The uninitiated could easily mistake the Vampire for a heavy aerospace fighter, and performance and weaponry would appear to back up this assumption. In reality, however, the Vampire is the smallest DropShip ever to see combat. Developed by Markesan Aeronautics, the Vampire was conceived to minimize the time jump troopers were exposed to enemy aerospace action. Through the simple expedient of making the DropShip equal in performance to any fighter it could encounter, it was envisaged that the Vampire could keep one step ahead of all but the fastest interceptors. When over the target, the jump infantry could drop from the ship using four special drop hatches in the ventral surface and the DropShip could continue on to safety.
       To the relief of the three squads of jump infantry squeezed into the cramped infantry bay, the Vulture was never intended for long-range transport. Rather, the troops traveled to the target system (sometimes even into orbit around the target world), then transferred to the Vampire, which itself was most often carried in a WarShip or DropShip cargo hold or even inside a small craft bay, for the ground assault.
       The Avalon Hussars used a number of Vampires during the brief "Border War" between the Federated Suns and the Capellan Confederation. In 2762, the Hussars dropped infantry onto key Capellan command posts on Redfield.   Unable to tell the difference between the DropShips and their fighter escort, Liao troops were thrown into total confusion when elite jump infantry began to rain down on them instead of bombs. With the Capellan command structure shattered, Redfield finally fell to the Federated Suns.
       The Vampire's high performance came at a high price, though. The powerful Donovan XVIII engines had a relatively short lifespan and required much more maintenance than conventional propulsion units. The destruction of the Markesan Astronautics manufacturing facilities during the Combine thrust towards New Avalon effectively doomed the few Vampire DropShips that survived the fighting.
         The Vampires that survived spent most of the next three centuries in museums, until the Federated Suns began building new designs again. The Rabid Foxes contracted Federated-Boeing of Galax to rebuild the design for their use, and their elite strike teams used it for rapid insertions during the FedCom Civil War. The line died of course during the Jihad, but it was rebuilt during the St. Ives War and the Vampire continues to be used by the Rabid Foxes and the Federated Suns Mercenary Corps, often launched by Arthur frigates to secure a landing zone for the incoming troops. The only difference between the modern Vampire and the old is that it has a more robust engine and glazed armor to protect it from energy weapons.