A smaller relative of the BattleSat orbital weapons platform, the BattleBoat was first deployed by the Word of Blake in 3067 when they assaulted the Star League member states. They deployed the BattleBoats and the BattleSats they resemble throughout the Human Sphere during the Jihad, using them to perform orbital bombardments, protect vital assets, and to reinforce their space fleets. They also became a major part of the rebuilt Reagan SDS, and proved instrumental in holding off the Star League fleets during the invasions of the Terran system. They were overwhelmed in the end though, along with the Word of Blake, when the Star League finally drove them out of space.
         The BattleBoat is at its heart a short range craft with just enough engine power to boost into orbit, just enough fuel to achieve firing position and orientation, and just enough armor to survive a rough landing and maybe a stray weapon shot. The Word deployed two primary configurations, one with a Naval Laser 10 and a second with a Piranha missile system and 5 missiles on board. Some boats sacrificed one of the missiles to mount anti-fighter weapons, but the BattleBoat was never meant to fight small craft and that design modification rarely proved successful. Nearly all BattleBoats today are one of the two configurations that the Word deployed, and they rely on fighters and larger craft to shield them from enemy fighters and larger craft.
         When the Jihad ended, the BattleBoats remained. The vast majority were destroyed of course, but enough samples survived throughout the Human Sphere that the design was quickly put into production. Very cheap and very easy to build for any industrialized world, swarms of these craft can be launched into low planetary orbit to defend it from an incoming WarShip attack. They can also be carried by any spacecraft designed to carry small craft, allowing a single ship to greatly increase its capital weapons outlay simply by launching as many BattleBoats as it can carry. Merchant and pirate ships alike have been known to use this tactic when committing or discouraging piracy, and many space stations also house these craft as a last layer of defense against attack. Everybody uses them, and they have become a standard sight in the Human Sphere.