Star Wars and Star Wars Legends have given sci-fi some of the greatest space battles in the history of the genre. Whether put on the big screen, the small screen, comics, or in the pages of novels, Star Wars fans have experienced pulse-pounding battles that have become a huge part of why fans love the franchise. Star Wars isn’t exactly known for its scientific veracity, and this has allowed the franchise to present space battles that feel more like the sea battles of old WWII movies, which were the basis for the big space rumbles of the franchise. Starfighters, based on the fighter jets of terrestrial Earth, are an extremely important part of these battles and one of the most popular parts of Star Wars.
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Star Wars has many awesome ships, and starfighters are among the best. These tiny ships are surprising lethal for their size, armed with powerful weapons and piloted by the best pilots in sci-fi. These ten starfighters are among the most lethal in Star Wars and Star Wars Legends, turning the tides of battles. Some of them are responsible for countless deaths.
Coralskipper
Star Wars Legends has created some amazing characters and concepts, and the Yuuzhan Vong are one of the more controversial. Introduced in the nineteen book series known as The New Jedi Order, the Vong came from another galaxy and evolved on a living world. The world allowed them to use its animals to create special biotechnology; meaning all of the Vong’s equipment and tech were living creatures. Eventually, this led to cataclysmic wars with artificial lifeforms. These wars destroyed the Vong’s home galaxy, forcing them into the void between galaxies. Their living homeworld cut them off from the Force, and they embraced a bloody religion, leading to their war of conquest in the galaxy far, far away.
The first Yuuzhan Vong ships encountered by the heroes of the New Republic were the Yorik-Et Coralskippers. These one-person fighter craft were armed with plasma-firing volcano cannons, driven and protected by the dovin basal, a lifeform that could control gravity. The Coralskipper tore through the fighters, freighters, passenger liners, and warships of the New Republic, the Empire, and their allies. The war killed over 300 trillion beings; many of those at the hands of the Coralskippers. While their threat would be lessened as the war went on and successful tactics were formulated against them, the Coralskipper remained a feared foe for any fighter pilot.
The Chiss Clawcraft
The Chiss are one of the most mysterious and powerful species in the Star Wars universe, both in canon and Legends. Living in the Unknown Regions of the galaxy, The Chiss produced one of the greatest tactical minds in Star Wars — Grand Admiral Thrawn. An extremely martial people, they are constantly fighting against threats that would chill the blood of the rest of the galaxy. Thrawn went to the Empire to prepare the people of the rest of the galaxy for the horrors of the Unknown Regions. discovering exactly the kind of militarized society he needed in the Empie. Thrawn instituted a technological exchange between the Empire and his people, which led to the creation of the Chiss Clawcraft. This ship used the TIE ball cockpit, but unlike the flimsy fighter of the Empire, Clawcraft were top of the line.
Using shields and hyperdrives, their four weapon arms were equipped with the powerful maser based energy weapons. The Clawcraft are the vanguard of the Chiss fleets and have fought secret wars in the darkest corners of the galaxy. Chiss pilots are extremely efficient — and once the Imperial fighter ace Baron Soontir Fel defected there, they became even more lethal — and Clawcraft were the last things that many enemies saw. They are small but powerful, and have proven to be nearly unbeatable in the right hands.
B-Wing
The B-Wing has a very different origin in canon than it does in Legends, but the fighter was built for the same reasons in both continuities, and created as the brainchild of the same race, the Mon Calamari. The Rebel Alliance had a surfeit of fighters, but not very much that could stand up to the powerful capital ships of the Empire. This led to them creating the B-Wing, a slow, heavily armored and shielded fighter that was armed to the teeth. In Legends, it boasted powerful laser cannons, autocannons, ion cannons, and proton torpedos. While they weren’t much for fighter engagements — the much faster TIE Fighters tore them apart — they gave the Rebels serious firepower against capital ships.
The canon version gave the B-Wing a powerful laser cannon system, with the four guns of the ships combining their firepower for a single beam that could tear through the shields and armor of capital ships. A few B-Wings is a powerful counter to the bigger ships of the galaxy, something that Star Wars: Skeleton Crew reminded fans of. The B-Wing is a ship killer, meaning that B-Wing attack runs destroy more crew per capita than the smaller starfighters.
