Arkham Knight's Drones

A close-up of 2 Diamondback tank drones used by Arkham Knight's militia.

These machines are relentless. Unlike you, they don't give up. They don't hesitate. They don't hold back. And they are NOT afraid of you, Batman."
—Arkham Knight

During the events of Batman: Arkham Knight, the Arkham Knight deployed a large army of drones alongside his militia which were present in Central Gotham slightly before and during Operation Savior. The drones mainly consisted of unmanned ground vehicles in the form of tanks, but also included autonomous flying units. The Militia Commander could control the drones from the Arkham Knight's Headquarters, and possibly had data on the whereabouts of all the drones deployed in the field and patrolling throughout Gotham. The tank and some aerial drones frequently engaged the Batmobile in combat and used a variety of weapons including homing missiles, cannons, and detector rays, usually relying on sheer numbers to overwhelm Batman. The drones were codenamed after species of snakes, with the exception of Spider (an arachnid) and Dragon Drones (a serpent, so it is still related).

The tanks utilized a backup A.I system, built into the tanks central computer on the turret and an automatic self driving system built into the tanks hull, that allows them to drive fast or slow without human control, though they could still be controlled as needed. The aircraft drones are equipped with a automatic pilot system, and also use this AI system.

Most enemy drones in Batmobile combat have an exposed weak spot at the sensor array, signified by a bright glowing light. Shooting the Batmobile's Vulcan Cannon at the sensor array would instantly destroy it. The Disruptor can be upgraded to rig armed drones (except deployed sentry guns) to explode upon attempting to fire.

Incident Reports

Before Arkham Knight Incident

TBA

Arkham Knight Incident

TBA

Types of Drones

Ground Units

• Spider Drones: Small drones primarily programmed to do work. They are the only type of drone (besides the Relay Drone) that is unarmed. There are 15 of them to destroy in the Arkham Knight's HQ on Founder's Island as part of a Riddler Challenge.
• Sentry Guns: Autonomous rotating turrets which are vulnerable from the rear.
• Pythons: Stationary missile sentries that have to be destroyed in order for the Batwing to enter a certain area of Gotham. They are sometimes deployed into battle as well. They are vulnerable to the 60mm Cannon while their missiles can be shot down with the Vulcan gun. They are equipped with four six-cell missile launchers.
• Rattlers: Rapid mobile assault tank. Lightweight composite armor vulnerable to direct fire. They are armed with a primary cannon and secondary Vulcan gun, which they will fire at Batman if they detect him while he is not inside the Batmobile. They are vulnerable to the 60mm Cannon. The single sensor array is to the left of the barrel, glowing blue.
• Twin Rattlers: A modified Rattler which is slightly larger and armed with two cannons which fire simultaneously for better firepower. They do not have a Vulcan gun. They are vulnerable to the 60mm Cannon. There are two sensor arrays, one under each barrel, glowing blue.
• Diamondbacks: A tank unit larger than a Rattler that shoots three rounds at once in a spread pattern. They are vulnerable to the 60mm Cannon, but can withstand two shots to the turret because of its armored gun shield. There are three sensor arrays, though only two are easily struck in combat - one under the barrel, one low on the front of the chassis, and one low on the back of the chassis, all glowing white. Diamondbacks also have a Vulcan gun identical to the one used by the Rattler.
• Mambas: Mobile missile platform. Fires infrared homing tandem-charged missiles. Lightweight composite armor vulnerable to direct fire. The armor is vulnerable to 60mm Cannon. Missiles can kill Batman (even with full armor) in a single shot, and can be shot down with the Vulcan Gun. Their single sensor array is under the missile launcher.
• Cobras: The most dangerous mass produced unit. Armed with detector rays, a primary very heavy cannon and a secondary Vulcan gun. Their armor is immune to the 60mm Cannon while their cannons can easily destroy the Batmobile, albeit only once they lock-on, which takes a few seconds. However, they are vulnerable from the rear to shots from the 60mm Cannon, or level two of any secondary weapon. They are not encountered with other, lesser drones, and their unique weakness causes encounters with them to be stealth-oriented fights. They are immune to EMP pulses, but they can still be hacked, though only one can be hacked at a time. It is however possible to hack more than one.

