Unlike some of Incom’s designs, the Y-4 Transport was given to the Empire. This as done just before the Incom corporation was seized by decree of Palpatine. Although the transport was obviously useful and would be good for carrying troops and equipment, the Imperial Navy did not favour it much. The Navy could see its advantages, but Incom had given some of its design to the Alliance, such as the X-Wing, and so the company was viewed with deep suspicion.
But after Palpatine’s death and the steady decline of the Empire, Warlord Zsinj started using the Y-4 transports. As he built up his own empire, he formed a squadron known as ‘Zsinj’s Raptors’, which was made up of the transports. This was how they became know as ‘Y-4 Raptors’. Zsinj’s squadron carried elite marine commandos, which he used to control systems and gain power.
At just under thirty metres long, the transport is small, but very good at what it does. Its main mission profile is to carry troops and equipment between starships. Each Raptor has the capacity to carry forty troops and four AT-ST walkers. Other smaller vehicles, like speeder bikes, can also be squeezed on board.
Space travel is easy for the ships. A standard array of sublight drives gives the transports a good turn of speed, and the Class Two hyperdrive engine allows them to travel from ship to ship or from system to system fairly quickly. The dedicated nav computer is aided by an R2 astromech or similar droid. The command crew of three is made up of the pilot, the chief gunnery officer, and the second gunnery officer. The chief gunnery officer stays on the bridge, and handles the forward weaponry. This comprises of two fire-linked laser cannons and a recessed concussion missile launcher which as a magazine of six missile. The secondary gunner takes care of the dorsal-mounted double laser cannon.
Zsinj used his Raptors to infiltrate planetary defence grids and sabotage them. The Raptors were perfect for this, since they could get troops down onto the planet quickly and quietly. Once on the planet’s surface, folding assault ramps allowed the troops and walkers to deploy in seconds. Precision was also needed for these types of operations, and the Raptors have retractable swing wings for emergency braking and better manoeuvrability, meaning that they would hardly ever overshoot their intended landing zone. In case the planet is particularly hot or in direct sunlight, the transports have a one metre thick heat shield, that can be augmented with extra spray-on layers of ablative coating.
Raptors are made in two models: military and civilian. The main differences are that the civilian model does not have the weaponry, armour plating, and has less powerful engines. They are, however, good for courier work. Zsinj employed several of these civilian models for maintenance and transport.