Starfighter combat/Legends

"Lock S-foils in attack position!"

- Garven Dreis leading Red Squadron into the Battle of Yavin

Starfighter combat, also known as dogfighting, referred to engagements fought between starfighters, regardless of environment. Starfighter combat was as old as the craft themselves, dating back to the earliest days of the Galactic Republic and became a notable part of aerospace warfare for tens of thousands of years, occurring in conflicts such as the Great Hyperspace War, New Sith Wars, Clone Wars, the Galactic Civil War, the Yuuzhan Vong War, the Confederation-Galactic Alliance War and beyond.

Throughout the millennia, millions of pilots flew against each other or against droids in starfighters such as the Z-95 Headhunter, Delta-7 Aethersprite, T-65 X-wing starfighter, or TIE/ln starfighter while others in heavier craft such as the BTL Y-wing starfighter, TIE/sa bombers, or B-wing starfighters launched assaults on larger ships or military installations. Military forces across the galaxy adopted different designs, weapons, specifications, tactics, and roles for these relatively small craft, and there were as many uses for starfighters in combat as there were starfighters themselves. These craft played important, often pivotal, roles in military campaigns, as did their atmospheric counterparts, throughout the entire history of conflict within the galaxy.

Characteristics


Combat between starfighters typically, though not always, revolved around major battlefleet actions fought between opposing space navies and their capital ships; these could involve dozens of squadrons on each side amid innumerable types, classes and sizes of larger vessels. These engagements were typically characterized by close-in, extremely tight maneuvering and point-blank firing solutions using energy weapons such as blasters and ion cannons. Inexperienced pilots or those with poor situational awareness rarely survived their first battles; it often required superior reflexes and awareness of one's surroundings (referred to as "situational awareness"), as well as a certain aggressiveness, to achieve results in this kind of interstellar warfare.

Though these types of battles, often called "dogfights" or "vape-brawls" by veteran pilots usually involved dedicated fighter craft, sometimes gunships, bombers, and assault shuttles would be involved though they usually either played victim to the more nimble fighters that were sent after them or were in turn escorted into combat situations by friendly ships. Victory conditions for starfighter engagements included, not surprisingly, the elimination or driving off of opposing fighters to either clear the way for heavier craft, such as the Alliance's B-wing, to assault capital ships or to in turn defend a force of capital ships from the enemy's own assault forces.

Types of engagements
Though the dogfight was the main type of engagement that involved starfighters, and thus the most common, there were other variations that depended greatly on the circumstances involved. The dogfight itself consisted of hard maneuvering and relied on a certain aggressiveness to achieve results; this type of combat favored starfighters with high levels of maneuverability, however pilots who flew craft with lesser degrees of agility were still able to triumph if they possessed superior situational awareness, tactical ability, or a more advantageous position prior to initiating the fight. Other types of engagements, such as those that occurred when starfighters were sent to penetrate the outer defensive screens of enemy fleets, greatly favored fast interceptors which could make high-speed attack runs against opposing formations of enemy craft, either fighters, bombers or even capital-class vessels. These attacks, also known as "hit and fade" runs (a term that also referred to an overall type of combat operation), demanded craft with high rates of acceleration and top speed as well as agility. When conducted without fleet support, starfighters using these attacks could prove devastating when utilized against lightly-defended convoys or fleet elements.

Combat in battlefleet actions
When starfighters took part in engagements where significant numbers of larger warships fought against each other, for instance during the Battle of Endor, they typically served to screen their side's capital ships from the enemy fleet's own starfighter forces and, if the opportunity presented itself, to engage capital ships at their most vulnerable points such as command towers or shield generators. Depending on the space navies involved and the ships they typically used, fighters would enter the battle planes either by jumping in from hyperspace under their own power (in the case of nearly all Rebel starfighter units), they could be deployed from motherships (in the case of Imperial-class Star Destroyers and TIE Fighters, to name one such instance), or both. Though not unheard of, engagements fought in the midst of capital ships already engaged in direct attacks upon one another were generally avoided, as random shots from heavy turbolasers from these much larger warships could easily vaporize most snubfighters, either friend or foe, and whether the attack was intentional or not. The effectiveness of a battle fleet's starfighter screen could mean the difference between victory and defeat in a large naval engagement, as was the case during the only documented instance of two Executor-class Star Dreadnaughts engaged one another. Though the starfighters of the New Republic were more effective then those being used by the Imperial Remnant, superior tactics on the part of Imperial forces allowed them to secure a victory, albeit not a decisive one.

The Force and starfighter combat
Many members of the Jedi Order, trained to use the Force, were also supremely qualified for flying starfighters in combat. A Jedi Knight could use the Force to his or her advantage in an engagement to not only better utilize their own craft's advantages, but to increase the speed of their reflexes and to predict the maneuvers and tactics of their opponents, due to their ability to sense the intentions of other organic beings (in essence, increasing their situational awareness well beyond typical norms). Some Jedi could even use their Force-connection to befuddle the minds of their opponents as an active part of their offense as well as relying on it for defensive purposes; some in the Order, however, felt that to do this would be straddling too close to the dark side.



Jedi of the old and new Jedi Order could also meld their minds within the Force, producing a battle meld that would allow for further co-ordination on the part of Jedi Knights and Masters either flying starfighters, which happened on many occasions during the Yuuzhan Vong War, or cooperation among Jedi manning the defensive guns of heavy warships, as was the case aboard Outbound Flight. This technique was a refinement of battle meditation, which could have the same effect on Force-sensitives as well as those who could not touch the Force. The use of this power could have profound consequences for starfighter engagements, because it bolstered the willpower and innate combat abilities of the user's chosen side in the battle as well as doing the opposite for the Jedi's opponents, essentially sapping enemy morale and sowing confusion within their ranks. The ancient Jedi Knights Nomi Sunrider and Bastila Shan, though they were not pilots themselves, were nonetheless very skilled in this art. It was also said that Emperor Palpatine used a twisted form of battle meditation to augment the Imperial fleet during the Battle of Endor, and that when he was killed when the second Death Star was destroyed, that his power ceased to be a factor, which led to the rout that would follow.

The five stages of starfighter combat
As a general rule, nearly all starfighter engagements could be broken down into five distinct stages: Detection, Closing, Attack, Maneuver and Disengagement. Though the length and circumstances of each stage could vary, or even skipped entirely depending on the results of the prior stage, nearly all battles where starfighters fought one another followed this basic formula.

Stage I: Detection and identification
"The first to spot the enemy wins."

- Anonymous Clone Wars pilot

The first stage of starfighter combat involved detecting the enemy and, in turn, avoiding being detected if possible. When a group of starfighters entered a star system intent on engaging enemy forces stationed there, it was vital to be able to spot the enemy before they spotted the incoming force. The first side in an impending engagement to detect the enemy was often able to dictate the terms of the fight; given the speeds most starfighters could attain within realspace, early detection was imperative. Starfighters used by the Rebel Alliance had an advantage over their Imperial counterparts in this regard; their sensor range was higher and, according to Imperial starfighter doctrine, TIE Fighters were expected to stay within the sensor range of the base or starship that provided their support. Imperial doctrine further dictated that TIE pilots received their targeting information directly from their designated flight controller; thus, the ability to detect and discern appropriate targets was only as good as the controller on duty.

Sensors and scanners
There were several means available to starfighters for spotting enemy craft: electronic sensors, visual scanners, and visual contact. If a fighter's electronic scanners were jammed by an opposing force, the pilot could instead switch to visual scanners, which were essentially video cameras with telescopic lenses which allowed a pilot to spot incoming craft long before they could be seen by the naked eye. Such sensors were impossible to jam save for the employment of cloaking devices, which were rarely if ever used in such engagements. Most engagements took place at ranges that permitted pilots to actually see their opponents with their own unaided eyes; this was referred to as visual contact.

Choosing to attack


The choice of whether or not to attack a formation of enemy fighters or other ships that had been detected could be made at two different levels; by the flight controller attached to the battle either through the main fleet or via the starfighters' base of operations, or the leader of the starfighter unit or units themselves. This was an important factor to take into consideration because a being had to be able to take as many variables into account as possible, including the overall ratio of friendly craft to enemy, the chances of success, and the price of failure. For a flight controller, this was relatively easy since they, in their position, had a better view of the unfolding engagement; for the unit leader this depended greatly on their own sense of situational awareness and tactical ability.

Stage II: Closing
If a starfighter unit chose to engage, the pilots within had to seek out the most advantageous position possible before making their attack run.

Speed and concealment
The two ingredients essential to a successful closing were speed and concealment, both of which aided in limiting the amount of time an enemy starfighter force had to detect the incoming attackers and react to them, thus increasing the chances of a surprise assault. High closing speeds also had another advantage; it increased the energy available for conducting maneuvers as well as for providing for a quick disengagement if the attack run was unsuccessful or if the attacking force voluntarily chose to break off. Concealment, on the other hand, was almost impossible due to the sophistication of sensor equipment across the board; jamming could be attempted but it usually did more harm then good because it hampered the abilities of the craft issuing the signal jamming almost as much as it did those whose sensors it was trying to jam.

