Starfighter/Legends

"Blast! This is why I hate flying!"

- Obi-Wan Kenobi, being chased by Jango Fett's Slave I

A starfighter was a small, maneuverable starship designed for military combat.

Characteristics
The majority of starfighters were piloted directly by living beings, although some were either controlled remotely or by artificial intelligence. These light craft were designed to carry out attacks on sensitive installations and targets that required immense precision.

In fleet battle, starfighters worked in concert with capital ships, harassing warships and striking once their weakened shields, failed or were re-aligned  due to enemy capital ship-fire. Alone, fighters had little to no chance of penetrating the shields of capital ships, but most starfighters worked in squadrons and carried weapons like proton torpedoes and concussion missiles. These squadrons could take out a large capital ship with precision fire.

Behind the scenes
Star Wars 1 refers to the Tantive IV as a starfighter. This is inconsistent with how the term has come to be used in subsequent literature.

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 film
 * LEGO Star Wars: Revenge of the Brick
 * Star Wars: Visions of the Blade
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * LEGO Star Wars: Bombad Bounty
 * The Star Wars
 * Clone Wars Adventures