Xyriat Hegemony

Scale: Fleet (very nominally 1:1500th (strictly 1:2700th after smallcraft sliding scale adjustement))

Four squadrons (24 smallcraft) supplied.

Size (Bounding Box, Sprue/Base): 28.2mm x 23.54mm x 10.76mm (13.1mm x 7.14mm x 7.22mm individually)

The Vayox Antiship Drone is the Vod’s larger and modern brother, The Vayox is a large drone, though not quite approaching the Vitokor’s size.

The Vayox has a similar mission profile to the Vod, though its size means it is perforce less agile and slower. However, the Vayox mounts three railguns rather than one, in a triad formation around the central GVD emission disk. In addition, rather than the Vod’s fixed guns, the Vayox has point-defence particle beam turrets, with their own independent firecontrols, allowing it to fire at both short and long ranges simultaneously, even while screening. The Vayox’s shields and hull are much more significant, allowing the drone to be able to survive the destruction of a screened mothership like a Golulot Medium carrier which would destroy a squadron of Vods.

Vayoxes are too large to be deployed in full squadrons of twelve given the typical standard Xyriat hangar size – they only squeeze out of the bay due to the Xyriat’s tractor assistance. Instead, they are usually deployed in groups of six from a carrier. However, even a single Vayox can be a threat to lighter vessels.

As with the Vod, the Vayox performs poorly against other fighters. While the point-defence systems provide slighter better protection than for the Vod, the Vayox is more easily out-manoeuvred and the additional railguns do not compensate for the loss.

The Vayox has a small crew compartment for a single crewmember. This is not for a pilot, but for a squadron commander. Under normal battlefield conditions, both Vod and Vayox drones are directed by an officer aboard the mothership. On extended missions, the Vod drones have to be left entirely to their own devices, but a Vayox group (and any attached support) can still carry the unit’s director, which somewhat mitigates the issues created by autonomous drones. The crew chamber is not large, nor suited to use for more than a few hours, and so it not suited for length deep-range mission but when used, it allows the Vayoxes to work more efficiently.