Attacker (Area 51)

Attacker (Area 51)
Specifications
Type	Attacker Scout shipfighter/interceptor-type air/space craft
Dimensions	20m full-scale model measuring about 65 ft. wide.
Technology	Anti-gravity systems
Weapons	Dual Underside Wing-Mounted Plasma Cannons
Defense systems	Protective shield
In the movies
Appears in	Independence Day

In 1947, an alien attacker crashed in New Mexico and was recovered in Area 51. Decades later, it was rebuilt and later used by Steven Hiller and David Levinson to destroy the alien mothership in the War of 1996.

History

Arrival on Earth

In 1947, a Harvester scout ship crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico. The ship and its occupants were taken to Area 51. Two of the Aliens died in the crash, while the third expired a few weeks later. Area 51's scientists had tried to repair the ship since the late 1960's while learning much from its technology. However, they were unable to duplicate the power source for the ship until its systems were reactivated by the arrival of the mothership on July 2, 1996.

War of 1996

During the War of 1996, the ship was pressed into service by Captain Steven Hiller and David Levinson to infiltrate the alien mothership, and uploading a computer virus into its system. After creating the virus and entering the ship with the refurbished vessel, Steven and David tried to break their ship free but they found themselves trapped and remain hidden until then. They then managed to destroy the mothership with a nuclear warhead and barely escaped from the ensuing explosion, forcing the pilots to safely crash land back on Earth.

Gallery

Spaceship in Area 51

The bodies of the aliens recovered from the Roswell incident.

Deflector shield being activated.

Inside the vessel

The computer system of the alien ship.

Spaceship taking off

Entering the mothership

Escaping the mothership

SFX

Rear view of the ship.

Cockpit.

Behind the Scenes

• The ship was a full-scale model measuring about 65 ft. wide.
• The ship was designed by production designer Oliver Scholl. In The Art and Making of Independence Day: Resurgence, Scholl says "We built the interior and exterior of the attacker in one set. Meaning the attacker that was actually siting on the stage had a full interior that you needed to shoot. So you could take the whole front third of the attacker off and stick a camera in the back. It sounds really easy but it was really impractical, so that was a real torture job for [director of photography] Karl Walter Lindenlaub and for the shooting crew afterwards. But the cool thing was you had a full interior you only had to build it once, so you saved some money. That's what I remember, shooting those sets were like my babies."