Hangar Module
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[](/File:Hangar_Bay_Example.png)
Fighters deploying from a Hangar Bay
[](/File:Hangar_skilltree.png)
Hangar Bay Skill Tree nodes
Hangar Bays are equipment modules that allow a ship to carry, deploy, and recall **fighter craft** - small combat ships that act as autonomous wingmen. Unlike Drones, fighters are fully-fledged ships with their own equipment, hull, and crew requirements.
The individual setup of fighters is entirely up to the Player. It's quite common to use fighters for anti-fighter screening while your main ship focuses on capital ships, or to assign them as priority interceptors against specific threats.
[ECHO](/Echo "Echo") can use Hangar Bays, and will actively deploy fighters when entering combat and recall them when leaving a POI. The Player can also deploy or recall manually by clicking the "Deploy" / "Recall" buttons at the bottom of the screen.
Fighters can be destroyed by enemy activity. When destroyed, the Hangar Bay will manufacture a replacement after a short delay. Launching an Emergency Jump with fighters deployed is not an issue - the bay automatically despawns them and they'll be rebuilt when re-deployed.
- **Hangar Bay Slots**
Hangar Bays exist in all rarities and sizes. The number of fighter slots depends on the bay's base capacity and your Engineering skill unlocks.
Hangar Bay Slots Base off Module
| |  Small |  Medium |  Large | |---|---|---|---| | **Base Slots** | 1 | 1 | 2 | | **Unique Skill** | - | - | T3HangarBayStella: +1 | | **Total Slots** | 1 | 1 | **3** |
There is 1 Engineering skill that increases the maximum amount of Fighters that can be stored and controlled — **T3HangarBayStella**, a Tier 3 unique skill (unlocked via a specific captain, Stella).
- **Assigning Fighters**
Unlike Drones which are configured per-slot from the Drone Bay UI, fighters are assigned from your **Personal Hangar** (accessible at any Space Station with a hangar facility).
To assign a fighter:
1. Dock at a Space Station 2. Open the **Personal Hangar** screen 3. Select the ship you want to act as carrier 4. Click on an empty Hangar Slot 5. Choose one of your owned ships from the list
Any ship in your fleet can be assigned as a fighter — including captured ships, mission rewards, or vessels you've built. The fighter keeps its equipment, name, and configuration.
- **Fighter Behavior**
Once deployed, fighters act on their own for most combat activities. They can be re-focused on a single target by clicking it.
In combat, all fighters will focus on the target you click or the target that attacks the player first - unless you specifically order them elsewhere by clicking a different target.
Fighters will not follow you into a Space Station interior or through a Jump Gate. They will return to the Hangar Bay automatically when you leave the POI.
If a fighter is damaged, it can be ordered back to the bay for repairs using the **Auto-Repair Recall** feature — the fighter will fly back, dock, repair, and re-deploy automatically once its hull and armor are restored.
- **Resupply**
Fighters accumulate cargo - mostly salvage and loot from combat kills. When a fighter returns to the bay for repairs or recall, its cargo is automatically transferred to the carrier ship. This makes fighters excellent as mobile cargo mules in combat-heavy areas.
- **Fighter Power & Stats**
Fighters do not draw from the ship's weapon power pool. Each fighter is an independent ship with its own:
- **Hull HP** and **Armor HP** — fully independent from the carrier - **Equipment** — all modules, turrets, and systems function normally - **Crew** — Fighters require **Pilot** crew (from your carrier's crew pool). Each deployed fighter consumes 1 Pilot. If you don't have enough Pilots, fighters cannot deploy.
The bay itself has a **passive repair rate** of roughly 1/90th of max hull per second. Fighters sitting in the bay slowly regenerate health and armor over time - no action required. The regeneration speed is modified by the carrier's `HangarBayRepairRate` stat (from equipment, skills, or hull bonuses).
The carrier's shield and armor have no effect on fighters - each fighter is responsible for its own survival.
- **Fighter Rebuilding**
When a fighter is destroyed:
1. The slot enters **Rebuild** mode 2. A **120-second timer** starts (modified by `HangarBayRepairRate` stat) 3. Once the timer finishes, the fighter is restored with full HP and armor 4. If the carrier is still in combat mode, the fighter auto-deploys
If the carrier performs an Emergency Jump while a fighter is being rebuilt, the rebuild timer pauses and resumes when you're cleared for deployment again.
- **Launch Effects**
Fighters launch from visually marked **Launch Points** on the carrier ship model. During launch:
- A smoke puff effect appears at the launch point - The fighter accelerates away at high speed (6 units/sec) - A sprite mask hides the fighter while inside the bay, then reveals it as it exits - A smoke trail follows the fighter during the first moments of launch
The docking animation uses a smooth curved approach path, calculated in real-time based on the carrier's current movement and the fighter's speed.
- **Known Limitations**
- Fighters are **combat only** — they cannot mine, salvage, or use utility beams - Each fighter requires **1 Pilot crew** from the carrier — running out of pilots means no deployment - Fighters cannot dock at Space Stations independently — they follow the carrier - Rebuilding a destroyed fighter takes a flat **120 seconds** regardless of the fighter's original cost or rarity - If the carrier travels or jumps while fighters are deployed, they are **immediately despawned** and must be rebuilt
- **Tips**
- Assign your **best-equipped spare ship** as a fighter — it keeps all its modules and weapons - Fighters are excellent for drawing aggro away from your main ship in tough fights - Use the **Recall** button before looting to collect fighter cargo without manually transferring - The T3HangarBayStella skill is a massive power spike — 3 fighters instead of 2 is a 50% increase - If you're running low on Pilots, check your crew assignments — you may have Pilots assigned to other roles