Vulture

The Drake Vulture is a one-man salvage starter ship with plenty of on-board storage to help with salvage operations. It is designed for single-pilot salvage operations. It is even small and nimble enough to sneak into hostile areas unnoticed to recover fresh salvage.^[1]

Features

Scraper Beams

Dual integrated scraper beams use Drake’s patented Tomium system, developed with professional salvagers for the ultimate in speed and efficiency.

Integrated Tractor Rig

The Ripper’s claw is outfitted with an integrated Lariat tractor rig, designed specifically for the Vulture. This industrial grade tractor’s innovative proprietary beam configuration makes it more powerful than setups three times its size.

Cargo

The Vulture’s deceptively spacious interior bay can be anything you need it to be, from extra cargo space to your personal sanctuary of solitude, and all points in between.

Long Haul Capable

The Vulture eases the pain of lengthy travel, and the frequent dangers associated therewith, by providing a versatile combination of comfort and convenience. A full-size bunk employs a new composite mattress developed and tested by professional salvager's and haulers right here at Drake. When the going gets rough, you’re never more than a skip and a stumble away from the cockpit and command station.

Central Intuitive Control

With maximum visibility and vital ship systems at your fingertips, the Vulture puts you in command of any situation and ensures you’re ready for anything. You’re in complete control of navigation, defense, weapons, and the Vulture’s unique all-in-one utility arrangement

Specifications

Radar

1x

S1

Surveyor-Lite

Industrial (C)

Cooler

2x

S1

Thermax

Industrial (C)

Life support

1x

S1

Life supportlfsp_tydt_s01_comfortair

Power plant

2x

S1

Fortitude

Industrial (C)

Self destruct

1x

S1

Self destruct (30s)

5,000 🗡️ · 50 m0.05 km 5,000 cm

Shield generator

3x

S1

Bulwark

Industrial (C)

Fuel intake

2x

S1

Fuel intakeintk_drak_vulture

0.01 SCU/s

Fuel port

1x

S1

Fuel portdockingtube_fuel_ports_drak_vulture

Fuel tank

2x

S1

Internal Tank

180 SCU

Quantum drive

1x

S1

Goliath

Industrial (C)

Quantum fuel tank

1x

S1

Internal Tank

0.583 SCU

Main thruster

2x

S4

Main thrusterdrak_vulture_thruster_main

5.24 MN5,240 kN 1,177,999.16 lbf

Maneuvering thruster

4x

S1

VTOL thrusterdrak_vulture_thruster_vtol

0.0457 MN45.675 kN 10,268.151 lbf

2x

S4

Retro thrusterdrak_vulture_thruster_retro

2.855 MN2,855 kN 641,829.695 lbf

12x

S1

Maneuvering thrusterdrak_vulture_thruster_maneuver

1.905 MN1,905 kN 428,261.145 lbf

Weapons

2x

S1

VariPuck S1 Gimbal Mount

Left, Right

2x

S1

CF-117 Bulldog Repeater

Klaus & Werner

2x

S1

Capacitor

375/∞ Ammunition

Defensive devices

1x

S1

Joker Defcon - Noise Launcher

Right

1x

S1

Magazine

5/5 Ammunition

1x

S1

Aegis Gladius - Decoy Launcher

Left

1x

S1

Magazine

48/48 Ammunition

Utility devices

1x

S1

Salvage armdrak_vulture_salvage_arm

Right

1x

S1

Salvage armdrak_vulture_salvage_arm

Left

2x

S2

Baler Salvage Head

Greycat Industrial

1x

S1

Abrade Scraper Module

Greycat Industrial

1x

S1

ReadyGrip Tractor Module

Greycat Industrial

2x

S1

Cinch Scraper Module

Greycat Industrial

Cargo grid

1x

S1

Cargo griddrak_vulture_cargogrid_main

12,000 SCU · L 3.75 m x W 2.5 m x H 2.5 m

Personal storage

1x

S1

Personal storagepersonalstorage_drak_vulture

650,000K µSCU

Weapon rack

1x

S1

Weapon Rack

Armor

1x

S1

Armorarmr_drak_vulture

Filler station

1x

S1

Filler stationsalvagefillerstation_drak_vulture

Fire extinguisher

1x

S1

Fire extinguishergadget_cabinet_kegr_fire_extinguisher_ng_flipped

Vehicle part

1x

S1

Tail

2,400 ❤️

1x

S1

Main engine (right)

