Al'kesh

The Al’kesh spaceship is a powerful Goa'uld medium-range bomber and troop carrier used in area bombardments of planetary surfaces, designed to support invasions of planets by System Lords. It is larger than the Tel'tak scout ship and Death Glider, yet much smaller than the Ha'tak mothership.

Overview
The Al'kesh is capable of both sub-light travel and travel through hyperspace via a hyperdrive. The engine controls use the typical Goa'uld crystals, and externally it has four engine nacelles. For movement of troops and equipment, it is equipped with a ring transporter, which sits in a large room that can also be used for storage. Some have been modified to use an Asgard-type beaming transporter. The ships are capable of transporting loads via a suspended sling, over the surface of a planet. It has also been adapted to tow cargo vessels in space. The bridge of the Al'kesh has a control station and two pilot chairs, one with a spherical control interface. It also has an engine room, a ring transporter room that can also be used to store cargo.

Offensively, the Al'kesh is equipped with two staff cannons mounted on the ventral side. It also has energy weapons, sometimes called plasma charges, that are fired one at a time and are powerful enough to penetrate and collapse the Tok'ra's underground crystal tunnels. It posesses more armaments than a Death Glider as well as both shields and cloaking technology. It is also a light troop transport used to land Jaffa on a planet as part of military action.

In terms of strategy, the Al'kesh can be used alone to take out ground defenses, but they are often seen attacking in tandem with Death Gliders, who concentrate on the air-to-air component of the combat. An Al'kesh's cargo hold is large enough to contain several Stargates; Osiris' former vessel was used by Trust to steal the Earth gate, and Teal'c later used another Al'kesh to position a Stargate near a Supergate as part of a plan to jump a wormhole from one to the other. The bridge of the Al'kesh has a control station and two pilot chairs, one with a spherical control interface. It also has an engine room, a ring transporter room that can also be used to store cargo, and no doubt other rooms never shown, such as quarters.

Following the defeat of the Goa'uld, the alkesh has also been used by cultures that were formerly under Goa'uld domination, such as the Free Jaffa and the Lucian Alliance. The Lucian Alliance has acquired a fleet of alkesh which they use in battle as well as well as to escort cargo transports for the delivery of kassa and other goods. The Free Jaffa Nation frequently uses alkesh in coordination with their fleet of ha'tak motherships.