Air Units

• Boas: A flying mini drone unit armed with an electroshock weapon, able to track and attack three targets simultaneously. They can be found in some Predator encounters. They are controlled by a single soldier and can be hacked to knock out up to three targets at once and destroy itself, or Disrupted to knock out the controller upon spotting Batman. They're also able to detect unconscious allies and alert the others to the knocked out targets location.
• Serpents: A larger flying quadrotor drone armed with a Vulcan Gun. They can be destroyed by an aerial landing and Explosive Gel, the Batmobile's 60mm Cannon, or sabotage with an upgraded Disruptor.
• Dragons: An unmanned flying helicopter drone unit armed with a dumbfire rocket launcher that fires spreads of area-effect rockets at the ground. They are vulnerable to the Vulcan Gun and EMP charge, but hitting them with the 60mm Cannon is difficult due to their small size and fast movement.
• Comms Relay Drone: Special relay drones that drop heavily armored bombs onto Gotham's streets. They are the only type of drone (besides the spider drone) that are unarmed.

Special Units

• Arkham Knight's Gunship: Originally manned by the Arkham Knight, this helicopter later fought Batman while on autopilot. It can fire a barrage of missiles at multiple targets, and can fire up to four separate dumbfire rockets at once. Notably, it has coaxial contra-rotating rotors (two rotors on top that spin in opposite directions), like a Kamov Ka-50.
• Cloudburst Tank: Manned by the Arkham Knight and guarded by six Cobra Tanks. Armed with homing missiles, dumbfire rockets and a laser cannon. Employs a scanner that rotates 360 degrees, but can only scan one direction at a time, and not through structures. Defeating it requires overheating the Cloudburst mounted on it through destroying four heat sinks (which disables the laser cannon), and then disabling the tank itself.
• Deathstroke's Tank: Manned by Deathstroke and guarded by five Cobra Tanks. Equipped with homing missiles, a dumbfire rocket launcher, and a laser cannon. Employs a 360 degree scanner, but not through structures.
• Arkham Knight's Excavator: A large excavator ridden by the Arkham Knight during the confrontation with Batman at an underground tunnel. It is armed with drills powerful enough to shred the Batmobile into pieces.

Armament

Rattler, Twin Rattler, Diamondback

30 mm cannon, Vulcan gun

Mamba

Tandem missile warhead, Vulcan gun

Cobra

Heavy 60 mm cannon, Vulcan gun

Serpent

Vulcan gun

Dragon

Dumbfire missile launcher, Vulcan gun

Relay Drone

Unarmed

Gallery

Rattlers and Diamondbacks with Dragons over head.

The Batmobile in combat with Rattlers, Mambas, and a Serpent.

Militia troops with Twin Rattlers and Serpents over head.

The Arkham Knight with Boas over head and various Rattlers behind.

The Arkham Knight's Militia with various drones.

Python Drone.

Rattler.

Twin Rattler.

Diamondback.

Mamba.

Cobra.

Boa Drone.

Serpent Drone.

Dragon Drone.

Comms Relay Drone.

Cloudburst Tank.

Arkham Knight's Gunship.

Trivia

• A total of 349 Tank Drones are deployed into Gotham City during the game.
• All of the Arkham Knights Drones have different colors for their sensor arrays.
  • Rattler and Twin Rattler Drones have 2 or 4 Purple sensor arrays.
  • Diamondback and Serpent Drones have 2 Yellow sensor arrays.
  • Mamba, Dragon and Relay Drones have 1 Red sensor array.
  • Cobra Drones have 2 Blue sensor arrays.
  • Python Drones have 1 Blue sensor array.
• The player can complete the game without ever having to destroy the Serpent Drones. They just serve as a way to earn some EXP by destroying them.
• Batman utilizing the upgraded disruptor to take down the tanks would not be the best method as only 4 tanks could be destroyed at a single time, and the recharge time is slow.
• When Batman faces off against the Arkham Knight's gunship, Alfred will state that the gunship is being remotely piloted by the Arkham Knight. Coincidentally, if the player tilts the Batmobiles turret above a section on Ace Chemicals building, you can see the Arkham Knight and can even shoot him off the building. Doing so however will not end the battle with the helicopter as the helicopter itself is a drone itself and, similar to all the other drones, and has a backup A.I system and automatic pilot system.
• The Arkham Knight deliberately uses drone warfare to allow Batman to use all his weapons - if they were manned, Batman would refuse to use lethal force.
• It will take 40 rounds from the tanks cannons to destroy the Batmobile with full armor.
• Almost all of the tank drones appear to have a grenade launcher. Why these are not used is unknown.
• If observed with Photo Mode, the cannon rounds fired by the Militia's tanks are actually reused assets - Deadshot's bullet casing from Shot in the Dark in Batman: Arkham City.
• While the Boa Drones are usually controlled by the Militia, a Penguin thug in Jailbreak is shown to have one.
• At the backside, Rattler has a sign DC1/168 - Detective Comics Vol 1 #168 is the first appearance of the Red Hood.