Y-Wing
The Y-Wing is a venerable design. First introduced in the Clone Wars, in canon and Legends, Koensayr’s heavy fighter proved to be a ship that could take a massive beating and keep going. When it was first introduced, it heavily armored, but over the years, most Y-Wings lost their armor, leaving behind the exposed components. However, even these were made of hardy stock, allowing later Y-Wings to still be a powerful fighter. Y-Wings aren’t the fastest fighters in the game, something that has allowed TIEs to get the best of them, but their laser cannons, ion cannon turret, and proton torpedoes — that could be switched out for bomb bays in Y-Wing variants — made them a powerful ship.
The Y-Wing was the workhorse of the early Rebel Alliance as Clone Wars surplus Y-Wings were cheap and plentiful. With their armor plating removed, they were very easy to repair, allowing Alliance techs to keep a Y-Wing going long after other fighters would have been piles of component parts. The Y-Wing’s lethality comes from the fact that they’ve been used for decades in wars. Y-Wings have the weapons to damage capital ships, can bomb enemy bases and facilities, and can wreak on havoc on TIE formations. Of course, once those TIEs broke up into one on one matches, the Y-Wing was liable to take a beating, but they also were known for bringing their pilots and astromechs home safely. Y-Wings weren’t the most prestigious fighters, but they get the job done and keep on ticking.
The Vulture Droid Fighter
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The Republic had very strict laws about armed starships, and the Trade Federation was able to bypass many of these with their droids armies. One of their most lethal droids is the Vulture Droid Fighter. Vultures aren’t exactly the best armed fighters; it has two twin blaster cannons, two energy torpedo launchers, and a Buzz droid launcher. They don’t have shields and depend more on their speed and maneuverability to survive. Their onboard AI — and the systems that control them from Lucrehulk-class Droid Control Ships — aren’t the best for dogfighting or fighter tactics. What earns the Vulture its lethality is the main tactic it uses, one that has proven to be perfect for underpowered fighters.
Vultures use swarm tactics in battle. Hundreds of them are launched at a time and they send up walls of blasterfire at their targets. Vulture groups are going to take massive losses in battle, but their numbers more than make up for it. A Vulture one on one isn’t something to be taken lightly, but the better fighters of the Republic are able to triumph. However, in the opening moments of the battle, when the Vultures are swarming their targets and throwing up the hard light, their foes are going to take heavy casualties. Groups of Vultures were able to even take out bigger ships, using their swarm tactics to take apart for their foes’ ships piece by piece, just like their namesake. Vultures killed countless beings over the time they existed.
ARC-170
The Grand Army of the Republic had many great starfighter designs, though they had access to one of the most powerful heavy starfighters of all time. The ARC-170 was a true titan in starfighter combat. The Aggressive ReConnassaince 170 had a crew of three — one pilot, a co-pilot, and a tail gunner — as well as one astromech, and they needed all of them. The amount of guns equipped on the ship is extensive: two medium laser cannons, two aft laser cannon turrets, and proton torpedo launchers. These weapons, along with the highly trained clone pilots, made the ARC-170 a truly deadly fighter.
The ARC was the big boy of the Republic fighter corps; they were fast enough to dogfight the smaller, faster droid fighters of the Separatist forces and heavily armed enough to prey on the smaller Sep battleships. ARCs were recon fighters; they were made to operate far afield in squadrons, scouting enemy positions, and attacking them if the odds were in their favor. ARC-170s were the creme de la creme of the Grand Army of the Republic’s fighter corps and have the kills counts to prove it.
TIE Fighter
The classic TIE Fighter is classified as the TIE/In space superiority fighter. The prequel era revealed the predecessor to the TIE, the V-Wing. The Empire fell in love with this sort of big winged design, but they wanted a different kind of fighter. One that was fast and maneuverable, but most importantly cheap. The TIE is basically the best barebones design ever. The ship doesn’t even have life-support — TIE fighter pilot uniforms are equipped with their own breather system. All of the ship’s power goes to the simple flight systems, the engines, and the lasers. Saying that the hull was armored is something of a joke; TIEs are not known for their survivability. Their main hope is to the use the TIE’s superior speed and maneuverability to get behind their foe, burn them with the two powerful laser cannons they’re equipped with, and roll out of the way of any attackers.
