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History
The Scimitar assault wing was a specialized bomber-assault wing serving within the naval forces of the Galactic Empire. Formed shortly after the introduction of the TIE/sa bomber into the Imperial Navy, the Scimitar assault wing was commanded by Captain Tomax Bren and was the first unit of its type deployed to the Qeimet fleet. Stationed near the Hook Nebula, the Qeimet fleet was tasked with eradicating the Alliance to Restore the Republic presence in the sector as they had taken control of key manufacturing and industrial centers on several resource worlds and were using their output to resupply their forces. In addition to driving out the Alliance forces, the Qeimet fleet was ordered to punish the resource worlds for allowing the Alliance to establish a presence on the planets in the first place. The Scimitar assault wing was assigned a key role in the operation, which included the precision bombing on enemy targets without damaging manufacturing resources that the Empire wished to take control of.

Captain Bren immediately set about changing the way the Scimitar assault wing operated, including altering their tactics, deployment and attack priorities. The changes he implemented were looked down upon by some of the wing's older pilots, but they proved to be effective. The first use of Bren's new tactics was at the siege of Nulan VI, where the assault wing employed deep-atmospheric precision bombing to force the surrender of the planet's Rebel-held capital. Later tactical innovations included the "vertical swoop," which was used to great effect against entrenched Rebel anti-atmospheric defenses during the assault of the Aturi Cluster.

The Scimitar assault wing participated in an assault on U'Dray, which saw the wing's combat losses put them understrength. The wing replaced its losses from TIE pilots from the training squadron from the Qeimet fleet flagship, Victorious. However, due to the ongoing assault on U'Dray, the pilots had no time to undergo standard indoctrination into the wing and were required to complete their training exclusively in live-fire bomber combat missions.

Based off the Retribution, the Scimitar assault wing earned a reputation for excellence and became the most well-known of the Qeimet fleet's fighter wings. Their effectiveness and success led them to become the Qeimet fleet's shock unit of choice for dangerous assaults.

At some point, the assault wing earned the battle name "White Death" due to the light coloration of their TIE bombers which made them difficult to detect by ground observers until they had struck their target.

The Scimitar assault wing's primary mission was planetary assault and low-level atmospheric bombing runs. While fully capable of conducting these missions in support of ground troops, the Scimitar assault wing was also capable of independent bombing missions, which was used for psychological intimidation and to destroy tactical targets. The Scimitar assault wing were so adept as this mission profile that they could destroy a single building to kill Rebel leadership or bomb an entire government in their own council chambers.

The Special Unit squadron was divided into three flights; the first flight was comprised of equal numbers of TIE starfighters and TIE/rc starfighters, and were deployed to gather intelligence for the assault wing using the recon craft's specialized sensors and long-range communications packages.

The other two flights of the squadron were made up of Meller & Dax MT/191 Drop-Ships used for the transport of ground troops during combined assaults. While not used for combat duty, the drop ships served as cargo vessels and shuttles.

Squadrons
The Scimitar assault wing was comprised of six individual squadrons. Three squadrons were equipped with the TIE/sa bomber, while two squadrons flew TIE/LN starfighters and were used for escort and fighter support. The sixth squadron was known as the Special Unit squadron, and was made up of reconnaissance craft and drop ships.

In general, the assault wing deployed its bomber squadrons to attack strategic and tactical targets from orbit or atmosphere. While used to support ground operations, single flights or elements were routinely detached to eliminate smaller targets on the battlefield.

When not used to screen the bombers, the TIE fighters squadrons were employed in ground strafing missions, and to harass enemy soldiers and vehicle convoys.

MT/191 Drop-Ship
Scimitar assault wing's Special Unit squadron employed two flights of Meller & Dax MT/191 Drop-Ships. Measuring 52.5 meters in length, the MT/191 was designed to powerdive into a planet's atmosphere before landing on the surface in a controlled manner after the freefall. Covered in an ablative coating known as VACX to increase the craft's hull rating, MT/191 Drop-Ships were armed with a single light laser cannon which was retracted into the body during atmospheric entry. The MT/191 was capable of transporting up to 160 passengers, and was also capable of landing on a planet normally.

Personnel
Since the formation of the unit, the Scimitar assault wing became the standard for Imperial planetary assault and orbital support performances.

Under Captain Bren's guidance, the officers assigned to the wing were considered to be more dedicated to the goals of the New Order than their comrades, and more politically reliable.

Pilots within the assault wing were held to a high level of discipline due to the unit's precisely-timed and co-ordinated bombing runs where split-second timing and reactions were needed to ensure a successful mission. Mission timing was considered to be extremely critical, as all deployed elements, flights and squadrons were reliable upon to be exactly where they were meant to be when the designated time. Pilots were drilled that success was achieved through each member of the wing doing exactly what was required of them at the given moment. Penalties were enacted upon squadron members who failed in their duty due to their own negligence, or the application of initiative. In some cases, pilots who were deemed to deviate from the mission consistently were demoted to drop-ship duty. Extremely capable and dedicated, the pilots of the wing often sought to better their own outstanding records and mission performance.

As most of their missions tended to be atmosphere-based, the pilots of the Scimitar assault wing were among the most skilled TIE pilots to fly in atmosphere.

Each pilot assigned to the wing completed fifty combat missions before rotating out to serve in a support capacity, including pilot training and mission planning. As new pilots qualified for the support rotation, those pilots already serving in a support position returned to combat duty.

Notes and references
Category:Imperial military units