The C-9979 landing craft, also known as the Trade Federation landing ship, was a heavy transport starship used by the Trade Federation, and later the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Trade Federation armaments committee chose the ship. The C-9979 was an elegantly designed transport manufactured by Haor Chall Engineering Corporation and was controlled by a central computer. One C-9979 could subjugate an entire susceptible world.
The C-9979 was a heavily armed multi-vehicle and troop transport and landing craft utilized by the Trade Federation and Confederacy of Independent Systems to deploy invasion armies to planets it intended to occupy or for massive offensives against heavy enemy forces. It was manned by a small crew of droids, in keeping with the Federation's policy of reliance on automation; these manned the topside control center and Control Ship signal reception antennas, operated the ship's wingtip and hull weapons and repair shops as well the maintenance bays where individual B1-series battle droids were realigned after every battle.
Aft view of a C-9979 landing craft
The entirety of a C-9979's internal volume, save for the wingtips which housed the tensor field generators and anti-gravity stabilizers, was dedicated to vehicle and trooper storage. Hundreds of Multi-Troop Transports, Armored Assault Tanks and Platoon Attack Crafts were stored in special garages on the tensor-field supported wings while a few were kept in battle-ready positions behind the main deployment doors. Upon landing on a designated landing zone, special perimeter field sensors on the main doors scanned the surrounding area to detect land mines or other potential hazards to the troop contingent. After giving the all clear, the doors opened, allowing the drop ramp to be deployed. Then, as the first combat-ready units (usually MTTs accompanied by two AATs each) exited the craft, the repulsor tracks lining the staging garages were activated, guiding the vehicles from their storage to a staging area directly above the main gate; this assistance was required because the larger vehicles couldn't maneuver in the tight confines of the C-9979's internal tunnels. From the staging area, specialized transport clamps lowered the vehicles to the exit tunnel while these powered their on-board repulsors to exit the landing craft and begin their operations. Due to this complex procedure, the deployment of a full C-9979 contingent could take up to 45 minutes.
Due to its extreme size, the C-9979 was disassembled after every mission, having their wings removed and stored separately to prevent unnecessary strain to the body-wing connections. Whenever they were required, the wings were reassembled and bound to the body by use of specialized tensor fields which prevented them from sagging or breaking mid-flight.
During the Invasion of Naboo, the Trade Federation used many of these landing craft to deploy their Droid Army, including Multi-Troop Transports.
As part of the Separatist effort to recruit the planet Toydaria to their side, Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress and a full battalion of droids arrived on the planet in a C-9979 landing craft.
When the Republic invaded the planet Ryloth, the ship was used at some point during the battle, with a few of them being destroyed.
During the Battle of Mon Cala, a C-9979 landing craft was used to transport eight Hydroid Medusas under its wings from the planet Karkaris.
After Mother Talzin used Nightsisters magick on the Sith Lord Count Dooku, he sent the General Grievous and the Separatist Droid Army to Dathomir to eradicate the Nightsisters. C-9979 landing craft deployed a large compliment of droids as well as defoliator tanks, which slaughtered all of the Nightsisters save for Talzin and Ventress, who had been outcast by her former master Dooku, who escaped the battle.
Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles establishes that the C-9979 landing craft is 210 meters in length. The databank and the StarWars.com Encyclopedia had previously established that the wingspan was 149 meters. Visibly, the wingspan appears to be greater than the bow-to-stern length of the vessel. It is unclear whether the Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles refers to wingspan or bow-to-stern length.
The Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles also establishes that the C-9979 landing craft can carry up to 361 battle droids, while the 2019 source book Rise of the Separatists establishes that the C-9979 can carry up to 2,500 battle droids and droidekas, depending on its configuration. As Rise of the Separatists is the more recent source, the article makes the assumption that the newer source is correct.
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga