Drake Interplanetary

Company

Drake Interplanetary

Industry

• Spacecraft manufacture
• Vehicle manufacture
• Spacecraft component manufacture

Products

• Spacecraft
• Ground vehicles
• Spacecraft components

Race

Human

Headquarters

Odyssa, Borea, Magnus system

People

Key people

Anden Arden (CEO)

Founder

Jan Dredge

Founded

SEY 2845 (2845)

Metadata

Manufacturer code

DRAK

External sites

Portfolio

RSI Portfolio

Galactapedia

Drake Interplanetary is a Human spacecraft manufacturer that designs, manufactures and sells spacecraft in the Star Citizen universe. It is headquartered in Odyssa on Borea in the Magnus system. The fifth largest spacecraft producer in the United Empire of Earth (UEE), Drake was founded in 2845 by Jan Dredge to produce the Cutlass medium fighter for militia use. The company has cultivated its image since then to appeal to those seeking less conventional designs. Its ships have a characteristically robust and geometrical design that uses many low-tech materials, and its target market includes militias and pirates. The former CEOs Jan and Jon Dredge cultivated the outlaw image from the beginning of the company, which raised controversy about Drake's responsibility for pirate-related crimes.

History

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Cutlass development

After losing a UEE contract bid in 2845 for a low-cost, fast-production "volksfighter" ship, Drake Interplanetary repurposed its design, the Cutlass, as a civilian craft.

The initial pitch was to provide ships to private militia groups, on the reasoning that private squadrons in more distant areas of the galaxy would welcome a low-cost spacecraft solution. The Drake board reasoned that regions classified as high insurance risks would especially welcome an easier way to replenish lost spacecraft.

Incorporation and success

Following the public release of the Cutlass, Drake Interplanetary incorporated, with Jan Dredge as CEO, along with a seven-member board consisting mainly of designers who had worked on the Cutlass. Drake was not the surname of anyone involved in the project. It was selected as an acceptable, smooth-sounding name, chosen specifically in the hope that it would make the company's spacecraft more appealing. This was the first of a series of profit-driven decisions that would come to define the company.

Rather than incorporate on one of the UEE's traditional homeworlds such as Earth or Terra, Drake based itself in the economically embattled system of Magnus. By placing both corporate governance and key factories on Borea (Magnus II), Drake's outlaw image became well established before the first production-model Cutlass left the factory floor.

Sales were strong. Within nine months, Drake had opened six offworld factories and licensed dealerships in nine systems, and in the following year the company quadrupled again. Within five years it was the fifth largest spacecraft manufacturing concern and could not license subsystems manufacturers quickly enough. Financial magazines credited the company as the little engine that could, a competitor that would change how companies like Roberts Space Industries and Musashi Industrial ran their businesses. From the numbers alone, it looked as though everyone would be flying a Cutlass within ten years.

Pirate scandal

"The Travel Safety Advisory System estimates that 15,000 people die annually in outlaw raids and the Cutlass Black accounts for two thirds of all ships used by known piracy groups."
Terra Gazette

In an undercover job interview, the company CEO Jan Dredge was recorded making a controversial statement about selling the Cutlass Black to known piracy groups. Family members of piracy victims expressed their outrage and called for a ban on the Drake Cutlass. On April 6, 2947, Drake Interplanetary released a press statement apologizing for the comments made by Jan Dredge and announcing that she would retire as CEO of the company to spend more time with her family. Her son Jon Dredge would fulfill her duties as acting CEO until a replacement could be found. In early 2948, Drake called a press conference in Odyssa to introduce Anden Arden as the new CEO, possibly against the will of Jan and Jon Dredge. Arden condemned the use of the company's ships by outlaws and instituted a policy that all sales associates attend a mandatory training session every year reviewing company policy alongside local and Empire-wide law.

Drake DefenseCon

Main article: Drake DefenseCon

Drake DefenseCon is a yearly event organized by Drake Interplanetary to promote its products. It is a tagalong of Invictus Fleet Week, because the company is not formally invited to the event due to the long-running antagonism between Drake and the UEE military. DefenseCon is usually held in the same city immediately after Fleet Week.

In-game description

Makes affordable, modular ships that have become the go-to manufacturer for anyone looking to get their first ship, but have become associated with criminal elements.

Gallery