Colonial Vipers

Viper (1978, 1980)

Original-series Vipers in flight.
First appearance	"Saga of a Star World"
Affiliation	Colonial Fleet
General characteristics
Armaments	Lasers

Colonial Viper

A pair of Mark II Vipers flying low (from "The Hand of God").
First appearance	Mini Series, Part 1
Affiliation	Colonial Fleet
General characteristics
Armaments	Kinetic energy weapons Conventional missiles

The Colonial Viper is a spacecraft in the Battlestar Galactica science-fiction franchise. It is the primary fighter spacecraft type used by the human protagonists in this fictional universe. Appearing in both the 1978 original series and the 2003 reimagined series, as well as various derivative works, the single-pilot spacecraft are carried aboard Battlestar Galactica and are the humans' main tools of defense against the universe's antagonists - the cybernetic Cylon race.

The popularity of the original Battlestar Galactica series resulted in United States Air Force pilots nicknaming F-16 Fighting Falcons "Vipers". When the reimagined series was created, the Viper was one of the elements that the designers wanted to carry through with minimal alteration.

In the original run of Battlestar Galactica, the Colonial Viper is the only known fighter flown by Colonial Pilots, referred to as "Colonial Warriors". There is only one known model of Viper seen in the series. Some materials list the Viper as a "Starhound Viper" or "Starhound Class" fighter, based on information in the novelization of "Saga of a Star World".

The Vipers are launched from a long tube in one of a Battlestar's landing bays, assisted by a powered catapult mechanism. It appears that a Battlestar can launch at least sixteen Vipers from each bay at once. Vipers are loaded into the launch tubes atop rails which engage recesses in the bottom of the fuselage between the lower wings. The rail system ensures that the Viper remains on the centerline of the launch tube.

Vipers typically use all three of their engines for powered flight, and can use a "Turbo" boost for greater speed, analogous to a modern fighter plane's afterburner. A pilot can turn on or off each engine by a push button, as seen in the startup sequence anytime a Viper is preparing to take off. Vipers can also reverse thrust for rapid deceleration, a useful tactic when being pursued by enemy ships that would then tend to overshoot the Viper, placing them in a vulnerable position. Vipers are capable of atmospheric as well as space flight, and can land and take off from a planetary surface. Viper engines are designed to collect commonly occurring gases in planetary atmospheres and in space to power the ship's fusion reactor. Vipers are also capable of supporting the pilot for up to two weeks in a form of "suspended animation" for extremely long missions.