LAAT was easily one of the most effective assets employed by the Republic across the
Clone Wars, lending a huge range of adaptability to their ground forces while providing lethal
aerial support.
The effectiveness of the design eventually led the CIS to develop their own attack gunship
in the form of the Baktoid HMP, a ship that served as a lethal anti-infantry unit but
lacked the versatility and wide mission profile of the LAAT.
Despite it’s overwhelming success and popularity, the LAAT was one of many designs that failed
to conform to the philosophy of the Tarkin Doctrine following the rise of the empire.
For this reason the craft was quickly phased out of service, with remaining models being
used only for picket defence assignments at distant outposts.
The troop deployment craft that succeeded the LAAT, such as the Sentinel-Class, were
designed more around deploying vast numbers of troops at once rather than providing battlefield
mobility or aerial fire support, forcing the Empire to place far more lives at risk in
every attempted combat landing.