Deception
If concealment failed, attacking starfighter pilots were then forced to use deceptive measures in order to fool their enemies as to their true intentions. Examples of this kind of deceptive closure included making the main assault appear to be simply a feint (and vice versa), that there are more or fewer attackers then there really were, or disguising the true objective by appearing to be angling for a run on some other potential target. Such tactics also included dangerously tight formations that would aid in hiding the attackers' true strength, attacking in waves, dividing one's forces into two or even three separate sections and sending one large force to draw off enemy starfighters while a smaller force would take on the enemy control ship, or having one group attempt to jam communications while the rest dealt with other defenses, possibly preventing enemy fighters from being summoned.

Stage III: Attack
The attack stage of starfighter combat was where four out of every five kills were achieved. Prior to launching an attack, two things had to be taken into account: the current overall tactical situation and the capabilities of the starfighters and other ships that would be involved, both friend and foe. It was essential for an attack to be launched from the best possible position at the best possible moment in order to ensure the maximum chances of victory; to execute an attack run without due consideration was to court with disaster.

Stage IV: Maneuver
The maneuver stage of starfighter combat only began when the initial attack failed and the dogfight began. During this stage an experienced pilot would do his or her best to deny initiative to the enemy, either by using aggressive maneuvers that would always give the most advantageous position or simply keeping pressure on an opponent in order to force them into making a mistake. The maneuver stage also began as soon as a pilot realized that he was, or was about to become, under attack from an enemy starfighter. The first priority then was to survive, and everything else became secondary; however, if a pilot was able to evade his enemy he could either disengage from the fight or attempt to turn the tables using any number of different tactics.

Stage V: Disengagement
"It [disengagement] is rarely given adequate attention. The inexperienced pilot frequently believes that following an attack pass, particularly a successful one, that the engagement is over and he can relax. This is dangerous nonsense."

- Adar Tallon

The last stage of starfighter combat, the disengagement, was also the most dangerous if one's forces were outnumbered to begin with, as so often happened during the Galactic Civil War. Alliance pilots were told that diminished vigilance in this last stage was a recipe for disaster because in a quick-strike engagement there was simply no time to slack off. To do so would give the Imperials time to reorganize or to gather reinforcements, thus increasing the possibility of overwhelming the attacking Rebel force. If a pilot could not successfully disengage from a combat situation, he or she could not escape into hyperspace; the longer a pilot stayed in the combat zone, the more vulnerable he or she would become.

The best way to disengage was to destroy the enemy down to the last man, however, that was not often a possibility. Another possibility was for the attacking formation to maintain their high degree of speed after having engaged the enemy in a full-throttle attack pass, thus disengaging automatically. However, this was dependent on the pilot having maintained his or her initial course and not having gotten involved in a dogfight or other maneuvers. Disengaging from such a battle or maneuver was, naturally, more difficult; often the only hope of doing so if one was unable to destroy their opponent was to try and obtain a neutral position - a position where neither the attacker nor the defender had a discernible advantage over the other.

Lifesaving techniques
There were several critical components to any disengagement; the first and most essential of which was speed. It was far less difficult to pull away from an engagement while flying at full throttle, particularly if the two opponents were not traveling on parallel courses, thus putting a great deal of distance between the defender and attacker. To assure a clean getaway, pilots had to maintain visual contact for as long as possible, since an unseen enemy could still theoretically gain an advantage on the disengaging pilot. If a pilot lost sight of his opponent in a turning battle, the best option was to keep turning until sight was regained; finally, if a pilot wished to disengage while under attack, the best hope for escape was to turn toward the enemy's line of fire, increasing the chances of angling off from one's opponent. It was critical for survival to avoid showing one's tail to a pursuing enemy craft.

Starfighter pilots
"I am Wedge Antilles. I survived the Battle of Yavin. I survived the Battle of Hoth. Hell... Just a couple of weeks ago I blew up the Death Star during the Battle of Endor. The reason I'm still breathing when a lot of other good Rebel pilots aren't? Maybe it's because I'm better. Or maybe I'm just lucky."

- Wedge Antilles, one of the Rebel Alliance and New Republic's most famous fighter pilots

The most important part of starfighter combat, the starfighter pilot itself, was a being trained to fly and fight as one with his craft, his wingmate, and his unit in all manner of situations against many different kinds of threats. From ambushing an interstellar convoy to assaulting a fully-operational Death Star, it was the pilot that completed the package.

Pilot characteristics
"Starfighter pilots are a rare breed. We don't take just anyone."

- Captain Beme, Alliance recruiter



Although a member of nearly all sentient species in the galaxy that could physically wedge themselves into a starfighter's cockpit could potentially become a fighter pilot, there were a number of qualities that were required for a being to be able to pursue a career flying in combat. Among these requirements were superior visual acuity, a relatively high degree of intelligence and spatial ability, a certain amount of intuitiveness, above-average mathematical acumen, and a healthy sense of aggressiveness and competitiveness as well as a willingness to work with others as a team. Although many pilots, like the vast majority of spacers were somewhat superstitious, this was rarely frowned upon. Sentient beings who hoped to become starfighter pilots also had to be able to operate rationally while under high degrees of stress, both mental and physical, in order to be able to cope with training as well as having to fly in actual combat. For members of some inherently pacifistic species, such as the Talz, this was a particularly acute problem. It was fairly common for pilot candidates, before having joined a military service, to have piloted recreational land- and airspeeders, swoops and speeder bikes--often with a high degree of skill.

Starfighter pilot training
"Treat every simulator run like the real thing and stay alive longer."

- Shalla Nelprin's father

A starfighter was only as good as its pilot, and a pilot was only as good as his or her training; in space navies throughout history pilots trained as a unit at the squadron level, incorporating the many disparate personalities of the pilot candidates into a solid team that depended on and trusted each other to see them through difficult combat missions and situations; it was essential that before a unit could be certified fit for combat duty, a certain esprit de corps had been formed. Starfighter pilot training was grueling, particularly for elite units; any candidate that did not pass muster for a variety of reasons, among these being insufficient skill, inability to integrate into the unit, or even excess stress caused by combat or the potential of combat was washed out. Such rejected pilots could be removed from the squadron or even their nation's Starfighter Corps entirely, with any number of possibilities being offered the being in question, including service in the regular Navy or simply a discharge from the military.

The essentials of pilot training often took months to learn and consisted of a number of different kinds of exercises; what training occurred depended greatly on the navy involved and the craft that the unit would eventually fly. Extensive hours spent in flight simulators (an enclosed simulacrum of a starfighter cockpit that was programmed to simulate exactly the environment and effects of starfighter combat, including the actions of other teammates and potential enemies within the simulator's dataspace) was required to learn the basics of how one's chosen type of fighter worked. Training in actual starfighters engaging in mock combat with powered-down weapons was also common; other training included realspace and hyperspace astrogation and navigation, communications and comm discipline, small and large unit tactics and recreations of historical scenarios (such reenactments were often programmed into simulators), co-ordination within fleet-based combat situations, and cross-training in other types of duties such as conducting bombing runs against ground targets or reconnaissance missions into enemy territory. Pilots who successfully completed flight training were inducted into a nation's armed forces as a commissioned officer.

Non-military training
Non-military starfighter forces, such as those associated with pirates, mercenary groups, slavers, and other criminal organizations, almost never had formal training programs. Instead these types of paramilitary and outlaw forces would typically pick up washouts from military training programs, renegade pilots who had deserted from active or destroyed line units, speeder bike enthusiasts who showed some degree of skill in simulators, or simply walk-ons who boasted about being able to fly well. Such hired hands were typically placed into "squadrons" without considerations of such things as compatibility or ability, and often basic things like communications discipline and formation integrity were almost never enforced. Such forces also typically did not have use of military-designed starfighters, and those that did typically operated older models that were considered out-of-date by the standards of the day.

Leadership
Although most line-certified starfighter pilots, statistically-speaking, were expected to die within their first five combat missions, those that survived could often find themselves candidates for leadership positions within a squadron, provided they had sufficient skills and an aptitude for such a quality. Indeed, as a unit's training was still underway, experienced training officers would always be on the lookout for potential flight leaders within the core group even as they attempted to weed out potential dropouts. Attrition rates in starfighter combat, depending on the navy and its overall tactical and strategic doctrine (including the preferred type of starfighter), could be extremely high. As such, anyone serving within such a navy's starfighter branch who was skilled (or lucky) enough to survive even a few missions could find themselves in a position of command, with or without having formally gone through an academy training program. This was especially true in non-military fighter units.

