Raven

The Nighthawk, formerly known as the Vulkan and the TF-620 Nomad, is a terran air unit to be featured in StarCraft II. It is based on constructing objects.

History
The Nighthawk is a versatile craft which combines the functions of a light manufacturing center and observation post. A common sight amongst the colonies of the Fringe Worlds, the Nighthawk is built to operate in all but the harshest climates. Although the Nighthawk shares a number of common traits with the SCV (its smaller 'cousin'), the Nighthawk is a far more specialized and advanced engineering craft.

Nighthawks are normally employed for first-line colony surveillance and protection duties against dangerous local life forms or climate events. These vehicles boast a wide array of sensors delicate enough to detect even cloaked or burrowed enemies. By deploying its two aft-mounted nano-welders, the Nighthawk can construct a variety of small, semi-permanent defensive structures to meet various threats in a matter of moments.

Several standard template constructions are available to the Nighthawk, a popular example being the auto-turret.

The Terran Dominion initially provided Nighthawk to give low-level protection to its most isolated outposts, typically manning them with local civilians as something akin to a volunteer fire truck or ambulance service. Over time the military support applications of the Nighthawk have seen it deployed in escalating levels of conflict, gradually replacing the older and vastly costlier science vessel.

Game Unit
The Nighthawk is analogous to the science vessel of the original StarCraft, and are "primarily support craft" for the terran factions. They have no standard attack of their own.

The Nighthawk is constructed at the starport but requires a tech lab to be constructed.

Abilities


All Nighthawk abilities cost energy rather than minerals.

Upgrades

 * Titan Reactor
 * Researched at: Fusion core
 * The reactor may be the same of the old science vessels, that grants more energy.

Development
Nomads aesthetically appeared to "look like a floating construction crane that's been bent into a square."

Nighthawks had the ability able to produce mine drones, but these have since been replaced by spider mines.

Nighthawks also used to have the following abilities:


 * Nano-Repair
 * Starting ability
 * Cost: 75
 * Hotkey: R
 * "Instantly repairs a friendly mechanical unit for 200 hitpoints."


 * Defensive Matrix Field
 * Researched at: Tech Lab
 * Research Cost: 150 150  110 seconds
 * Hotkey: D
 * Research description: "Allows the Nomad to use the Defensive Matrix Field ability. Defensive Matrix Field creates a damage suppression field at target location which reduces all incoming damage by 50%."
 * Usage cost: Unknown

The defensive matrix reduces incoming damage by 50% to all units within an area of effect, including enemy ones, rather than the version used by the science vessel.

At BlizzCon 2007 the Nighthawk had a third unknown ability that needed to be researched.

The Seismic Thumper was a Nighthawk ability which was not available in the BlizzCon 2008 build. It slowed down ground units by 50% and prevented zerg from burrowing.
 * Seismic Thumper