Class: Transport
Crew: 450 mecha
Length: 155m
Width: 122m
Height: 52m
Mass: 5670 tons (operational)
Range: Sublight - Earth-Lunar transit capability.
ARMAMENT
Up to 450 Invid Scouts
Views of the Shell Door Carrier
The Invid Carrier can carry hundreds of Invid mecha into battle
The Invid Carrier can carry hundreds of mecha and immediately deploy them in any environment.
Despite their size, the Invid Carriers are not impervious to enemy fire.
The Invid Carrier is apparently the only Invid vessel class seen in the New Generation, save for possibly the remarkable Hives seen on Earth. The designs seem to have but a single function: to get as many mecha to the battlefield or to space as rapidly as possible. This the Invid Carrier achieves in a manner and apparent effortlessness unmatched by any other Robotech vessel.
This troop carrier vaguely resembles a clam. It has a near-square center section which houses the anti-gravity units and connects to the engines, and two, large, single piece hinged hatches which cover the launch bays that make up the rest of the vessel. These hatches are opened by dedicated plasma thrusters in the hatches themselves. Once opened, the Carrier can release 450 booster-fitted Scout mecha directly at an enemy. Other Invid mecha can also be carried, but in smaller numbers.
In the battles with the returning Robotech Expeditionary Force, the Scout mecha are often used in ramming attacks, making a Carrier mecha release approximately equal to the launch of almost 450 anti-ship missiles within seconds. As a result, many Expeditionary force ships fell victim the Invid. However, while the hatches are still closed, the Shell-Door Carrier packages its mecha conveniently for destruction by any Earth cruiser that manages to get a weapon lock on it. This leads to Invid losses almost on par with the losses of the Expeditionary Force.
First Appearance:
Episode #61 - "The Invid Invasion"