Unit organization
The basic unit of starfighters within various galactic military organizations, and even those who operated outside of a military capacity, was the squadron. Usually consisting of twelve to sixteen craft and commanded by a commander or a colonel depending on the service, squadrons were further divided into flights typically led by captains which were in turn made up of paired flight elements. At the opposite end of the spectrum, three to six squadrons made up a fighter wing, also known as a fighter group, commanded by a general or, in some cases, a colonel. The term "fighter wing" was also used to refer to the full compliment of starfighters that were normally carried by large warships, such as Imperial-class Star Destroyers.

Wingmate pairs
"Right with you, boss!"

- Wedge Antilles at the Battle of Yavin



One overriding principle of starfighter combat was that starfighters always operated best in paired units; each member of a flight element would alternate positions as leader and wingman as the situation dictated. The leader of an element would engage enemy starfighters while the wingman served as a backup; this was the base foundation of any fighter unit. Bound together in element pairs within flights and squadrons, starfighter pilots soon learned that it was essential to memorize the habits and to earn the trust of the being assigned to be one's wingmate by the squadron commander. Oftentimes in starfighter engagements the difference between survival and death at the hands of an opponent was one's wingmate, as they were a pilot's backup, their extra pair of eyes; the two craft of a flight element constantly relied on each other to ensure that they came out of the fight alive and intact, one warning of impending danger to the other and lending mutual support. A flight element that could hold itself together during the chaos of combat often had the best chance possible of downing the enemy.

Flights
A flight of starfighters was usually composed of two flight elements operating in concert and, usually, lead by a captain or lieutenant. Though the natural realm of operations for flights was acting within a squadron, single flights were sometimes sent on their own missions, such as that of Red Flight's diplomatic expedition to Adumar. Depending on the service, composition and role of the unit involved, three to four flights made up a squadron.

Squadrons
The most recognizable unit of starfighters in the galaxy, the squadron was typically assigned to fleet vessels. However, if the fighters in use by a squadron were equipped with hyperdrives, as were virtually all such craft employed by the Rebel Alliance, New Republic and Galactic Alliance, this type of unit was quite capable of operating independent of the fleet. During the early days of the Rebellion, this was done quite frequently by the Alliance, as it was their chief means of space denial when fighting against the Empire.

Fighter wings and fighter groups
The highest level of organization within starfighter units was the fighter wing or fighter group. In the Rebel Alliance, the term "fighter wing" was used to describe a grouping of three squadrons, which was typically the standard compliment of their cruisers. Fighter wings usually operated in concert with the main fleet and their commanders would report directly to the ship's captain. However, the same term was used within the Imperial Starfleet to denote the full compliment of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, which consisted of six squadrons of varying types of TIE craft. The term "fighter group" was the term preferred by the Empire to distinguish a grouping of three squadrons that operated together, in the case of the 181st Imperial Fighter Group.

Starfighter technology
Most starfighters throughout history were relatively simple single-pilot craft fitted with energy weapons, sensor suites, communications equipment, sublight engines and sometimes deflector shields and hyperdrives.

Multi-crewed starfighters
Some craft were so complex in their operation or were so heavily armed that they required dedicated gunners to either handle the craft's main weapons or to man a defensive turret; such non-flying crew were known by a variety of designations. The Koensayr BTL-S3 Y-wing starfighter, for instance, was equipped with an ion cannon turret for use by the weapons system officer while the B-wing/E and later models of that craft carried a dedicated gunner. This arrangement allowed the pilot of the B-wing to make flying the complex craft his or her top priority while the gunner handled the ship's vast array of weapons. Other such craft included the GAT-12 Skipray Blastboat which had a four-man crew and the TIE/sa bomber with two. Other craft, such as the A-wing Mk. II produced by Incom Corporation had variable-arc weapons; the Mk. II could rotate its twin laser cannons in a 360° arc to fire on opponents above, below or behind the craft.

Miscellaneous vessels


Other ships that would not normally be considered starfighters often took part in starfighter combat. Usually highly-modified from their original designs, these ships ranged from low-stock freighters outfitted with military-grade shields and weapons like the Ebon Hawk. which was equipped with an advanced hyperdrive as well as a defensive laser cannon turret and several forward-firing lasers and the Millennium Falcon, which had been extensively modified by Han Solo to include dorsal and ventral quad laser turrets as well as one of the fastest hyperdrives in the galaxy, to star yachts such as the Dragon Pearl owned by the Hutt crimelord Jiliac Desilijic Tiron which could carry its own compliment of Z-95 Headhunters in addition to its six hidden CEC turbolasers. Though tricky to handle in a running firefight, these larger vessels were nonetheless equal to taking on enemy starfighters, provided that the pilot was skilled enough and the target ratio was not too high.

Weapons systems
Many different weapons systems were used on starfighters and other space combat vessels throughout the millennia.

Energy weapons
Starfighters and vessels that took part in starfighter engagements carried a variety of offensive and defensive weaponry. The most frequently-used of these was the laser cannon, an energy-based weapon that was essentially a massively upscaled blaster. Most starfighter models fitted with these weapons typically carried anywhere from one to four lasers, though they were often complimented by other weapons. Some craft, such as the Z-95 Headhunter, carried blaster cannons which were not as powerful as lasers but could still do significant damage to their opponents. Other craft used ion cannons which, when used on enemy ships, caused disruptions in the target's electrical systems; though more difficult to score kills with, ion cannons had the added advantage of incapacitating the targeted craft, thus allowing it and its pilot to be retrieved for later use.

Projectile weapons


Also referred to as disposable ordinance, projectile-based weapons used in space combat predated the development of energy-based weapons. The most common of projectile weapons used in starfighters included the proton torpedo and the concussion missile. Unlike energy weapons, missiles such as these could track and follow the movements of a targeted enemy, enabling them to score hits more reliably then their energy-based counterparts. Starfighters that utilized such ordinance also required the use of targeting computers that were tied into the ship's sensors. To achieve a targeting lock on an enemy craft, a pilot had to maneuver his fighter so as to give the computer a chance to identify the targeted foe and lock it into the system to achieve a firing solution; in some models of starfighter, the ship's astromech droid assisted in performing this feat. However, some starfighters also came with, or could be modified to carry, a target-lock warning system that alerted a pilot to the presence of an impending or acquired lock. A skilled pilot could evade or even destroy certain projectile weapons.

Astromech droids
"Artoo, try and increase the power!"

- Luke Skywalker to R2-D2

Astromech droids were used to help repair and maintain starfighters. Most craft were built with specialized sockets to hold an astromech; during flight and in combat they were capable of performing many such functions, ranging from calculating hyperspace jumps in a fighter's navigational computer to general realspace navigation, targeting, in-flight repairs if the fighter carrying such a droid was hit by enemy fire and even, under dire circumstances, take control of a starfighter if its pilot was incapacitated in some fashion. When not engaged in direct combat, these droids monitored critical systems and performed other duties in order to lessen the workload of the fighter's pilot and ground crew, including engaging in basic flight maneuvers.

Some astromech droids, if allowed to go without routine memory wipes and used quite often with a certain starfighter, would form a certain machine-to-machine bond with that craft. This bond both helped and hindered a starfighter's day-to-day operations; though droids that had achieved a counterpart relationship could work with their craft at astonishing rates, thus boosting overall operating efficiency and even permitting the speeding up of repairs and other in-flight adjustments, this meant that only that particular droid could be used when performing basic maintenance duties. One example of this phenomenon was the astromech owned by Luke Skywalker, R2-D2 and the X-wing he used during the Thrawn campaign. The droid and X-wing had achieved such a level of understanding that Artoo could, on his own initiative, take full command of the starfighter if he felt that it was required to either help a friend or ward off a potential foe, which Mara Jade discovered, much to her chagrin.

Hyperdrives
Though for the vast majority of galactic history most starfighters lacked an internal hyperdrive, some fighters as early as 3,951 BBY did possess them. Even as late as the lead-up to the Clone Wars, most vessels of this size class used hyperdrive rings or sleds when faster-then-light travel was required but larger ships were unavailable to ferry such craft. It was not until the latter stages of that galaxywide conflagration that hyperspace-capable starfighter classes emerged, such as the Republic's ARC-170 and the Confederacy's Belbullab-22. In addition, many starfighters of that period could be modified to contain internal hyperdrives, such as the CloakShape fighter and the Z-95 Headhunter, both of which saw service long before the outbreak of the war and well into the following decades.

