Aggressive ReConnaissance-170 starfighter/Legends

ARC-170 starfighter "Get to an ARC-170, X2. This is where the fun begins!"

- Jedi Master Ferroda to X2, during the Second Battle of Cato Neimoidia

The Aggressive ReConnaissance-170 starfighter, also known as the ARC-170 starfighter and Advanced Recon fighter, was a heavy starfighter/bomber that saw widespread use by the Republic Navy in the later days of the Clone Wars.

It was an ancestor of the T-65 X-wing starfighter, which would be mainly used by the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

Characteristics
"We can lose the V-wings, but those ARCs have Class One-point-five hyperdrives. They'll follow us to Hell and back."

- Reeze Duurmun, escaping Coruscant with Tobb Jadak following the Battle of Coruscant

Design


The ARC-170 was jointly produced by Incom and Subpro Corporations. Like their other starfighter designs of its time, such as the lighter Z-95, and the heavier PTB-625, and NTB-630, the ARC-170 had a narrow spaceframe flanked by large engines. The ARC-170 also possessed an S-foil system, which helped to radiate heat, something that aided the fighter's shielding. This also provided additional stability during atmospheric flight.

Using its front deflector shield projectors to disperse heat generated from air resistance, the ARC-170 could reach supersonic speeds in atmospheric flight.

The ARC-170 was a departure from other starfighter designs of the Clone Wars era. Fighters such as the Alpha-3 Nimbus and the Eta-2 Actis were built to be small, fast, and maneuverable, at the cost of heavy weapons, shields, and hyperdrives. On the other hand, the ARC-170 was large, rugged, and capable of long independent operations.

Military role


The ARC-170 was often sent on dangerous scout missions and raids deep in enemy territory. To allow the ARC-170 to perform these missions, the fighter was equipped with a Class 1.5 hyperdrive, and its nose was filled with powerful sensors, scanners, and jammers.

The ARC-170 carried enough consumables for five days of operation. However, the supplies and additional equipment had a price and the ARC-170 was quite slow. Durable armor and shielding, as well as two tail guns, helped the ARC-170 to survive when surrounded by swarms of smaller, faster enemy fighters, although it remained vulnerable to enemy anti-fighter guns.

Weaponry
The ARC-170 possessed powerful weaponry. It carried six proton torpedoes, and its wingtip-mounted medium laser cannons were unusually large for a starfighter. ARC-170s were often used as the heavy-hitters in strike forces, escorted by V-wings and Eta-2s.

The ARC-170 was crewed by three clones: a pilot, a forward gunner who operated the wingtip-mounted lasers, and a tail gunner who operated the rear-mounted cannons. The fighter also carried an astromech droid to perform onboard repairs and navigation.It was also possible for the pilot to operate the wingtip laser cannons if a co-pilot wasn't available.

Customization
During the Clone Wars, it was common for elite pilots to customize their vessels with elaborate designs, such as the elite Razor Squadron.

Clone Wars
ARCs were used fairly extensively during the late Clone Wars. During the Battle of Malastare, a squadron of ARC fighters escorted a squadron of BTL-B Y-wings carrying the electro-proton bomb and provided cover against AATs by strafing enemy ground formations. Shortly before the Battle of Coruscant, a squadron of ARCs provided cover for Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker on Tythe, but were mostly destroyed.

During the Battle of Coruscant, Clone Flight Squad Seven (operating with ARC-170s) covered for Kenobi and Skywalker as they made their way to the Invisible Hand. Although Squad Seven suffered many casualties, they allowed the two Jedi to successfully board the ship and rescue Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Large numbers of ARC-170s were destroyed by droid tri-fighters in the battle.

Galactic Empire


Later, after Palpatine issued Order 66, ARC-170s flying over the skies of Cato Neimoidia under the command of Clone Captain Jag turned on Jedi Master Plo Koon. The ARC-170 squadron fired upon his Delta-7 starfighter, destroying the fighter's engines. Plo Koon could not regain control of his ship and plunged to his death as he and what remained of the forward part of the fighter crashed into a building on one of Cato Neimoidia's bridge-cities.

