Squadron 42 Vanduul Ships: Scythe, Blade, Glaive & More

The Vanduul are the enemy in Squadron 42 — a warrior race whose ships are as distinctive as the culture that builds them. Their fleet is built around blade-like silhouettes and ramming weaponry, and it opposes the UEE Navy across the campaign's war story. This page covers every confirmed Vanduul ship in the game and how the Vanduul fight.

The Vanduul Fighter Fleet

The signature Vanduul fighter is the Scythe — the ship players most associate with the species, with its distinctive blade-shaped hull and forward ramming spike. It is the craft Vanduul raiders fly in the attacks that open the campaign's war. Alongside it, the fleet includes the Blade, a lighter fighter; the Glaive, an elite fighter flown by Vanduul aces; and the Cleaver, a heavier attack craft. Each design reflects the same philosophy: ships built around the blade motif, with weapons and hull forms that treat the ship itself as part of the attack.

The Kingship

At the top of the Vanduul fleet is the Kingship — the species' capital ship, a vessel of enormous scale that serves as a fleet command platform. In the campaign's story, Vanduul Kingships represent the threat that justifies the UEE Navy's full response: the Bengal carriers, destroyers and frigates the player serves alongside exist to counter this kind of enemy. Kingship encounters in the campaign are among its largest set pieces, shown in fleet-battle footage in official trailers.

How the Vanduul Fight

The Vanduul are not a conventional military. They are a warrior culture that treats combat as ritual and status — their ships, their tactics and their society all reflect that. In gameplay terms, they fight aggressively: Vanduul pilots press attacks, use their ramming spikes as weapons, and fly with a ferocity that human pilots describe as terrifying. The campaign's AI-driven Vanduul enemies are built to feel dangerous rather than disposable, which is one of the technical achievements CIG has highlighted in development updates — new combat AI systems were switched on across the game in 2023.

Why the Ships Look the Way They Do

Vanduul design language is one of the most recognizable in science fiction gaming: organic-meets-blade forms, asymmetric silhouettes and a color palette that reads as alien and hostile. The designs have been consistent across both Star Citizen and Squadron 42, and they are part of what makes the war story legible at a glance — when a Scythe appears on screen, you know what it is and what it wants.

Fighting the Vanduul Fleet

Each Vanduul ship type creates a different combat problem. Scythes are the rank-and-file: aggressive fighters that press every attack and use their ramming spikes at close range. Glaives are the elite variant, flown by the most dangerous pilots and demanding the player's best flying. The Cleaver adds heavier firepower to raids, and the Kingship — the fleet-killer — anchors the armadas that the campaign's capital-ship battles revolve around. Learning to fight each type is part of the campaign's progression: the player who survives Vega II is not the player who finishes the war.

The Kingship's Role in the Story

The Kingship is more than a big enemy — it is the threat that justifies the campaign's existence. The attack on Vega II is led by a Kingship, and the damage it inflicts is the political event that changes the Empire's posture from retreat to war. In fleet-battle terms, the Kingship is what the Navy's capital ships exist to fight: the Bengal carriers, Javelin destroyers and Idris frigates of the player's fleet are the answer to it. The campaign's largest battles are framed around this matchup.

Frequently Asked Questions

What ships do the Vanduul fly in Squadron 42?

Confirmed Vanduul ships include the Scythe fighter, the Blade, the elite Glaive, the Cleaver and the massive Kingship capital ship.

Are Vanduul ships playable?

No. They are the enemy faction's craft in the campaign.

Is the Scythe in Star Citizen too?

Yes. The Vanduul fleet is shared between Star Citizen and Squadron 42 — the same universe, the same ships.