2,000 ❤️

1x

S1

Main engine (left)

2,000 ❤️

1x

S1

Nacelle right (front)

5,000 ❤️

1x

S1

Debrisproxy salvage arm (right)

4,000 ❤️

1x

S1

Nacelle left (front)

5,000 ❤️

1x

S1

Debrisproxy salvage arm (left)

4,000 ❤️

1x

S1

Body

12,000 ❤️

1x

S1

Drone

200 ❤️

1x

S1

Body (tail)

7,000 ❤️

Model

Ship profile

Isometric	Above	Port-side	Front	Rear	Below

Isometric	Above	Port-side	Front	Rear

Isometric	Above	Port-side	Front	Rear	Rear Isometric

Series variants

Other possible variants: According to lore, the UEE military use a military version of Vulture to clear destroyed spacecrafts after battle with the Vanduul.^[2]

Paints

"Assembly"	"Best in Show 2953"	"Carbonide"	"Carnival"	"Deck The Hull"	"Dying Star"	"Foundation Festival"	"Ghoulish Green"	"IceBreak"	"Longhorn"	"Pyrite"	"Skullcrusher"

Acquisition

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Lore

On August 9, 2895, the Terra-flagged freighter Empire Slipper experienced a series of system failures, leading to incorrect navigation overlays on the bridge terminals. Due to this error, the navigation officer charted a course into a dense asteroid belt near a red giant's corona, resulting in a debris strike that disabled the ship's shield generators and exposed the crew to fatal radiation. The precise location of the drifting Empire Slipper became unknown. The freighter carried a significant amount of precious metals and rare artwork, generating intense media interest and prompting a large search and recovery operation. After eight months of searching, the wreckage of the Slipper was found by a United Empire of Earth Navy picket ship within an irradiated debris belt, dispelling conspiracy theories of hijacking. Unfortunately, the region was nearly inaccessible to conventional salvage ships capable of withstanding the hazardous conditions. To address this challenge, Drake Interplanetary, a burgeoning spacecraft manufacturer, offered their assistance. Motivated by both the salvage rights and a ten million credit bounty offered by MISC, the ship's builder, an elite team gathered on Borea to devise a unique solution. They repurposed an AS-1 Cutlass prototype, the Vertical Landing Test 3 (VLT-3), by removing its testing equipment and transforming it into a specialized vessel suitable for navigating the debris field and recovering the Slipper's cargo. The modified VLT-3 featured heavy shield generators that replaced much of the prototype's cargo capacity, along with versatile remote manipulator arms attached to its front. This amalgamation was unlike any other existing spacecraft, providing extensive shielding and maneuverability to ensure the safety of its two-person crew. The external arms allowed the VLT-3 to engage in salvage operations without requiring extravehicular activity due to the hazardous radiation levels. Fourteen months after the Empire Slipper's disappearance, Drake's test crew initiated salvage operations from a hastily established modular space station positioned outside the danger zone. Over the course of thirty-six perilous expeditions, the VLT-3 repeatedly entered the debris field, recovering the Slipper's flight recorders and valuable cargo containers. Drake obtained salvage rights for the valuable cargo and delivered the recovered flight recorders to MISC. However, Drake's executives faced legal action over the bounty when it was discovered that they had copied the flight data before delivering it to MISC. Despite the controversy, the mission brought positive attention to Drake, which was battling piracy accusations.^[2]

Following the success of the salvage mission, Drake sent the VLT-3 on a PR tour to aerospace shows and museum exhibits. However, Drake faced further controversy when accused of supporting piracy after a coordinated destruction involving unmarked Cutlasses and a MISC Hull-D. The company shifted its focus to the Caterpillar command ship concept, and the VLT-3 was put into storage.

