Wookieepedia:Featured article queue/August 18, 2009

The TIE Phantom was a prototype TIE series starfighter developed by the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War. A modified V38 assault fighter, the TIE Phantom was the result of a development project led by Grand Admiral Martio Batch and was equipped with both deflector shields and a hyperdrive, along with a technology not seen for decades&mdash;a stygium cloaking device.

The development process began in response to the Rebel victory at the Battle of Yavin. After some initial troubles, Batch was able to secure a supply of the stygium crystals required by the cloaking device, and the fighters entered production on Imdaar Alpha. When the testing process was completed following the Battle of Hoth, Darth Vader intended to use the new starfighter in a devastating assault on the Rebel Alliance Fleet. However, over a series of encounters, the Rebels learned of the new threat. Recognizing the danger, the Alliance dispatched pilots Rookie One and Ru Murleen to capture one of the fighters for study.

The Rebels successfully infiltrated the Super Star Destroyer Terror as it prepared to launch the fighters against the Alliance and escaped with one of them, which they used to destroy both the Terror and the facility where the fighters were produced. However, the Rebels' acquisition of the fighter was short-lived&mdash;when the stolen TIE Phantom's self-destruct mechanism activated before the Rebels could examine the fighter, the technology was lost.