Aero Drone
- Aero Drones are Vehicons from the Beast Machines portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
Swarming in massive numbers, Aero Drones (also called Sonic Attack Jets) provide air support when the ground-based Vehicons attack. They're not very smart, but they have incredible speed and almost unlimited numbers.
Fiction
Beast Machines cartoon
- Voice actor: N/A (English), Isshin Chiba, Yūichi Nagashima, Nobutoshi Canna (Japanese)
Several Aero Drones were used to deliver the Transformation virus that devolved and paralyzed several of Optimus Primal's crew. Descent
Aero Drones were encountered by Blackarachnia and Cheetor when they were exploring the abandoned Cybertropolis. The Maximals had difficulty dealing with the drones, until they managed to master their new bodies' transformation. Once in robot mode, the Maximals made short work of the jets. Master of the House
The drones were granted a leader shortly thereafter when Megatron bestowed Silverbolt's spark upon a Aero Drone, creating Jetstorm. Fires of the Past
After the Maximals discovered Nightscream hiding in Cybertron's underground, they were attacked by a group of Aero Drones, led by their general. Though they managed to overpower the Maximals for a time, Nightscream managed to disrupt one of Jetstorm's homing projectiles, which blew up a number of the jets. The bat then used his sonic scream to scramble one of the drones’ targeting system, causing it to turn on the other Vehicons. Enraged, Jetstorm left to fetch another squadron of jet drones.
When Jetstorm returned, he and his drones found the Maximals eating the fruit of an organic tree. Cheetor was left to defend his comrades against the entire troop of jet drones, as they had been mentally affected by the tree's fruits. Once Cheetor destroyed the tree, the Maximals regained their senses and launched a counter-attack. Jetstorm was taken out by Nightstscream again, forcing the remaining Aero Drones to retreat with their commander in tow. Forbidden Fruit
A squad of Aero Drones participated in an attack against Cheetor, Nightscream and Rattrap when the three Maximals infiltrated a Vehicon assembly factory. When all three Vehicon generals were taken out, Megatron took direct control of the Aero Drones. But in the wake of a power-feedback, Megatron was rendered weak, and all of the Vehicon drones were rendered offline for half a solar cycle. The Weak Component
The Aero Drones faced off against the Maximals later, near a spark-extraction factory. Those that weren’t destroyed during the battle were fried when the nearby factory exploded. Discovery
Blackarachnia and Nightscream wrecked havoc in the streets of Cybertropolis to attract the attention of the other two Vehicon generals while Cheetor and Rattrap went after Tankor. Jet drones soon converged on Blackarachnia and Nightscream’s location. And began firing upon them, before being taken out. Descent
After Obsidian was made a Vehicon general and the introduction of the Copter Drones, the Aero Drones were put in reserve. The Strike They were later used when Megatron launched his assault on the Maximal-occupied Grand Mal, possibly for purposes of troop augmentation. When Legends Fall
Toys
Beast Machines
- Sonic Attack Jet (Deluxe, 2000)
- Accessories: 2 "energy blast" missiles
- The Sonic Attack Jet is a redeco of the Beast Machines Deluxe Vehicon Jetstorm mold, transforming into a Cybertronic jet fighter. Its jet-mode cockpit has a spring-loaded extension, giving it a bird-like head in this form that is articulated at the neck to "search" for targets. Both jet and robot modes feature spring-loaded "energy blast" missiles. It also has an alternate robot mode, which folds its legs into a "flight cone" with revealed jet thrusters.
- This mold was also used to make Robots in Disguise Storm Jet and Jhiaxus, plus Universe Skywarp.
Notes
- In the Japanese dub, the Aero Drones inherited Jetstorm's vocal tic of constantly shouting "DESU!" no matter what.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Aero Drone (エアロドローン Earo Dorōn)
