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Description
Another modified trace, this time of the Gunship Bomber from Galactic Battlegrounds (which made appearances in two of the early Multimedia Project comics, from which the old art I used was from)
Lore:
As part of the secret buildup efforts for the forthcoming GAR, Rothana Heavy Engineering developed a multitude of attack gunships to provide the Clone Army air support. Though the LAAT/i and LAAT/c were the most renowned of these types, as was the LAAT series in general, the GAR undoubtedly would've suffered numerous defeats were it not for the lesser known LAAB series.

Before the Battle of Geonosis, the Kaminoans and the Cuy'val Dar instructors determined the Clones would need a dedicated air support and interdiction vehicle, one not tied down by a need to transport or directly support infantry formations. The initial results tendered in the basic Low Altitude Assault Bomber, or LAAB, a dedicated bomber fitted with proton ordnance launchers and no other armaments. The results proved promising enough for Rothana to begin development of a newer model, the LAAB/e, to better keep pace with the LAAT/i and its siblings.

First deployed in limited numbers at the Battle of Geonosis, the LAAB/e quickly proved it had several fatal shortcomings, once it had exhausted its ordnance it immediately had to return to a carrier ship or airbase to re-arm, it lacked any means of standoff attack in the face of enemy anti-air fire and required escort for defense against enemy fighters and air units despite its maneuverability. Though the addition of air-to-air ordnance solved the last issue to a degree, the development of the BTL-B Y-Wing and other faster bomber craft capable of spaceflight made the LAAB redundant.

Faced with a surplus of bombers that had no purpose and a still-active production chain for them, Rothana went back to the drawing board. A hyperspace capable shuttle variant proved somewhat successful, though was ultimately of little value compared to the Navy's extant craft such as Cygnus's Nu or Eta-class craft.

Ironically, it was the CIS that provided an impetuous for the LAAB's continued existence, as discovery of one of the prototype HMP gunships on Geonosis during the initial occupation sent ripples down the Republic's chain of command. What it revealed was that the CIS was seeking a dedicated airspeeder gunship fitted with heavy ordnance, standoff weaponry, and extensive armor and shielding. Though the Mechanized Assault Flyer would fill the HMP's role for the first half of the war owing to the Republic briefly interrupting development, the GAR High Command nonetheless requested that Rothana investigate a new dedicated heavy attack gunship.

Quickly, RHE's designers realized they already had the perfect candidate for such a design, and a quick conversion and update effort turned the LAAB/e into a heavy assault gunship. Though it retained the LAAB designation and 'gunship bomber' nickname, the vehicle was anything but a bomber at this stage.

Armed with a single pintle mounted heavy laser cannon, and an array of semi-retractable flex-ordnance pods capable of being loaded with most of the Republic Military's extant standoff ordnance types as well as supplementary equipment of various kinds, the Gunship Bomber had finally come into its own, utilizing pop-up tactics to strike unsuspecting CIS formations before rapidly retreating behind terrain to avoid return fire.

Satisfied, the GAR ordered tens of thousands of the craft to support airborne formations, with the 22nd Combat Wing and 7th Sky Corps being among the most notable users of the type.

Ironically, the LAAB/e proved just as adept at hunting down Jedi as it did droids, when Order 66 was issued, numerous Jedi fell to precision missile strikes that were already in flight before they could react.

Despite the gunship bomber's performance during both the war and the early Imperial Era, the Empire ultimately retired the LAAB line, viewing the craft unnecessary for its purposes, eventually giving the role of heavy attack airspeeder to the TIE/la Lancet and Nemesis-class gunship. Many thousands of LAAB/es were scrapped in the years after the Clone Wars, with countless others sold off to various mercenary groups and planetary militaries. A few ended up in the hands of pirates, where they were used to raid settlements on Outer Rim worlds.

The most notable post-war use of the LAAB/e, however, was with the Rebellion, which desperately needed vehicles to counter the Imperial Army's absolute dominance in terms of manpower and machinery. Dozens of Gunship Bombers were lost over the course of the Galactic Civil War, but they more often than not racked up an impressive kill-count against Imperial armor, which often did not have proper anti-air support. It was rumored that Rebel LAAB/es under the command of former Jedi Master Rahm Kota were responsible for devastating a sister unit of the Empire's infamous Hell's Hammers repulsortank regiment in the weeks after the Battle of Hoth.

Despite this valued service, the LAAB/e was ultimately retired by the New Republic for similar reasons as the Empire did, at the time it simply believed it did not need a proper anti-armor hunter-killer gunship, this lack of a proper replacement would haunt the NR in the years to come as localized conflicts and eventually the Yuuzhan Vong War revealed the need for such a craft, though ultimately the NRDF nor the GADF would ever acquire a new assault airspeeder under the belief that their starfighter supremacy doctrine would make up for the deficit.