During the Galactic Civil War, ARC-170s could be found in both Imperial and Rebel fleets, where they were considered elite craft. As with all craft commissioned by the new Empire, ARC-170s were henceforth given the standard 'Imperial gray' color scheme, doing away with the variety of colorful markings that military vessels bore to identify their squadron affiliations with during the Clone Wars. Incom would go on to produce the T-65 X-wing starfighter, the successor to the ARC-170.

Behind the scenes
The ARC-170 was named after "ART-170," the title of the artwork form by concept artist Ryan Church that inspired the finalized design. Originally, it was referred to simply as a "clone fighter" in the script for Revenge of the Sith.



The HUD seen on Odd Ball's ARC-170 cockpit during the Battle of Coruscant has the same targeting display as Luke Skywalker's X-wing in A New Hope.

The joint development of the ARC-170 by Incom and Subpro Corporations seems to contradict a HoloNet News report that claims the companies severed their partnership shortly before the onset of the Clone Wars. This issue may possibly be retconned by the fact that most of the design for the ship took place before the split. Even so, it was released as an Incom/Subpro design, and it is extremely unusual for design credit to continue to be shared between companies who have broken off relations.

In Star Wars: Battlefront II, the ARC-170 fighter is considered a medium starfighter, and equivalent to a T-65 X-wing starfighter. The game also only allows one individual to board it, rather than three to fill all the positions.

In Labyrinth of Evil, the ARC-170 is stated to be equipped with multiple missile launchers. This, however, may be attributed to General Grievous' limited knowledge of the vehicles at the time, as the ships are described from his viewpoint.

In the Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary, the starfighter was said to have a projectile cannon above their wing mounted laser cannons.

This ship's fuselage shares some resemblance with the real-life Ju-87 "Stuka" dive bomber and P-61 "Black Widow" fighter. The layout of its laser cannons is very similar to that of the TBF "Avenger" torpedo bomber's machine guns.

In 2005, LEGO released an ARC-170 set, which included three clone pilots (which oddly had V-wing pilot uniforms; this was due to technical limitations, however) and R4-D5. A strange thing about this set is that it had only one rear laser cannon. LEGO released another ARC-170 in 2010, which is more accurate in depicting the fighter (and pilots) and includes one standard clone pilot, Captain Jag, Kit Fisto and R4-P44.

In the Clone Wars episode The Zillo Beast, the ARC-170 squadron escorting the Y-Wings that drop an electro-proton bomb during the course of the episode have the same engine noise as the X-Wings in the Original Trilogy. This is probably implemented to highlight that the ARC-170 is the precursor to the X-Wing.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Secrets of the Jedi
 * Routine Valor
 * Star Wars: Obsession
 * Star Wars: Republic: The Siege of Saleucami
 * Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel
 * Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Reversal of Fortune
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith comic
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith junior novel
 * Evil Eyes
 * Star Wars: Dark Times 6: Parallels, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Republic: Into the Unknown
 * Star Wars: Dark Times: The Path to Nowhere
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * The Last of the Jedi: Underworld
 * The Last of the Jedi: Death on Naboo
 * The Last of the Jedi: Against the Empire
 * Millennium Falcon
 * Evil Eyes
 * Star Wars: Dark Times 6: Parallels, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Republic: Into the Unknown
 * Star Wars: Dark Times: The Path to Nowhere
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * The Last of the Jedi: Underworld
 * The Last of the Jedi: Death on Naboo
 * The Last of the Jedi: Against the Empire
 * Millennium Falcon
 * Millennium Falcon
 * Millennium Falcon

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2
 * LEGO Star Wars: Revenge of the Brick
 * Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron

Notes and references
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