In 2932, an Aegis Dynamics Reclaimer named General Dogsbody had a highly profitable salvage mission, generating significant interest in space salvage. Recognizing the growing demand, Drake's team began developing the VLT-3 concept into a standalone salvage spacecraft called the Vulture. The new design featured Rippers, stand-alone salvage booms supported by a Lariot tractor beam and Tomium scraper rig. The Vulture retained similarities to the VLT-3, with shipboard controls, reduced crew capacity, and a rear living section for long voyages.

Drake introduced the Vulture in 2938, capitalizing on public interest in salvage and personal fortune-seeking. Orders quickly exceeded production capacity, leading to the opening of remote factories. The Vultures found success in salvaging high-profile hulls, boosting Drake's reputation and driving continued interest in the spacecraft.^[2]

In 2941, Drake launched an updated model of the Vulture with added weapons mounts, appealing to pilots exploring unsafe areas. In 2943, the United Empire of Earth Navy requisitioned 300 Vultures for battlefield support operations, although they were not intended for combat. These military versions saw service in clearing destroyed spacecraft after battles with the Vanduul. Drake continues to develop the government version of the Vulture, anticipating increased naval battles. In 2949, the civilian model received an update with an extended cab, increasing internal cargo capacity. Drake also offers upgrades for earlier versions to match the capacity and added weapons mounts.^[2]

Gallery

Development

2017-12-01	Introduced as an option for the next Drake ship to be developed in the vote "YOU Pick the Next Drake Ship" in 2017 Anniversary Special.^[1]
2017-12-11	Voted to be the next Drake ship by backers with 44% of 37,696 voters.^[1]
2018-06-14	Concept sale.^[3]
2020-05-30	During the 2950 Drake Defensecon, the ship was on display at the Riker Memorial Spaceport in Area18. It was represented by a downscaled holographic display of the model.^[4]
2021-05-05	Revealed that the Vulture was in production and to be implemented in game with an allocated work schedule of 18 weeks.^[5]
2023-03-10	Flight ready in Alpha 3.18.0, along with the first implementation of the salvage gameplay.^[6]

Role	Contributors
Original concept	Toby Lewin (first round), Alex Akstinas (second round)^[7]^[8]
Art	Paul Jones^[7]^[8]
Technical design	John Crewe^[7]^[8]

Aims & Aesthetic
Aims	Starter Salvage Ship – The one-man entry into the salvage career. Designed for small scale personal salvage via EVA and external processing rather than using the ship to salvage. Single utility mount on the front of the ship that houses the “scraper” laser which strips the surface of ships into a resource. Uses MultiTool and Salvage charges to break up wrecks and take individual components and loot rather than processing chunks of ship. Player can live long term on board with the basic accommodation, when finding wreckage they take their hand held Salvage tools from their internal storage to go recover valuable assets, these can be stored in the rear cargo hold, like a space pickup truck.
Aesthetic	Similar shape/styling to the other Drake ships, rough and ready Soviet-era style.

Specifications
Length	33 m
Width	16 m
Height	9 m
Mass	114,591 kg
Speed	165 m/s
Crew	1
Powerplants	1x Small
Shield	2x Small
Armor	Large
Weapons	2x
Thrusters	2x Small, 2x VTOL
Utility items	Scraper Beam, Tractor Beam
Cargo capacity	12 SCU

Trivia

The Vulture has some resemblance to the Venture ship in EVE Online. On 2018-06-14, shortly after the design of the Vulture was revealed, players and fans of EVE Online pointed out the similarity between the two ships and accused CI of copying the design on EVE's subreddit,^[9] while CI developers said that the ship was inspired by the Dragonfly.^[10] The rivalry escalated with redditors brigading both the EVE Online and Star Citizen subreddits, to the point that even EVE developer CCP tweeted about it.^[11]^[12]