Equipment

Of the numerous forms of criminality throughout the world, air piracy is uniquely dependent upon modern technology. Seldom able to get their hands on pristine tools and machinery, the Air Pirates must salvage used equipment whenever possible while revamping and maintaining the mediocre, run-down devices already at their disposal. Authorities cannot help but marvel at the Air Pirates' amazing resourcefulness and inventiveness — born of necessity — which keeps their criminal outfit airborne despite a severe shortage of parts, devices, and manpower.

The Air Pirates obtained several of their most precious pieces of equipment early on through bold theft, CT-37 fighter planes and the Iron Vulture being outstanding examples. As Don Karnage's reputation grew and such brazen attempts became risky, his pirates took to gathering new supplies as they found them. Through targeted raids, selective plunderings, or sheer luck, the Air Pirates collect engine parts, munitions, and other vital resources on a regular basis. Karnage never purchases new equipment unless absolutely necessary for fear of his men being captured while ashore. Plundered goods are typically less desirable than gold and jewels for obvious reasons, but in times of need, the Pirates count old cannon shells and motor fittings as good as gold if not better.

Naturally, the equipment most essential to the Air Pirates is weaponry, small arms and hand-held weapons in particular. Since modern military-grade guns are widely restricted and scarce on the black market, most pirates opt for acquiring much older models, which are of course cheaper and less regulated. For this reason muskets, wheel-lock pistols, and blunderbusses make up almost the entirety of the Air Pirates' arsenal. Archaic weapons originally stolen from museums and private gun collections, they are much more useful to the pirates for their shock value than their ability to cause damage — though many of these broad-muzzled guns have been fitted with multiple-bullet chambers and semiautomatic gunlocks to lend them rapid fire capabilities.

Driven by pirate tradition is the widespread acceptance of melee weapons among air pirate bands. Considered obsolete by modern fighting standards, implements such as swords, daggers, and battle axes prove invaluable to the Air Pirates in close-quarters combat, where use of firearms could cause more harm than help in confined spaces such as aircraft interiors. But the intimidating appearance of these sharp weapons is their most potent characteristic, often precluding their use in actual combat altogether. The mere sight of grizzled pirates brandishing nasty-looking cutlasses can dishearten the most courageous opponents.

Electronic equipment and radios are similarly integral to the Air Pirates' activities. Each wireless transceiver onboard the Iron Vulture and the pirates' air fighters has been modified to permit not only eavesdropping on military frequencies and secure channels, but also transmitting of messages in secret pirate code along ordinarily inaccessible radio bands. The pirates also possess a couple of portable backpack radios which they distribute to crewmates on reconnaissance missions. Tampering with the public airwaves is extremely illegal, but law enforcement agencies are powerless to stop the Air Pirates without a way to reliably detect, trace, and decode their communications.

Attention all listeners... Air Pirate radio.			A Pirate submarine prepped for deployment.

Sometimes the Air Pirates use custom-designed equipment and vehicles, such as Pirate submarines. Small, two-man undersea vehicles propelled by either electric generators or the occupants' own muscle power, Pirate subs can slip past surface defenses and get Air Pirates into harbor cities to commit burglaries, kidnappings, or other crimes. Periscope-equipped digging machines can tunnel through loose sand, perfect for sneaking into desert areas. Grappling hook guns come in handy during skyjackings and midair boarding operations, while claws and cables allow the Iron Vulture to tote heavy loads and even snatch cargo planes from the sky.

Maintenance is by far the biggest challenge the Air Pirates face, especially with regard to damaged aircraft. While rarely losing men, the Air Pirates sustain heavy, sometimes grievous damage to their combat planes and the Iron Vulture from skirmishes with defense fighters, the Cape Suzette cliff guns, or the Sea Duck and her ace pilot Baloo. Short on fresh components and spare parts, the pirates frequently resort to cannibalizing captured aircraft for gears, propellers, and metal plates, stripping the entire airframe of useable items. Such practices provide the Air Pirates with just enough raw material to restore mutilated planes to serviceable condition, as well as patch faulty systems and mend battle scars aboard the Vulture.

As a rule, the Air Pirates never build anything from scratch when they can steal it instead or improvise something just as good from what's already on hand. Don Karnage chooses to invest his resources wisely in repair and resupply; elaborate construction projects simply do not make good economic sense unless there's a fortune to be gained through them. Some speculate that the Air Pirates have construction facilities capable of churning out new CT-37s to replace those destroyed in combat. Others believe that the Air Pirates draw replacement fighters from a vast pool of reserve planes sheltered at Pirate Island. Whatever the case, the fact remains that if the pirates can recover enough scraps and wreckage from a machine, they will most certainly rebuild it.

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