Description
Another modified trace, this time of the Gunship Bomber from Galactic Battlegrounds (which made appearances in two of the early Multimedia Project comics, from which the old art I used was from)
Lore:
As part of the secret buildup efforts for the forthcoming GAR, Rothana Heavy Engineering developed a multitude of attack gunships to provide the Clone Army air support. Though the LAAT/i and LAAT/c were the most renowned of these types, as was the LAAT series in general, the GAR undoubtedly would've suffered numerous defeats were it not for the lesser known LAAB series.

Before the Battle of Geonosis, the Kaminoans and the Cuy'val Dar instructors determined the Clones would need a dedicated air support and interdiction vehicle, one not tied down by a need to transport or directly support infantry formations. The initial results tendered in the basic Low Altitude Assault Bomber, or LAAB, a dedicated bomber fitted with proton ordnance launchers and no other armaments. The results proved promising enough for Rothana to begin development of a newer model, the LAAB/e, to better keep pace with the LAAT/i and its siblings.

First deployed in limited numbers at the Battle of Geonosis, the LAAB/e quickly proved it had several fatal shortcomings, once it had exhausted its ordnance it immediately had to return to a carrier ship or airbase to re-arm, it lacked any means of standoff attack in the face of enemy anti-air fire and required escort for defense against enemy fighters and air units despite its maneuverability. Though the addition of air-to-air ordnance solved the last issue to a degree, the development of the BTL-B Y-Wing and other faster bomber craft capable of spaceflight made the LAAB redundant.

Faced with a surplus of bombers that had no purpose and a still-active production chain for them, Rothana went back to the drawing board. A hyperspace capable shuttle variant proved somewhat successful, though was ultimately of little value compared to the Navy's extant craft such as Cygnus's Nu or Eta-class craft.

Ironically, it was the CIS that provided an impetuous for the LAAB's continued existence, as discovery of one of the prototype HMP gunships on Geonosis during the initial occupation sent ripples down the Republic's chain of command. What it revealed was that the CIS was seeking a dedicated airspeeder gunship fitted with heavy ordnance, standoff weaponry, and extensive armor and shielding. Though the Mechanized Assault Flyer would fill the HMP's role for the first half of the war owing to the Republic briefly interrupting development, the GAR High Command nonetheless requested that Rothana investigate a new dedicated heavy attack gunship.

Quickly, RHE's designers realized they already had the perfect candidate for such a design, and a quick conversion and update effort turned the LAAB/e into a heavy assault gunship. Though it retained the LAAB designation and 'gunship bomber' nickname, the vehicle was anything but a bomber at this stage.

Armed with a single pintle mounted heavy laser cannon, and an array of semi-retractable flex-ordnance pods capable of being loaded with most of the Republic Military's extant standoff ordnance types as well as supplementary equipment of various kinds, the Gunship Bomber had finally come into its own, utilizing pop-up tactics to strike unsuspecting CIS formations before rapidly retreating behind terrain to avoid return fire.

Satisfied, the GAR ordered tens of thousands of the craft to support airborne formations, with the 22nd Combat Wing and 7th Sky Corps being among the most notable users of the type.

Ironically, the LAAB/e proved just as adept at hunting down Jedi as it did droids, when Order 66 was issued, numerous Jedi fell to precision missile strikes that were already in flight before they could react.

Despite the gunship bomber's performance during both the war and the early Imperial Era, the Empire ultimately retired the LAAB line, viewing the craft unnecessary for its purposes, eventually giving the role of heavy attack airspeeder to the TIE/la Lancet and Nemesis-class gunship. Many thousands of LAAB/es were scrapped in the years after the Clone Wars, with countless others sold off to various mercenary groups and planetary militaries. A few ended up in the hands of pirates, where they were used to raid settlements on Outer Rim worlds.

The most notable post-war use of the LAAB/e, however, was with the Rebellion, which desperately needed vehicles to counter the Imperial Army's absolute dominance in terms of manpower and machinery. Dozens of Gunship Bombers were lost over the course of the Galactic Civil War, but they more often than not racked up an impressive kill-count against Imperial armor, which often did not have proper anti-air support. It was rumored that Rebel LAAB/es under the command of former Jedi Master Rahm Kota were responsible for devastating a sister unit of the Empire's infamous Hell's Hammers repulsortank regiment in the weeks after the Battle of Hoth.

Despite this valued service, the LAAB/e was ultimately retired by the New Republic for similar reasons as the Empire did, at the time it simply believed it did not need a proper anti-armor hunter-killer gunship, this lack of a proper replacement would haunt the NR in the years to come as localized conflicts and eventually the Yuuzhan Vong War revealed the need for such a craft, though ultimately the NRDF nor the GADF would ever acquire a new assault airspeeder under the belief that their starfighter supremacy doctrine would make up for the deficit.