However, after the war the newly-declared Galactic Empire eschewed hyperdrive technology for its starfighters, which in turn lacked shields and even integrated life-support systems. This was the ultimate expression of choosing "cheap and plentiful" in preference to "expensive yet durable" in terms of starfighters, culminating with the TIE series of fighter craft. The Rebel Alliance, on the other hand, fully embraced the idea of shielded, hyperspace-capable craft with quality protection and weapons as, due to the very nature of their movement, basing squadrons of fighters aboard capital ships to bring them to and from the planes of battle was, at the very least, impractical. Since the Rebellion's war effort operated best when it staged from scattered, hidden and remote bases to perform hit-and-run operations against Imperial targets of opportunity, in-built hyperdrives as well as the astromechs that worked with them were essential pieces of technology for their starfighters. Carried over into the time of the New Republic and eventually the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, this philosophy would eventually become the norm across the galaxy.

Droid starfighters


"Droids don't talk back, they don't question your orders, and they never complain when you send them on suicide missions."

- Trade Federation tactician Rune Haako

During the last years of the Galactic Republic, the use of small, compact starfighters that were, at their heart, an armed and armored droid brain with attack programming installed, began to see widespread service with large, galaxywide corporations such as the Trade Federation who was among the first to utilize such automatons. The first of this type of "droid starfighter", the Scarab droid starfighter, was soon followed by the Variable Geometry Self-Propelled Battle Droid, Mark I, more commonly known as the Vulture Droid particularly after the onset of the Clone Wars. Though piloting droids had existed long before then, these types of droid fighters essentially combined the entire package of pilot, craft and armament into a simple, compact spaceframe which allowed vessels like the Lucrehulk-class battleship to carry as many as fifteen hundred of them. By the last year of the conflict the Droid tri-fighter, considered by many to be the apex of droid starfighter technology, had arrived on the front in large numbers; these models proved to be the bane of clone and Jedi pilots alike right through the end of the war. During the latter period of the Galactic Civil War, however, the remnants of the Galactic Empire would again embrace droid starfighter technology in the form of the Shadow droid (which was more akin to a cyborg since it was implanted with an organic brain) and the TIE/D automated starfighter that was produced by the World Devastators.

The Ssi-ruuk and entechment
"There's no way to describe the pain of having your very life force, the energy that sustains ou, ripped from your body, nerve ending by nerve ending..."

- Dev Sibwarra, a slave of the Ssi-ruuk

During the majority of the Galactic Civil War droid fighters had largely fallen out of use save for one notable exception, the Swarm-class battle droid employed by the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium. Utilizing a process that essentially sucked the "life energies" or "life force", what some referred to as a soul, out of a living being and implanted them into these Swarm droids, a process that was euphemistically referred to as entechment, the Ssi-ruu were able to create a droid with the ability to anticipate and learn that was more akin to that of an organic pilot. Though these fighters were the equivilent of contemporary Rebel Alliance craft in regards to maneuverability and firepower, due to the nature of the entechment process at that time they did not "live" for very long even if they were not destroyed in battle. The need for a constant supply of prisoners for entechment was the main reason why nearly all Ssi-ruuvi craft came equipped with tractor beams. Many years later however, the process of entechment was refined and, using volunteers for the process instead of unwilling victims, the lifespan of such fighters (as well as the comfort of the souls enteched within) was increased dramatically. In addition, the Ssi-ruuk would begin to employ manned versions of their starfighters in the form of the V'sett-class heavy fighter.

History
From the earliest days of interstellar warfare, starfighter combat was an essential component in the successful prosecution of interplanetary military campaigns.

The Great Hyperspace War and Great Sith War


During the Great Hyperspace War the Republic encountered Sith starfighters for the first time; co-ordinated by Meditation Spheres, they proved to be capable craft. At the Battle of Primus Goluud, naval forces serving under Empress Teta did battle with the Sith fleet led by the Dark Lord Naga Sadow, who used a superweapon to cause several solar flares that lashed out at the Tetan vessels. Though the battle was pitched, Sadow's forces eventually fled back to the Sith Empire; this was the first known confrontation between Republic and Tetan starfighters and those utilized by the Sith. In the battle at Korriban that would follow, however, Sith would face Sith; the conflagration would only end when Sadow intentionally crashed one of his ships into the flagship of the would-be Dark Lord Ludo Kressh. This was to be only a short reprieve, however, because soon afterward the Tetan fleet would arrive, completely surprising the massed Sith forces. After yet another pitched starfighter and warship battle, Naga Sadow fled to Yavin 4, thus ending the war.

At the First Battle of Empress Teta, which would mark the beginning of the Great Sith War, Sith Chaos fighters piloted by Krath warriors were sent by Satal Keto to act as suicide ramships against the incoming Republic fleet. They succeeded in heavily damaging the Republic flagship Reliance and wounding Ulic Qel-Droma and forcing his fleet to retreat from the system. Later, several Jedi-piloted starfighters would make another raid on Koros Major in an attempt to capture Ulic, who had fallen to the dark side, but were forced to retreat when they were unable to take him. Later, at the Battle of Foerost, Chaos fighters and Sith capital ships, hidden by a Force illusion, would deliver a knockout punch to the Republic shipyards located there. At the Battle of Kemplex IX that prompted the Evacuation of Ossus, Sith and Mandalorian starfighters and war droids would wreak havoc on Republic and Jedi forces, though at the former much of the Sith fleet was caught in the Cron supernova and destroyed. This would open the way for the Battle of Onderon and the final confrontation over Yavin 4.

The Mandalorian Wars, Old and New Sith Wars
During the massive galaxywide conflagration that became known as the Mandalorian Wars there were many starfighter engagements. Mandalorian warriors riding Basilisk war droids, a type of surface-attack craft similar in basic form and function to an assault starfighter, proved to be formidable opponents in battle. At the Battle of Jaga's Cluster Mandalorian starfighters and their capital ships delivered a crushing blow to the Republic, destroying an entire fleet group and its commander, killed in hand-to-hand combat by Cassus Fett. During the final, climactic Battle of Malachor V that saw the near-extermination of the Mandalorian race, many Mandalorian pilots fell prey to Jedi flying in starfighters who were in turn killed when the Mass Shadow Generator was activated by the Jedi Exile.

In the Jedi Civil War that followed, many more engagements occurred between the Republic's Aurek fighters and Assault fighters, pitted against the Star Forge-created Sith fighters that served Darth Revan and later Darth Malak, including the final Battle of Rakata Prime. These unusual craft continued to serve the Sith Triumvirate during the First Jedi Purge, though primarily under Darth Nihilus who had salvaged many ships from the remains of Malachor, including his own flagship, the Ravager. When Nihilus arrived at Telos IV with his fleet to feed on what he believed to be a group of Jedi present there, a fierce battle erupted between the Sith forces and a fleet of Republic warships led by Admiral Carth Onasi. During the long New Sith Wars many Jedi Knights and Sith Lords, along with many thousands of Republic and Sith pilots, would fly in combat against each other, including during the Ruusan campaign that would see the final closure of the millennia-long series of conflicts.

The Clone Wars
During the Clone Wars many new types of starfighters saw service across the galaxy, including droid-piloted craft such as the vulture droid used primarily by the Trade Federation and the Droid tri-fighter in service with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. These ships, which were essentially armed droids with integrated attack programming and maneuvering protocols, were particularly difficult for Jedi pilots to fight (at least at first) because they were immune to Force-based anticipation.



This last major conflict of the Old Republic also saw the beginning of many changes in the way engagements between snubfighters were fought. Throughout the history of the galaxy prior to the outbreak of the Wars and the decline of the Old Republic, such battles were fought almost exclusively by sentient pilots flying starfighters without hyperdrive units that depended on larger warships to carry them into combat. This began to change as some elements within the galaxy, such as the many corporate interests like the Trade Federation, Techno Union, Commerce Guild, InterGalactic Banking Clan and Corporate Sector Authority saw the economy of employing massed formations of droid starfighters in addition to their growing legions of battle droid armies.

The clones that gave the Wars their name and the fighters they flew acted as the Republic's counterbalance, yet in reality the whole conflict was but a plot by the Sith to play the galaxy against itself in order to conquer it from within while at the same time eliminating their age-old nemesis, the Jedi Order. In the last stages of the war, however, starfighters with deflector shields and integrated hyperdrive units, piloted by clones and mercenaries, began to appear on both sides. This would have a marked effect on the evolution of starfighter combat, a trend that was at the same time shunned and embraced depending on which side one chose to favor in the civil war that would follow the creation of the New Order.

The Galactic Civil War
During the Galactic Civil War both the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic developed their own tactics for starfighter combat. The standard Imperial doctrine for dealing with the more effective Rebel starfighters was to swarm them with disproportionate numbers of TIE fighters and Interceptors, hoping to either drive off their opponents or to destroy them through sheer combined firepower. The Alliance, however, soon learned to value its pilots much more then the Empire did, and thus not only trained them extensively in starfighter tactics and techniques, but instilled the desire to survive and fight another day into its Starfighter Corps; when the tactical situation became untenable, Rebel pilots were encouraged to retreat. This was in stark opposition to the Empire, who viewed TIE pilots as "disposable ordinance". The use of homing projectile-based weapons, either in the form of proton torpedos and concussion missiles were essential to Alliance starfighter tactics. Though it was dangerous to use these types of ordinance in heated close-quarters engagements, they proved very effective in thinning opposing forces as both sides closed into attack range.