TIE Fighters used the swarm and brawl tactics. TIEs would attack in massive formations at the beginning of an engagement, throwing up clouds of laser fire at fighter formations and enemy vessels. This is why the Empire wanted such cheap fighters; there are millions of TIE across the Empire’s territory. Their swarm tactics take a heavy toll on their foes. After the opening volleys, they split into smaller formations and go after their targets. One TIE acts as an attacker, while the other covers them, keeping them safe and harassing attackers and targets. TIEs have killed the Empire’s enemies for years, but one could also count the numerous TIE pilots that died with their cheap, fast laser coffins. TIEs have killed millions, both targets and their own pilots.
TIE Interceptor
TIE Fighters were known for their speed and maneuverability, but as Rebel fighters got faster and more powerful, the Empire decided that it needed a better counter, resulting in the TIE Interceptor. The TIE Interceptor had slightly stronger armor than a standard TIE, but a skilled Interceptor pilot would have been able to use the fighter’s speed and maneuverability to stay out of enemy sights and on their tails. TIE Interceptors were armed with four laser cannons instead of two as well, allowing them to throw up more firepower than the standard TIE.
TIE Interceptors were the perfect addition to the TIE corps. They were an improvement in every way; they’re stronger, faster, and could fly circles around anything sent against them. The TIE Interceptors also had the best of everything, and this allowed them to cut apart enemies. They use standard TIE tactics — the swarm and brawl — but their improvements and amazing pilots allowed them to take a heavy toll on the Rebels and pirates. In Legends, later models of Interceptors were equipped with shields because they were so expensive to maintain and valuable. It’s unknown if this happened in canon, but there are truly few fighters more terrifying than a TIE Interceptor with shields.
X-Wing
The X-Wing is THE iconic Star Wars ship, and was considered the gamechanger for the Rebel Alliance. The T-65 X-Wing was designed by Incom, the company that made the Z-95 Headhunter and the ARC-170. Incom made amazing fighters and they put all their skill into the T-65. The X-Wing isn’t the best at anything, but it’s great at everything. The X-Wing was armed with four powerful laser cannons and two proton torpedo launchers. The ship is well-armored and had powerful shield projectors for its size. The ship is equipped with a hyperdrive and uses an astromech droid to calculate jumps and help with repairs. The X-Wing is very expensive and when Incom pitched it to the Empire, they scoffed at the cost. Incom defected to the Rebellion, bringing the prototypes and plans for the fighter to the Alliance. Knowing the great fighter they had, the Alliance begged, borrowed, and stole to build their own force of X-Wing fighters. It was often said that if the Empire would have went with the more expensive X-Wing, the war against the Rebels would have been very different.
The X-Wing was an amazing match for the TIE fighter corps. It was fast and maneuverable, and its ability to take a beating allowed it to survive the various TIEs’ greater speed, turn the tables, and blow them to sparklers. The X-Wing’s proton torpedo launchers gave them the ability to destroy capital ships; in Legends, Rogue Squadron was able to destroy Star Destroyers by mass firing as a unit at a certain point of the target, breaking the shields and then blasting the hull repeatedly. X-Wings were also the ships primarily for the destruction of the two Death Stars. The first had over a million in crew. The second one probably had a comparable number of crew and builders. X-Wings were the responsible for the most Imperial deaths by a far margin.
TIE Bomber
The TIE series of starfighters were created by Sienar Fleet Systems. The TIE Bomber is one of several specialized TIE designs, this one made to bomb targets in space and on planets. Like most TIEs, it has no shields or hyperdrive, but it is more heavily armored than the standard TIE. It doesn’t have the speed or maneuverability of the other TIEs, but it doesn’t really need them. TIE Bombers travel with squadrons of of TIEs or TIE Interceptors, and their job is to keep enemy fighters off the Bombers. This has allowed TIE Bombers to reek havoc on any enemy of the Empire.
The TIE Bomber is armed with two laser cannons, a proton torpedo/mine launcher, a concussion missile launcher, and the bombing chute. TIE Bombers deserve their lethal reputation because of attacks like the one shown in Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season Three, when it showed them on bombing runs on Mandalore, TIE Bombers dropping powerful explosives that leveled the planet and slaughtered the population. This was almost certainly not the first time this was done; TIE Bombers were definitely used in this fashion on any enemy of the Empire. TIE Bombers have killed billions.
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The main cast of Powerless looking up into the sky (2017)
