TIE/LN starfighter

TIE/ln starfighter "Sienar Systems' basic TIE Fighter&mdash;a commodity which, after hydrogen and stupidity, was the most plentiful in the galaxy."

- Corran Horn

The TIE/ln starfighter, simply known as the TIE Fighter, was the standard Imperial starfighter seen in massive numbers throughout most of the Galactic Civil War.

The basic TIE/ln fighter inspired a number of other Imperial starfighters manufactured by Sienar Fleet Systems, which became collectively known as the TIE series.

Characteristics
"The aging, outdated craft employed by the Rebels are no match for the power of the TIE, and even the prototype T-65 X-wing created by the traitors who escaped from Incom is clearly outclassed."

- Captain David West Reynolds



The TIE/ln, a descendant of the T.I.E. starfighter and the V-wing starfighter, both developed for the Galactic Republic, was manufactured by Sienar Fleet Systems. In addition to the T.I.E. and V-wing, it was also descended from Scimitar and the Eta-2 Actis-class interceptor.

The TIE/ln's engine was one of the most precisely manufactured propulsion system in the Galaxy, and with no moving parts, was low-maintenance. The lack of combat shields, hyperdrive, and life-support systems, in concert with the advanced engine design, reduced the mass of the fighter and conferred exceptional maneuverability.

Primary armament was a pair of powerful laser cannons. These cannons were relatively powerful, and a well-placed hit on a starfighter or medium transport could damage or destroy it. It did not carry missile tubes, but such weapons could be added on if necessary.

Due to the lack of life-support systems, each TIE pilot had a fully-sealed flight suit superior to their Rebel counterparts. The absence of a hyperdrive also rendered the fighter totally dependent on carrier ships when deployed in enemy systems. TIE/lns also lacked landing gear, another mass-reducing measure. While the ships were structurally capable of "sitting" on their wings, they were not designed to land or disembark their pilots without special support.

TIEs were designed to attack in large numbers, overwhelming the enemy craft. The Imperials used so many that they came to be considered symbols of the Empire and its might. They were also very cheap to produce, reflecting the Imperial philosophy of quantity over quality. Contrary to popular belief, the ships did possess ejection seats, but the nature of space warfare often resulted in pilots riding their craft down to a swift end rather than ejecting and risking slow death by heat loss and oxygen starvation in the vacuum of space.

The design choices of the TIE/ln could arguably be explained by Imperial military philosophy, which viewed the starfighters and their pilots as an expendable asset. Though Imperial pilots were of an elite stock, they also considered themselves expendable, in accordance with their ideological training.



Like stormtroopers, TIE pilots had their own identification, such as DS-61-2 (the first two letters indicated the posting, the next two or three digits indicated the squadron number, and the last number indicated the pilot's ranking in the squadron). This procedure reduced them to being no more than anonymous and standardized operatives of the Imperial war machine. This attitude was further reflected by the lack of any sentimental attachment to particular TIEs by TIE pilots. As far as they were concerned, every fighter, whether reconditioned or factory-fresh, was identical.

The side view of a TIE/ln's radiator panels curiously resembles the emblem of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, but it is not clear if the similarity was intentional. Due to their distinct shape, TIE/ln came to be referred to occasionally as "eyeballs" by enemy pilots.

History
"For every TIE fighter you shoot down, a thousand more will take its place."

- Baron Soontir Fel

The original TIE/ln had performance parity with heavier-built X-wings but they generally enjoyed numerical advantage. A newer variant, the TIE/ln "Line" fighter boasted improved engines and more powerful weapons, surpassing contemporary Rebel fighters.



TIEs would be used in massive numbers throughout the Galactic Civil War and would be regarded by many as a symbol of the Empire. Some TIEs fell into the hands of the Rebellion, who would sometimes use them to infiltrate Imperial facilities.

It had been intended that the TIE/ln would be replaced by the TIE Interceptor, but the collapse of the Imperial government into sectionalism precluded this. As the Galactic Empire retreated, more and more factories found themselves behind New Republic lines and ceased production. The New Republic made limited use of captured TIEs, equipping them with shields and assigning them to sectors where they weren't considered a symbol of the Empire. Their most notable use in New Republic service was at the Battle of Adumar.

By the time the peace treaty was signed, the Empire (now known as the Imperial Remnant) began to use export starfighters manufactured by other races (such as the Sullustan SoroSuub Corporation Preybird-class starfighter) because they lacked the manufacturing facilities to build new TIE Fighters.

Behind the scenes

 * Originally meant to have a blue color on the hull, this was abandoned when blue-screen filming made the fighters transparent. The original TIE/ln fighters seen in A New Hope were relatively white in color; the TIEs of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi were more gray with a gradual blueish hue added during post-production.


 * The ship's appearance was inspired by bow ties.


 * The sound for TIE Fighters was created by combining an elephant's scream with the noise of a car driving on wet pavement.


 * Rob Coleman originally considered putting TIEs into the end of Revenge of the Sith, but Lucas decided to show Alpha-3 Nimbus-class V-wing starfighters instead, pointing out that the Empire would have twenty years to build TIEs.


 * Although Expanded Universe material and also a speed chart used by the film crew of RotJ sets the speed of the TIE fighter to equal that of an X-wing, in ANH they are shown overtaking X-wings despite the latter "going in full throttle".