It was perhaps during the Galactic Civil War that starfighter combat saw its most significant successes in all of recorded history. A single starfighter, piloted by a relatively novice pilot named Luke Skywalker who, with only two proton torpedoes, destroyed the single largest and most powerful space battle station at that time, the Death Star. Approximately four years later, the feat would be repeated again against the second Death Star, this time with its reactor core being blown by two ships, the Millennium Falcon piloted by ''Lando Calrissian and an X-wing flown by Wedge Antilles.

Post-Endor and the taking of Coruscant
Though the Battle of Endor had been won and the highest level of leadership within the Galactic Empire thus eliminated, the Rebel Alliance and later the New Republic knew that they still had a long way to go down the road toward freeing the galaxy from what they saw as the tyranny of Imperial rule. Starfighters in both nations' respective navies still had a role to play in the next stage of the war, however; one important list on the agenda for the New Republic was to expand its citizenry by signing new worlds to their cause and fledgling government. Ultimately this meant taking Coruscant, hitherto known as Imperial Center while under Imperial control, which would require a strategic and tactical campaign whose goal was to advance Alliance-held territory into the Core Worlds region of the galaxy. Key to this campaign was the reformation of Rogue Squadron, an elite unit of pilots that had been formed in the wake of the Battle of Yavin by Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles. Once the new Rogues were deemed ready for combat, they set out to aid the New Republic's advancement into the Core, beginning with the First and Second Battle of Borleias, in which X- and Y-wings fought hard against TIE Interceptors in heavy fighting that saw heavy losses on both sides.

With the taking of Borleias the New Republic possessed a foothold in the Core, which allowed them to begin the march on Coruscant with Rogue Squadron in the lead. Called to serve outside of their normal area of expertise, the pilots of that unit were inserted into the galactic capital not as pilots, but as impromptu commando operatives. Initially tasked to scout the world for potential targets and obstacles, Alliance Fleet Command, at the insistence of the Provisional Council, decided to send the Rogues to take down Coruscant's planetary shields so that the fleet could come and take the world. Exhausting all land-based hopes for achieving their goal, the Rogues split up in a last-ditch effort, some taking to the air in black-market Z-95 Headhunter starfighters while the rest took charge of an orbital mirror in an effort to cause a titanic thunderstorm that would overload the city-world's shields. Due in no small part to the starfighters, the mission was accomplished; the capital fell, and the New Republic gained a new air of legitimacy.

The Zsinj campaigns
Though Coruscant had been taken, it had been left a sick world by the Director of Imperial Intelligence, Ysanne Isard. Yet, even as that world recovered from the Krytos virus, a new military campaign was waged, this one aimed at bringing the Warlord Zsinj, who had been preying on the New Republic and the Empire both in order to carve out his own dominion, to heel. Led by General Han Solo, a large fleet made up of several battle groups struck out to find the warlord's Super Star Destroyer Iron Fist as well as to free territory held in Zsinj's grasp. With starfighters serving their part, including the newly-formed Wraith Squadron once Rogue Squadron had come back from fighting the Bacta War, the ensuing campaign proved successful at first, with the capture of the corvette Night Caller and later, the destruction of the Implacable and the death of its commander, Admiral Apwar Trigit, one of Zsinj's top officers at the Battle of Ession.

The campaign would continue for another year, during which the Wraiths disguised themselves as the Hawk-Bat Independent Space Force, a dummy pirate gang centered around a quintet of captured TIE Interceptors and a pair of TIE Fighters, in an attempt to infiltrate Zsinj's organization. The attempt proved successful, proving to be the key to thwarting the warlord's attempt to procure a second SSD, the Razor's Kiss, then being fitted out and completed at Kuat Drive Yards' main shipyards over Kuat. During the next phase of the campaign, the Wraiths and Rogues, alongside the rest of General Solo's fleet, began to pick apart Zsinj's financial empire in order to whittle away at his ability to wage war. This down-and-dirty campaign, long and drawn-out though it was, succeeded in putting the warlord on the defensive. Eventually the Solo fleet managed to corner the bulk of Zsinj's forces, dealing tremendous damage to the warlord's fleet at the Battle of Selaggis, although the Iron Fist would escape.

"Look up at your viewscreen, you vermin. Kiss my Wookiee!"

- Han to Zsinj shortly before the latter's death

There was, however, one last battle to be fought in the campaign to eliminate Warlord Zsinj. At the Battle of Dathomir, after defeating the Nightsisters and finally thwarting the Orbital Nightcloak, General Solo, Prince Isolder, Luke and Leia, along with the assistance of a large battlefleet from the Hapes Consortium, were able to bring down the Iron Fist. It was Solo himself who delivered the killing shot; after managing to maneuver the Millennium Falcon under the warship's shields, he taunted the warlord before sending a pair of concussion missiles directly into the Iron Fist's bridge. With Zsinj dead, the rest of his fleet gradually surrendered to the Hapans.

The Thrawn Campaign


A year later the New Republic faced another threat, one of the greatest thus far: the return from the Unknown Regions of the mysterious Grand Admiral Thrawn. A tactical and strategic genius, Thrawn launched a renewed offensive against what he still thought of as "the Rebellion" that began to significantly push back the gains made by the New Republic in the years since their victory at Endor. Using a variety of recovered technologies put to unorthodox uses, including a new model of cloaking device and even resorting to creating clone soldiers using Spaarti cloning cylinders. Starfighters would continue to play important roles in this campaign as well; since Thrawn did not believe in wasting his troops, every effort was made to keep his pilots alive. With the help of the insane clone Jedi Master Joruus C'baoth using his own brand of battle meditation, Thrawn won victory after victory.

In the need to secure more starships for his Imperial fleet, Thrawn began to hunt the two hundred Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers of the lost Katana fleet. Eventually he succeeded in finding the fleet, securing some one hundred seventy-eight of the derelict warships before a small New Republic task force, led to the area by the smuggler Talon Karrde who had been rescued from Thrawn's flagship by Luke Skywalker, arrived to try and claim the fleet. Shortly thereafter a fierce starfighter and warship battle erupted over the remains of the fleet, culminating with the loss of one Imperial Star Destroyer and the retreating of the remaining ImpStar, the Judicator. The damage had been done, however; Thrawn had his ships and the clones to crew them.

The war would rage on, however, and soon after the loss of the Katana-fleet, Thrawn laid siege to Coruscant itself, sending twenty-one cloaked asteroids into orbit above the capital world, thus effectively blockading it without having to waste a single warship to continue the siege. Believing that there were far more asteroids in orbit then there actually were, the Advisory Council ordered the procurement of a crystal gravfield trap, precipitating the chain of events that would lead to the climactic Battle of Bilbringi, which would witness the death of Grand Admiral Thrawn at the hands of his former Noghri bodyguard.

Imperial Endgame
In the years that followed the defeat of Grand Admiral Thrawn, the New Republic would face many new threats from the crumbling Empire, including a twice-reborn Emperor Palpatine, the Imperial warlord Daala , and the unified Imperial Remnent that would form under Admirals Daala and Gilad Pellaeon. Many of these threats would carry with them fierce starfighter engagements complete with new models being introduced, such as the New Republic's E-wing and the Imperial TIE Defender. In the waning years of the Galactic Civil War and the peace that followed its end in 19 ABY, starfighter combat largely became a matter of the New Republic rooting out and eliminating bands of pirates and smugglers who usually, though not always, utilized Uglies&mdash;starfighters cobbled together from the salvaged parts of other fighters. Among these included such craft as the TYE-wing (also known as the "Die-wing"), the X-TIE, the Tri-fighter used by the Invid pirate group, and the Chir'daki, a particularly effective model created and used by the Twi'leks of Ryloth.

The Yuuzhan Vong War
When the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong began their invasion of the galaxy in 25 ABY, their biologically-engineered and grown warships at first proved devastating against the forces of the New Republic. Their version of a starfighter, which soon earned the nickname of "coralskipper" from their opponents, were deadly craft that could shred the inorganic snubfighters that were then in wide use almost with impunity. Equipped with plasma cannons that literally fired molten rock and dovin basals that could suck away shields and absorb laser blasts and even proton torpedoes fired at them, formations of these Yorik-et craft, guided by the impulses of a yammosk, also known as a war coordinator, could cut to ribbons a squadron of X-wings that had not yet faced them. Grutchins, another bioengineered weapon favored by the Vong, were vacuum-immune insectoids that could literally eat their way through any snubfighter unlucky enough to catch one in much the same way buzz droids would rip their way through Republic craft during the Clone Wars.

