Ancient drone weapon

From The Stargate Omnipedia

Ancientdroneweapon.jpg

Lethal weapons technology created by the Ancients that, when activated, will automatically seek out a target to destroy. Not unlike a squid in its dormant appearance, drones are controlled by the mind of an operator in a central chamber, or aboard a Puddle Jumper.

Multiple drones often operate in tandem with one another, and they are able to operate in space or in an atmosphere, and can easily penetrate the most advanced Goa'uld shield technology. Thousands of the weapons comprise the Ancient super-weapon discovered on Earth. They are also the standard armament for Puddle Jumpers, and Lantean city ships.

SG-1 found thousands of the weapons sealed beneath the Ancients' Atlantus outpost in Antarctica, just in time for Jack O'Neill -- his mind under the influence of the Ancient repository of knowledge -- to use them to swarm, engulf, and eliminate all 30 of Anubis's attack ships in Earth's orbit. Since that time, Earth scientists from the world over have traveled to Antarctica to analyze the technology in its dormant state. One lead researcher before the departure of the Atlantis expedition was Dr. Peter Grodin, operating on the international team under the command of Elizabeth Weir.

Drone fired from a Puddle Jumper. From "Rising, Part 2."

Drone weapons are not to be controlled by the inexperienced or weak-minded. One inaccurate command and a drone will come to life, seeking out a target on its own. One such incident occurred when Dr. Carson Beckett inadvertently activated the technology in Antarctica, and nearly destroyed Major John Sheppard and General O'Neill's helicopter before Beckett managed to deactivate it.

The technology can be installed in a multitude of Ancient technologies, from outposts to Puddle Jumper ships. En masse they are typically powered by [[Zero Point Module|Zero Point Modules], though single drones can apparently operate from smaller power sources.

Drones come in multiple sizes. Though the Ancients appear to have standardize their manufacturing, the Atlantis expedition also discovered a planet with miniature drones still active. Rodney McKay speculated that this planet, ruled by the young queen Harmony, may have been the original testing ground where the Ancients first developed the technology (though, it should be said, drones were already present at the Earth outpost before the Ancients emigrated to the Pegasus Galaxy).

KEY EPISODES

Lost City, Part 2 - O'Neill sits in the control interface of the Ancient outpost in Antarctica and calls for thousands of drone weapons to wipe out Anubis's fleet in orbit.
Rising, Part 1 - Grodin closely studies an Ancient drone at the Antarctic base, but Dr. Beckett accidentally activates the weapon -- which attacks Sheppard and O'Neill's helicopter en route.
Rising, Part 2 - Drones render substantial aid in eliminating Wraith Darts in orbit of their homeworld, so that the Puddle Jumper can safely return to Atlantis.
The Tower - McKay discovers a vast supply of Ancient drone weapons, the remainder of which are returned to Lantea to re-stock Atlantis.
Adrift - A fleet of Puddle Jumpers fire drones to clear a path for Atlantis through an asteroid field.
Travelers - Sheppard fires drones from the Ancient warship recovered by Larrin's people, destroying a Wraith threat.
Harmony - McKay and Sheppard find an abandoned but still active testing ground of Ancient mini-drones, which the locals have mistaken for a "Beast" who lurks in the forest.