So i whent to the downed virtibairdand, and came across all of those sentry bots, and the sentry bots have like us army stars on them? So i started to wonder if the government still exists and the government sent the bots out to recover and salvage whatever they could from the downed virtibaird, but then when i actually killed all the bots and got to the virtibaird, there was like some sort of mega prototype tesla cannon, so then i started to think probably the enclave? But i havent came across them yet but i believe there are very few of them. So is it the government or is it the enclave? (i know its probably not the government but the U.S army stars just got me thinking a little)

That's a good question.

-Cheers

Most robots in the Wasteland have either US Army stars or a SWAT insignia, given that these are leftover bots originally built for these purposes. Doesn't mean that the LVPD still exists, or that the US Army does.

While we don't know how those robots got to that site, or who sent them, we do know one thing: The Enclave IS America. Specifically, it is what remains of the US Government.

-Nukeknockout

The Enclave is the United States of America. "The Enclave" is just its nickname, originally used to refer its HQ and on the East Coast it just caught on and pretty much everyone from Eden and down refers to the organization as "the Enclave".

There used to be thousands of Enclave personnel in the West, but were wiped out in Fallout 2 in what was probably the most anti-climatic ending for a villain in human history.

Ok thanks

I so wish the downed virtibird had been relevant to a Boomers quest, wherein they went around the wastelands scavenging all the old plains they could find to form their own air force. Was dissapointed the virtibird had little story other than the excellent weapons and robot killing opportunities.


Good question, though

I think the robots were there to protect the tesla cannon. The corpses are not enclave troops. But it's possible that the Enclave have a base somewhere and they sent them out.
Don't think the Enclave is dead completely yet.
I did wonder how they fitted all those robots on one vertibird.

Maybe it was an Enclave Verti-Bird heading to D.C after the Oil Rig incident but was shot down by

Not possible, as Vertibirds have very limited range (the reason Navarro was constructed and Enclave has outposts scattered all across Eastern Seaboard).
Raven Rock had Vertibirds of its own, as it has launch pads for them, but it's up to debate whether they could bring their West Coast birds to East. If they did they would have needed to bring them separately, after constructing/reacquiring fueling stations.

Isn't it a bit unclear what exactly Vertibird range is however? Its never fully stated (if I recall) that Vertibirds only have a range of X, Navarro was a refuel station yes, but there could be other reasons why a mainland supply depot was needed.

Then in Fallout 3 the Vertibirds explode with a mushroom cloud, which suggests that at some point a switch was made over to nuclear power. True, I don't believe Vertibirds would be able to reach the East-Coast without refueling, but I believe its possible they were able to make it to Chicago and then refuel there (perhaps giving a reason why the outposts there were established).

The Vertibird in the Mojave is almost certainly from the Enclave (and the robots guarding it are labeled as "Enclave Robots" in the GECK), which suggests that they can at least make the distance there.

Richardson says that "Navarro is an isolated base and out Veribirds have limited range. They refuel there". The need to mention that separately tells that Vertibirds have a lack in range.

Considering that what most likely is next Enclave base in the East is the Remnants Bunker*, it's not that long from Navarro. Also, Adams Air Force Base also works as a refuel station. And of course, an aircraft's range includes the return trip. I'd assume that the Vertibirds' operational range is around 800 miles.


* Kreger says that he has been there "decades ago", which hints that it was the next base after Navarro where they went immediately afterwards. Thus, the Remnants' presence at Vegas.

Ah, well then we are in complete agreement since that is exactly what I was thinking the approximate range is as well.

My original thought is that you believed the range was something closer to 175 miles (or whatever the distance from Navarro to the Rig is) which is something others have believed and which I disagree with.

I still believe that Vertibirds were able to travel East once ENCLAVE fell. It's possible the Enclave used fuel depots (similar to the Remnants bunker) to resupply every few hundred miles or so.

Although I suppose its equally possible that Raven Rock's industrial capacity enabled it to build Vertibirds once the Enclave had arrived.