Though the New Republic, and later the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances would eventually develop tactics and technology for use against coralskippers (among them included extending the field of an inertial compensator around a fighter's shields to resist the sucking power of a dovin basal, using stutter-fire to weaken a gravitic anomaly enough to leave the craft vulnerable to a torpedo attack, as well as using gravitic amplitude modulators, otherwise known as "yammosk jammers" to interfere with the co-ordination of coralskipper squadrons), the Yuuzhan Vong eventually learned to adapt to these techniques, necessitating the development of still more tactics and technologies. One tactic that continued to be effective if used carefully was the shadow bomb, a proton torpedo with its propulsion and guidance packages removed and replaced with an increased load of baradium explosives. Using the Force to propel the shadow bomb to its target, a Jedi pilot could cause enormous damage to smaller Vong warships.

Though it arrived in service too late to see any action in the war, the Galactic Alliance navy eventually put into production a fighter specifically-designed to counter coralskippers, the Aleph-class starfighter, also known as the Pondskipper or, more popularly, the Twee due to its resemblance to the head of a Twi'lek. This proved to be yet another development in the evolution of starfighter combat, as by this time the idea of massed units of unshielded "disposable" craft used to overwhelm an enemy with sheer numbers had become obsolete.

The Swarm War


In the years after the final defeat of the Yuuzhan Vong war machine, the resurgence of the Killik swarms would bring new conflict to the galaxy. The Galactic Alliance, having reorganized its armed forces in the years after the invasion to better combat pirates and profiteers, was forced to deal not only with the growing threat of the Dark Nest, but of a possible confrontation with the Chiss Ascendancy, who saw the Killiks as an Alliance-backed attempt to take over their territories in the Unknown Regions. In the confrontations that followed, the New Jedi Order was divided on what to do, as several of their number had become Joiners, adopted into the nests through a bonding not unlike a Force bond. During this time a new type of starfighter designated the StealthX, a massive upgrade of the venerable X-wing design intended to make the craft invisible to all contemporary means of detection, came on the scene. In the hands of Jedi pilots, who were the only beings capable of flying the type, they proved to be excellent scout craft that could still pack the same punch as their non-stealth counterparts.

An insectoid race, the Killiks brought a new dimension to starfighter combat with their mass-produced dartships, small craft that were piloted by a single, tiny insect and powered either by chemical rocket motors or tiny ion engines. During the Dark Nest Crisis and the Swarm War that followed, they were employed in the tens of thousands; at the Battle of Tenupe it was estimated that there were in excess of one hundred thousand dartships waiting to take part in a massive attack on the Chiss forces attempting to wrest the planet from Killik control. Though simplistic and easy to destroy one-on-one, these dartships were used in wave after wave of suicide attacks, a tactic for which they proved very effective when they destroyed a Chiss Star Destroyer.

The Confederation-Galactic Alliance War and beyond
In the decade following the defeat of the Yuuzhan Vong, Corellia’s desire for independence from the Galactic Alliance grew and spread, tapping the natural haughty pride of most Corellians. The system began to delay its conscription contributions and tax payments to the Alliance while still making use of Alliance infrastructure and trade benefits. The system's government also stood against the defense limits imposed by the Alliance yet made no public challenge. Slowly, other industrialized planets like Commenor, Fondor, and Bespin developed similarly overt streaks of rebelliousness. The Corellian government, supplied by planets like Adumar that produced weapons in defiance of Alliance law, began the secret construction of a fleet among the Kiris Asteroid Cluster at the very edge of their system as well as a covert attempt to reactivate Centerpoint Station. When the Alliance discovered evidence of this fleet's construction and reactivation attempt, they chose to counter the soft rebellion with a show of force by attempting to neutralize the Correlian government as well as Centerpoint itself. Ultimately this effort failed; the two fleets engaged in heated battle while starfighters on both sides fought ferociously; at one point Wedge Antilles unknowingly engaged in a dogfight with his own daughter who was flying an Eta-5 interceptor at the time. As a result of this initial effort, Alliance forces ended up occupying the capital city of Tralus.

Though the Galactic Alliance and Corellia would attempt to resolve the situation through renewed peace talks, this effort too would fail due to the machinations of Lumiya. Now set on a course for war, the Corellians launched an attack on the Alliance foothold on Tralus, eventually driving them from the planet; the Alliance, however, would counter by instituting a full blockade of the system. However, the situation continued to decay as the new Corellian head of state, Thracken Sal-Solo was assassinated. The new government then sought to gain a powerful ally by engineering a coup within the government of the Hapes Consortium, replacing its ruler, the former Jedi Knight Tenel Ka with a coalition of Hapan nobles who would then side with Corellia. Although it nearly succeeded, the attempt would ultimately fail during the pitched Battle of Hapes as forces of the Alliance reinforced those loyal to the Queen Mother. After the Hapes battle, with help from fleets sent by Commenor and Bothawui, the Corellians routed the Alliance forces around their system, breaking the blockade.



Following this, the Confederation attempted to lure the Alliance fleet into a trap, feeding the Galactic Alliance Guard faulty intelligence that had the effect of making them believe that a supreme commander was being named aboard a resort satellite in orbit around Gilatter VIII. An Alliance fleet did show up, using Jedi-flown StealthXs to scout the location while the bulk of their forces hid within the gas giant's atmosphere. Despite the presence of a minefield, the Alliance fleet surged forward to engage the Confederation forces that jumped into the system. A fierce capital ship and starfighter battle erupted in which both forces ultimately withdrew with neither side being able to claim a significant military edge, though each in turn claimed a great victory. A short time later Alliance and Confederation forces would again clash in the space above Bothawui in an engagement that would see significant losses inflicted by the outnumbered Alliance forces.

Many years later, starfighters such as the Imperial Predator-class fighter, the Alliance CF9 Crossfire starfighter and the Jedi-piloted X-83 TwinTail starfighter would again engage in galactic-scale warfare as the resurgent New Galactic Empire, aided by the New Sith Order under Darth Krayt, shattered the already-weakened Galactic Alliance, having invoked the Treaty of Anaxes and declared war in the wake of perceived Yuuzhan Vong treachery in the failed Ossus Project. Though the Sith and Imperials would ultimately triumph, both the Galactic Alliance Core Forces and later the Fel Insurgency would continue to wage guerrilla warfare.

Tactics and maneuvers
"I'll try spinning. That's a good trick."

- Anakin Skywalker during the Battle of Naboo

Angle of attack


The most important part of the attack stage of starfighter combat was the angle of attack at which one craft would try to shoot down another. The most basic way to shoot down an enemy fighter or other type of craft was to maneuver one's ship directly behind the rear end of the target and engage with primary weapons (either lasers, ion cannons or disposable ordinance), but as the enemy starfighter would likely be engaging in maneuvering of its own, this was not always possible. Deflection shooting, which was in essence leading fire at an angle into a target as it turned in front of a ship's weapons, presenting one's opponent with a wall of destructive fire through which to fly, became an essential skill within the arsenal of veteran fighter pilots.

The most dangerous angle of attack was head-to-head; this occurred when two starfighters closed on each other directly face-to-face. At this angle, the rate of closure is at its highest, with ranges decreasing extremely fast, giving each combatant time for only a few shots before overshoot (the point when both ships pass each other) occurred. Rebel and New Republic starfighter pilots soon realized that due to their craft being fitted with deflector shields, they held a distinct advantage in such head-to-head confrontations; they could afford to engage their Imperial opponents in such passes since they lacked shields of their own.

Break
The Break was a relatively simple turning maneuver utilized whenever a starfighter was under or about to come under attack by an enemy craft. The object was to turn hard toward the enemy's line of fire, thus forcing the attacker to overshoot; however, this still left the breaking craft vulnerable to a snap shot.

Jinking
Also known as juking and jinking, this defensive maneuver (or series of maneuvers) was used in an attempt to spoil the aim of an attacking starfighter who has maneuvered into an excellent tactical position. Consisting of random slips, turns, dives and waggles, it was used in an attempt to avoid giving the enemy a solid targeting lock. Though the pilot of the attacking ship retained his advantageous position, the longer he was forced to concentrate on achieving a shooting solution, the less aware he became of the situation around him, thus leaving himself vulnerable to counterattack from other friendly starfighters.

Reverse Throttle Hop
Essentially an exaggerated hop, this maneuver allowed an attacking starfighter to retain the advantage if a targeted enemy craft went into a sudden breaking maneuver. The attacking pilot would pull up from his opponent and ease off on the throttle, bringing his fighter back onto his opponent's tail as the defender completed his breaking turn. However, in order to be utilized effectively the tactic required a good sense of initiative and excellent timing as the consequences of a failed attempt could force the attacking fighter into an overshoot.

