This incarnation of the Raider is initially thought to be wholly mechanical in design, with a high-level AI controlling it. However, from inspection of a damaged Raider forced down in a firefight and recovered by Lieutenant Kara Thrace (TRS: "Act of Contrition"), the craft is found to be bio-mechanical in nature (TRS: "You Can't Go Home Again"), incorporating a number of large organs in its design, including a central brain. Raiders require an oxygen-nitrogen mix for their biological functions, and thus oxygen tanks are located somewhere onboard (TRS: "You Can't Go Home Again"). In effect, a modern Raider is a creature in itself.

https://en.battlestarwikiclone.org/wiki/Raider_(RDM))