RZ-1 A-wing interceptor/Legends

The A-wing, a fictional interceptor starfighter in the Star Wars universe, is used by the Rebel Alliance. It is the smallest, fastest and most maneuverable of the Rebel fighters. In the movie trilogy, it is seen only in the final Battle of Endor, where one crashes into the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer Executor to send it crashing into the Death Star.

The A-wing has very limited shielding, and relies on its high linear acceleration and maneuverability to avoid destruction. The fighter was designed by Alliance General Jan Dodonna and Alliance engineer Walex Blissex. The A-Wing's predecessor was the R-22 Spearhead. It was initially designed as a fleet interceptor, utilizing its extraordinarily high acceleration to stop enemy fighters before they could reach vulnerable freighters. However, it was soon pressed into service as a quick-strike fighter, able to hit targets before they could respond, and then flee before any defense could be organized.

Also, a devastating attack, known as the A-Wing Slash was developed to rip Imperial ships to shreds. A group of X-Wings would approach an Imperial convoy, hiding A-Wings in their drive exhaust. The X-Wings would then pull away, leaving TIE Fighters flatfooted against the speedy A-Wings, which would launch concussion missiles against the convoy and pull away.

Some A-Wing variants had their laser cannons modified to swivel, greatly improving its firing arcs. Some of those designs even had their guns modified to swivel in a complete 360 degree arc, thus providing a nasty surprise to any chasing fighter.

In the X-wing computer game series, the A-wing was the rebel fighter of choice for dogfighting. Its high speed, maneoverability, and default load of concussion missiles made it more than a match for the TIE Fighter and TIE Interceptor and the only Rebel fighter capable of taking on the TIE Advanced on reasonably equal terms.