The Trap
An age-old tactic, the Trap involved trapping an attacking starfighter between the aggressor's intended target and the target's wingmate. When an enemy craft bore down upon a pair of snubfighters, each would make a hard break; if the attacking craft followed through, they would be an relatively easy target for the second defender. There were, however, ways to maneuver out of being trapped in such a manner.

Slip-jaws
Slip-jaws was a maneuver used by certain highly-skilled starfighter pilots. The Slip-jaws tactic consisted of two fighters crossing into each other's paths, almost but not quite crashing into each other, while unsuspecting enemies in pursuit smash into one another. The maneuver was possible only for droid pilots or those aided by the Force, as it required an extraordinary level of precision and co-operation. Slip-jaws was named after the scissor-like mandibles of the Kashyyyk slash-spider.

Force Multiple Orbit
Force Multiple Orbit was an Imperial flight maneuver used to trap and engage enemy vessels; it was nicknamed the "Atom" by TIE pilots. The tactic involved a unit of fighters flying around the given target vessel in crisscrossing orbits at staggered distances. The maneuver was compared to the theory of how electrons orbited the nucleus of an atom.

Space-snipe
The space-snipe strategy was a tactic used by forces defending a world from a planetary assault. It consisted of hiding starfighter bases in gas giants, asteroid fields, planets with large oceans or with thick cloud cover around the planetary system to be defended. Starfighter groups would operate in tandem from these bases, attacking isolated ships during the orbit phase of a planetary assault.''

Miscellaneous Republic and Imperial tactics



 * Attack Run Rancor Alderaan Niner
 * Friendly Hunt
 * Kenobi Offensive
 * Skywalker Loop
 * Tron Boral maneuver

Space denial
Though more of a strategic doctrine then a starfighter tactic, the use of space denial by the Rebellion in its early years nevertheless relied heavily upon their starfighter arm for its execution. In essence it was a means of denying the Empire of the ability to move its assets about a certain area of space freely without sufficient protection, thus forcing the Imperial Navy to dilute its resources. Starfighters involved in space denial missions would often sally forth from hidden bases located within Imperial-controlled space and within range of known convoy routes, strike at a specific target, then vanish into hyperspace before reinforcements could be called upon.

Hit-and-hype raiding
One adjunct to space denial was carried out during the Bacta War, which saw the former members of Rogue Squadron developing the tactic of entering a star system where a bacta convoy would be assembled, letting off a few proton torpedoes and then re-entering hyperspace. This was done in an attempt to force Ysanne Isard to allocate more resources to the defense of the bacta convoys, thus putting more strain on her ability to keep her monopoly on the Bacta Cartel. This tactic was extremely effective in harassing an enemy capital ship in conjunction with the Nova Flare strategy. This tactic would also prompt the capital ship's commander to launch TIE Fighters, which took a very long time to recover, thus delaying and even denying the capital ship the ability to pursue.

One downside to this particular strategy was that it was very demanding on the pilots undertaking these hit-and-hype raids. Prolonged use of this tactic was physically and mentally challenging, but as in the case of the Bacta War, ultimately worthwhile.

A-wing slash
A tactic that first saw use during the New Republic's battles with Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo was popularly known as the A-wing slash. Invented by former Corellian Senator turned General Garm Bel Iblis, the maneuver involved a formation of X-wings, usually, closing in on the screening starfighters of an enemy fleet only to break off at the last possible moment. In the wake of the initial attacking formation, a flight of A-wing interceptors would be flying, hidden in the ion efflux of the X-wings; when the former force broke off the enemy fighters would naturally follow, leaving the A-wings free to engage larger warships or any additional forces lurking behind the screen.

Ackbar Slash
Though developed by Admiral Ackbar for use in capital-ship warfare, the Ackbar Slash was sometimes used by a unit of Alliance starfighters who were outnumbered in an engagement. Simply put, the tactic involved a formation of ships slashing into the heart of an enemy formation, driving a wedge in between the enemy ships and firing all the way. The goal was to make the enemy shy away from firing on the unit performing the maneuver lest they risk hitting their own comrades, however the attacking starfighters (or warships) were free to employ their whole arsenal to bear upon their targets.

Corellian Slip
Supposedly invented by Corellian smugglers some time prior to the Galactic Civil War, the Corellian Slip involved a scissors-like maneuver in which a starfighter with an enemy craft on his tail would fly towards another friendly craft, usually the pilot's wingmate. The other friendly would then fly straight at the starfighter in trouble; at the last moment the craft would pull out of the line of fire and the rescuing ship would fire on the pursuing enemy. Wedge Antilles used this maneuver during the Battle of Yavin to save Luke Skywalker from an oncoming TIE Fighter.

Feint and Backstab
This tactic involved two flights of starfighters closing with an enemy; one would make a direct run at an enemy while the other would hang back, staying out of sensor range while still closing in. The initial pair of fighters would come in head-on to the enemy but would break before reaching combat range. Ideally this would draw the incoming enemy into pursuing the first flight, allowing the second flight of ships to then pounce on the confused enemy ships and destroy them.

Trench Run Defense


Named for the Trench run on the first Death Star, which was the most crucial stage of the Battle of Yavin, the Trench Run Defense was a defensive tactic whereupon a starfighter being pursued by enemy forces would deliberately fly as close as possible to the hull of an enemy capital ship. Maneuvering below the arc of an enemy warship's own defensive and offensive weaponry in order to shake off their antagonists, pilots utilizing this tactic forced their pursuit to not only brave the fire of their own side's heavy weapons, but also to risk hitting their own ships if they missed. During the battle, TIE Fighters pursuing Red Squadron as they flew cover for the Y-wings of Gold Squadron often overshot their opponents, sending green laser energy into the surface of the Death Star. As Darth Vader and his wingmen pursued the Rebel craft attempting to run the Trench and torpedo the thermal exhaust port, the turbolasers mounted within the trench itself were forced to cease fire lest they kill the Dark Lord of the Sith with a stray shot.

Tallon Roll
This difficult tactic was performed when an attacking starfighter pilot became aware of the possibility of overshooting a breaking target. The pilot would level out, pull up hard, then roll away from the direction of the turn. To complete the maneuver the attacking pilot would have to slide in behind his target, thus effectively altering the angle of approach without losing distance or speed.

Wotan Weave
The Wotan Weave was a spiral or corkscrew maneuver used by starfighter pilots to evade enemy fire while maintaining a particular heading. It was named after its developer, Wotan. . Wedge Antilles used a variation of this tactic to enable him to launch proton torpedoes against capital ships while presenting a near-impossible target for Imperial gunners.

Miscellaneous Rebel tactics

 * Koiogran turn
 * Screen formation
 * Wing tip

Attack Pattern D'moporai
Developed and used by the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, this attack pattern involved several starfighters approaching an enemy formation from different vectors where they would launch shock nets against a concentrated point of enemy fighter strength. This tactic was very effective in opening holes in the enemy's forward fighter screen, allowing capital ships to penetrate the enemy formation.

Smuggler's reverse
A smuggler's reverse was a tactic where an individual in a small spacecraft would use their maneuvering thrusters to make an 180° turn with the engines still on, in order to quickly change directions without turning in an arc. This allowed the craft executing the maneuver to either quickly bring its weapons to bear on pursuing enemies, present undamaged shields, quickly get onto an escape vector or a combination of the three.

Solo Slingshot
Developed by Han Solo, the aptly-named Solo Slingshot was a maneuver used to clear a pilot's craft of pursuing enemy starfighters by deliberately hurling his or her ship at the edge of a gravitic anomaly, such as a dovin basal or the gravity well of a planet or moon. At the last moment the pilot would swing into the gravity well, allowing it to take hold of his or her craft, effectively slinging the ship around in an unanticipated direction. The maneuver required great skill and knowledge of one's vessel to accomplish, however, and great care was needed to ensure that the intended course of the slingshot would not send the pilot into the path of other fighters or, worse yet, a larger warship.

Combat aerospace patrol
As an adjunct to ground-based campaigns and engagements, starfighter forces were often called upon to serve as cover against the possible threat of enemy air- and space-based defenses and reinforcements. Since all but the mightiest ground vehicles were vulnerable to armed airspeeders and starfighters alike, this was often considered a prerequisite for carrying out successful planetary invasions and/or raids. Subsequently, the term could be applied to any starfighters that were set to screen a larger warship or serve as a friendly vessel's escort; in this case, assuming the ship itself is not in atmosphere, it was referred to simply as "combat space patrol".

More miscellaneous tactics

 * Attack Formation Beta-Zero
 * Attack Pattern Zeta-Gamma One
 * Horizon Approach
 * Segnor's Loop
 * Snap shot

Special tactics and conditions
Starfighters and the pilots that flew them were sometimes called upon to accomplish missions that did not necessarily involve direct contact with enemy starfighter units. These included attacking capital ships or striking ground targets that required a greater degree of precision then an orbital bombardment could deliver; an example was the Battle of Vladet, where Defender Wing under General Horton Salm was sent to destroy an Imperial base on Grand Isle located in the midst of an old volcanic crater with Rogue Squadron flying cover.

