Eta-5 interceptor

The Eta-5 interceptor was a type of interceptor in use by the New Jedi Order and the Galactic Alliance Defense Fleet as of 40 ABY. Developed by Kuat Drive Yards, it was a descendant of the Eta-2 interceptor, but it was also regarded as a type of A-wing.

Characteristics
The Eta-5 possessed a pair of wing arrays similar to its Eta-2 predecessor, but had an overall hull shape in line with A-Wings. It had a cramped cockpit equipped with rocker arms on the seat, and was powered by twin ion engines, giving it top-of-the-line speed and maneuverability, but it had low armor and minimal shielding. It was equipped with dual fire-linked concussion missile launchers, laser cannons, and advanced computer targeting systems, giving it considerable punching power when it needed to engage small capital ships.

History
Wedge Antilles's daughter, Syal Antilles, flew this model when she entered the Galactic Alliance military under the name of Lysa Dunter. She joined VibroSword Squadron and flew during Operation Roundabout before the onset of the Second Galactic Civil War. However, she was forced to pull out of the squadron due to Corellian activities, and was reassigned to serve as a pilot for the new Aleph-class starfighters.

Pilot Rhysati Ynr made use of an Eta-5 during Lando Calrissian's mission to prevent the destruction of Kessel. She loaned it briefly to Wedge Antilles when he expressed an interest in flying it. Wedge later used the fighter to protect the Millennium Falcon from an energy spider.

Behind the scenes
In the 2007 novel Legacy of the Force: Legacy of the Force: Fury, Syal Antilles reflects that her combat experience has been limited to "A-wings and Alephs". As she had seen battle in Eta-5s and Alephs in the earlier novel Legacy of the Force: Betrayal, this references the fact that the Eta-5 was in fact, in part, a derivative of the earlier RZ-1 A-wing interceptor from Incom Corporation as well as being a descendant of the Jedi Eta-2.

This implication is continued in detail in the 2009 Fate of the Jedi novel Fate of the Jedi: Outcast, in which the Eta-5 is described as appearing similarly to an A-wing fighter, with strut-mounted solar panels protruding from midway up the fuselage.

Moreover, this correlates with the term "A-wing" being used to describe a design outwardly resembling the RZ-1 in appearance; the name has been applied to the Aurek fighter of the Old Sith Wars and, in a retcon, early appearances of the classic "A-wing" in canon are explained as representing a separate prototype design, the R-22 Spearhead.

Appearances

 * Legacy of the Force: Betrayal
 * Legacy of the Force: Fury
 * Fate of the Jedi: Outcast