Alpha-class Xg-1 Star Wing/Legends

Alpha-class Xg-1 Star Wing The Cygnus Spaceworks Alpha-class Xg-1 Star Wing, commonly referred to as the assault gunboat, was one of the Galactic Empire's first general deployment starfighter to be equipped with shields and a hyperdrive.

Characteristics


Although it was not a particularly fast ship, the 10-meter-long Xg-1 had a decent level of maneuverability as well as strong shields and powerful weaponry for its class. Its armament consisted of two laser cannons, two ion cannons, and a pair of projectile launchers with a standard payload of 16 concussion missiles. The fact that they were armed with ion cannons made them an ideal choice for capture operations, or even planetary customs duties.

The Star Wing was equipped with a hyperdrive, which allowed for the Empire to conduct assault missions without the need of a Star Destroyer or other carrier. It proved very useful in minor attacks on space stations and platforms, and also served in a reconnaissance capacity.



While the Star Wing was one of the few shielded Imperial starfighters, they heavily relied on their fighter escorts should Alliance fighters move to intercept them. Usually, Star Wings were escorted by TIE Avengers&mdash;again another class of Imperial fighter equipped with shields and hyperdrive. Because of the hyperspace capability of both classes, they could arrive in a system at the same time, catching Alliance patrols by surprise.

Due to the craft's relatively large size and only average maneuverability and speed, it was fairly easy for trained Alliance fighter pilots to combat them, especially those in ships more maneuverable than the Gunboat. Such pilots could easily outmaneuver the Star Wing, forcing it to take evasive action before it delivered its payload of concussion missiles, or if acting as a bomber, proton torpedoes. However, should their escort be effective, a squadron of Star Wings could penetrate most medium-sized capital ship's shields with a single warhead salvo from each fighter.

Behind the scenes
Interestingly, the assault gunboat has had very little mention outside of the X-wing series of computer games. While other fighters such as the TIE Avenger and the TIE/D Defender have shown up increasingly in later EU novels, the Gunboat, which was supposedly far more common, has rarely appeared.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: X-wing
 * Star Wars: TIE Fighter
 * Star Wars: X-wing vs. TIE Fighter
 * Star Wars: X-wing Alliance
 * X-wing: Rogue Squadron
 * A Bitter Winter
 * X-wing: Isard's Revenge