Starfighters versus capital ships
"We're the heavy hitters. When you need a command bridge leveled or a convoy of tanks wiped out, the K-wings get the call."

- New Republic pilot Miranda Doni shortly before the Battle of Doornik-319

Though small in comparison to the many classes of heavy warships and battlecruisers used throughout galactic history, starfighters could nonetheless be effective against capital ships in combat, provided that the right kind of ordinance was available and the correct tactics were used. Many designs were purpose-built as bombers to serve, in part, as anti-warship craft; though held in somewhat lower regard by their fellows who flew dedicated space-superiority fighters, these heavy assault starfighters and bombers were often outfitted so as to be able to defend themselves against enemy fighters. Examples of this type of craft included the BTL-S8 K-wing assault starfighter, which was used to great effect against Yevethan thrustships during the Black Fleet Crisis. Along with B-wings and their Imperial counterparts, the TIE/sa bomber and Scimitar assault bomber, they could do considerable damage to unprotected capital ships.

Due to the effectiveness of Rebel starfighters against its capital ships, however, the Galactic Empire developed a counter in the Lancer-class frigate, a dedicated anti-starfighter warship. Boasting twenty quad laser cannons installed throughout the hull to offer maximum possible coverage, the Lancer frigate could shred a whole formation of snubfighters unfortunate enough to get caught within its range. Fortunately for the Alliance, however, Lancer frigates were comparatively rare, most serving as systems patrol ships.

Tallon Split
The Tallon Split was a maneuver used by starfighters against capital ships; though it was simple in theory, the maneuver took a great amount of skill, precision, and concentration to properly execute. When applied successfully, the Tallon Split would allow two starfighter to inflict a considerable amount of damage on an unsuspecting capital ship. The attack consisted of two starfighters flying in extremely tight formation as they approached a capital ship, so close that the larger vessel's sensors would merge the two signals. Once optimal range had been achieved, the two fighters would split apart; one craft would continue on a strafing run of the capital ship while the second would draw fire away from the first. The attacking fighter would have approximately five seconds to cause damage to the enemy ship before it was clearly identified as being separate from the lure. Even so, those five seconds would allow enough time to cause serious damage to the larger vessel if it was caught off-guard.

Nova flare


The nova flare was a special anti-capital ship tactic developed in part by Commander Wedge Antilles, the commander of Rogue Squadron. Developed sometime during the Galactic Civil War, the nova flare, at its most basic level, involved massed barrages of proton torpedoes fired from starfighters and aimed at specific points along the shields of a capital ship. During the Bacta War, the former New Republic pilots used the tactic to great effect to bring down the Victory II-class Star Destroyer Corrupter. The former Rogues would later use the same tactic, albeit with a minor variation that allowed for a much greater effect, during the Battle of Thyferra to severely cripple the Super Star Destroyer Lusankya.

However this tactic could be countered if the captain of the capital ship being attacked was sensible enough to roll his warship in order to present undamaged shields to his attackers; this enabled the crew to repair and/or reinforce the weakened side. In turn, however, the starfighters executing the nova flair could still maneuver to reorient their fire against the damaged shields or where they had failed completely. Generally speaking, the more and larger the volleys of torpedoes or missiles that a capital ship faced, the less chance it had of surviving the encounter; this held true no matter the relative size of the warship under attack.

Loran Spitball
During the hunt for Warlord Zsinj, the pilots of Wraith Squadron developed innovative tactics and means of accomplishing their missions. One of these tactics was named the "Loran Spitball" after its creator, Garik "The Face" Loran. It involved the captured Imperial Corellian Corvette Night Caller. The ship was modified so that nine X-wings, mounted on improvised launch rails, fitted inside it. With the hold's door open, the X-wings stowed within, once crewed and operational, were capable of launching pairs of proton torpedoes through the opening. This provided up to eighteen torpedoes in a volley, which could severely damage or even destroy a warship caught unawares.

Starfighers as ramships
There were quite a few notable instances where starfighters were used, either intentionally or otherwise, as suicide ramships capable of doing disproportionate damage to enemy capital-class warships. Perhaps the most famous of these situations occurred during the Battle of Endor, when a damaged A-wing interceptor piloted by Arvel Crynyd smashed into the Star Dreadnaught Executor's bridge, sending the gigantic vessel out of control where it succumbed to the gravity field of the second Death Star over the Forest Moon of Endor, smashing itself against the battlemoon's outer hull. During the Great Sith War, Chaos fighters in use by the Krath engaged in deliberate kamikaze attacks against the Republic fleet at the First Battle of Empress Teta, severely damaging the Republic flagship Reliance and wounding Ulic Qel-Droma. Both the Yuuzhan Vong and the Killiks were also known to use their starfighter analogs as ramships.

Atmospheric combat


Though rarer then their space-based counterparts, different varieties of armed airspeeders could also engage in dogfights. Examples of such armed airspeeders included the Alliance's T-47 airspeeder used during the Battle of Hoth and V-wing airspeeder that saw service at the First Battle of Mon Calamari as well as the Storm IV and Talon Is in use by Bespin's Cloud City Wing Guard. It was not unheard of for starfighters to participate in atmospheric combat as well, either against other snubfighters or armed airspeeders and even against land vehicles such as AT-ATs.

During the Galactic Civil War the Rebels soon learned that Imperial TIE fighters and Interceptors, while quite maneuverable in space, lost much of this advantage when dogfights occurred within a planetary atmosphere. Tactics that suited the TIE series of fighter craft when in space, if executed in atmosphere, would and in several notable cases did lead directly to that craft and its pilot's death. This was the result of the positioning of the fighters' large Quadanium solar panels, as they acted in contradiction of the natural forces of drag and gravity that exerted themselves on atmospheric craft. Rebel and New Republic pilots soon learned to take full advantage of this oversight and exploited it whenever they could.

Atmospheric combat tactics
These tactics usually involved armed airspeeders, but they could also be used by starfighters fighting in an atmosphere.

Attack Pattern Delta
Attack Pattern Delta was an attack formation developed by Commander Luke Skywalker and Beryl Chiffonage, with help from Risiev Credal, for use by the airspeeders stationed at Echo Base. The tactic consisted of a formation of snowspeeders approaching an enemy ground force in single file. While the leader drew enemy fire, the rest of the squadron would be able to approach the line of battle relatively safely. Once the enemy force had been reached, the formation would split apart to engage targets. This tactic was used to great effect against AT-ATs during the Battle of Hoth.

Bantha Decoy
The Bantha Decoy was another tactical maneuver developed by Luke Skywalker, this time while he lived on Tatooine. In his T-16 Skyhopper Luke would approach an unsuspecting bantha from behind while his wingman would cut out in front of the creature and cause it to present a profile of its head to Luke's following ship. This combat maneuver was adapted for use with the Alliance's T-47s and utilized against Imperial AT-AT walkers attacking Echo Base during the Battle of Hoth.

Notable pilots
There were many names that became noted throughout galactic history when it came to flying and fighting in starfighters.

Old Republic

 * Carth Onasi
 * Atton Rand
 * Anakin Skywalker
 * Saesee Tiin
 * Adi Gallia
 * Many clone pilots

Rebel Alliance/New Republic

 * Luke Skywalker
 * Wedge Antilles
 * Tycho Celchu
 * Biggs and Gavin Darklighter
 * Asyr Sei'lar
 * Han Solo

Galactic Empire

 * Darth Vader
 * Baron Soontir Fel
 * Turr Phennir
 * Maarek Stele

New Jedi Order

 * Mara Jade Skywalker
 * Corran Horn
 * Jaina Solo
 * Octa Ramis

Other notable pilots

 * Nym
 * Dash Rendar
 * Jagged Fel
 * Jango and Boba Fett

Behind the scenes
The term dogfighting, as used in the context of the Star Wars mythos, was first introduced during World War I, the first conflict to see the airplane put to military use, to describe fights between aircraft fitted with forward-firing machine guns. The word can be used both as a noun and a verb; as a verb it can also mean "to arrange (illegal) dog fights" and "to engage one in a dogfight".

Many of the in-universe principles of starfighter combat draw their inspiration from real-world fighter tactics, for example the formation and organization of fighter squadrons, how they relied on unit cohesion in battle and the importance of wingmen, and many of the tactics in use by various factions. Proton torpedoes and concussion missiles resemble real-world aircraft-mounted missiles and lasers draw parallels from machine guns and cannons. Even the use of heavy ordinance against capital-class vessels by specialized attack starfighters is reminiscent of aerial bombing of naval warships by aircraft.

Non-canon appearanecs

 * Lego Star Wars: The Video Game
 * Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * Star Wars Infinities: A New Hope
 * Star Wars Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars Infinities: Return of the Jedi