RZ-1 A-wing interceptor/Legends

RZ-1 A-wing interceptor "The A-wing is the fastest fighter in the fleet. What it lacks in shields, it makes up for in speed and maneuverability."

- General Carlist Rieekan

The RZ-1 A-wing interceptor was a starfighter designed by the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War. One of the fastest interceptors in the known Galaxy, next to the TIE/In starfighter, the A-wing was the design and functional heir of the Alpha/Delta/Eta line.

Characteristics


Simply put, the A-wing was a cockpit attached to twin engines. Like its Clone Wars predecessor, the Eta-2, the A-wing required pilots' exceptional skill to take full advantage of the vessel's speed, agility and special features&mdash;and the Alliance lacked the Galactic Republic's Jedi pilots.

A-wings presented a number of challenges to pilots. Its Event Horizon engines remained some of the most powerful sublight thrusters two decades past the A-wing's creation and were linked to highly sensitive controls. Pilots had to make use of two pairs of dorsal and ventral adjustable stabilizer wings with great care, as a minor turn could send the speedy A-wing into a massive spinout.

The slight A-wing's wing-mounted laser cannons could rotate up and down sixty degrees for greater fire control. 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. While a tactical boon, the A-wing had no astromech droid to manage its weapons systems, requiring further attention from the pilot. In addition, the central position of the cockpit exposed the pilot to most enemy fire.

The combination of sensitive controls, unmatched sublight thrust, maneuverable weapon systems, advanced sensory and stealth packages, fragility, and heavily exposed cockpit strained even the best pilot. A-wings earned the nickname "slims" for their small frame, but also for the "slim" chance of a pilot surviving a direct hit on the ship, and the cramped cockpit that prevented larger pilots from flying the A-wing.

Development


The genesis of the A-wing resides in General Jan Dodonna's post-battle analysis of the Battle of Yavin. The value of Alliance starfighters were undeniable in the battle&mdash;but Dodonna was concerned that a simple trio of TIE starfighters had almost foiled the trench run. Knowing that the Imperial Navy was conducting similar analyses and would come to the same conclusions, Dodonna set about planning the creation of a dedicated Alliance interceptor. His prediction was perceptive, as Sienar Fleet Systems engineers began work on the TIE Interceptor, an Imperial fighter the A-wing could match in speed.

To design the starfighter, Dodonna turned to Walex Blissex, famed ex-Kuat Systems Engineering engineer. Blissex had valuable experience from his work on the Clone Wars-era Delta-7 and Alpha-3 interceptors, and the two set about drawing up designs. Basing their initial designs around the R-22 Spearhead (which was already nicknamed by pilots as A-wing, perhaps a play on the ancient A-wing military fighter and to be consistent with the -wing names of other Rebel craft), the pair drafted a proposal and presented it to Chief of State Mon Mothma.

Dodonna and Blissex's timing was not well-chosen: while the victory at Yavin had jolted thousands of worlds into rebellion, it had brought down Emperor Palpatine's wrath and scattered the Alliance. As such, funding was tight, and the A-wing program presented a major investment for the credit-strapped Alliance. Nevertheless, Dodonna's fame from his role in the Yavin victory made a denial difficult, and Mothma approved a reduced amount of funding.

Early production


To fit within their reduced budget, Dodonna and Blissex made substantial modifications to the original design. Blissex redrafted his component list to use components readily available within the Ministry of Supply and pushed each piece of the A-wing past original factory performance. The earliest A-wings were manufactured across Alliance facilities like Cardooine and Chardaan Shipyards. Each starfighter was hand-assembled, resulting in a slow production rate and a number of interesting modifications.

The combination of hand assembly, use of second-hand components, the number of complex systems packed into the starfighter's small frame, and a general lack of quality control made A-wings notorious for their high maintenance to flight ratio&mdash;the second worst in the Alliance fleet in 3 ABY.

As a result, the Alliance was able to field few full squadrons of A-wings; by 4 ABY, the fleet was able to summon only one full unit for the Battle of Endor. Only a handful of crack units, like Nomad Squadron or Pash Cracken's wing, were maintained across Alliance forces.

Operational deployment
"Any pilot who volunteers to fly an A-wing better be brave or crazy. Probably helps to be a little of both."

- General Han Solo



The first Alliance raids using A-wings surprised Imperial forces, which had been unable to penetrate the veil of secrecy over the interceptor's development. A lone A-wing piloted by Arvel Crynyd played a major role when it destroyed the Star Dreadnought Executor during the Battle of Endor, when it rammed the ship's bridge.

Although designed to defend static stations or slow Alliance starships from starfighter raids, the guerilla tactics of the post-Yavin Alliance strategy found the A-wing pressed into service as a quick-strike fighter. Using its impressive straight-line acceleration and advanced jamming package, A-wings were able to hit targets before they could respond, and then flee before any defense could be organized.

This change found its apex in a devastating tactic known as the A-wing Slash. A group of X-wings would approach an Imperial convoy, hiding A-wings in their drive exhaust. The X-wings would then pull away, diverting attention away from the speedy A-wings, which would launch HM-6 concussion missiles against the convoy and pull away.

The A-wing also found use in reconnaissance missions, and would become a favorite among Fleet Intelligence and Alliance Intelligence operatives for its speed. A team of A-wings could exit hyperspace near an Imperial objective, begin jamming enemy sensors, draw scans and holographic imagery, and retreat before being detected. If it was detected, the pilots could easily outrun any pursuers ensuring the safety of the pilots and the intelligence.

While the A-wing became popular for hit-and-fade raids and reconnaissance duty, it was required to operate from a nearby base of operations or carrier ship because of its navigational computer's limitations. A-wings could only make two hyperspace jumps before their navcomps required recalibration.

Replacement


Shortly after the Battle of Endor, the second generation A-wing, the Mark II, entered production. It is unclear what precise updates were applied, but it was presumably produced under more standardized conditions than its hand-made predecessors, allowing for greater numbers. While A-wings were originally built on an individual basis by the Alliance itself, the Mark II was mass produced by the Incom Corporation. The one confirmed alteration is that the laser cannons of the A-wing Mark II were configured for full 360-degree rotation.

The value of a high speed interceptor was clear, but the A-wing had major defensive and navigational limitations. Thus, new starfighters like the E-wing or T-65AC4 X-wing were created with comparable speed, but heavier shields and armor, astromech compabilitity, and more powerful weapons. Despite the introduction of newer starfighters and efforts standardize fleet operations, the A-wing's exceptional design allowed it to endure through the Yuuzhan Vong War. It is possible that the A-wing's continued service was facilitated by improving the engines for even greater performance.

A number of A-wings also found their way into civilian hands, often being used as scout vessels or escape vehicles. Squadrons were also captured by pirates, who used them in the same raiding capacity as the Alliance.

Behind the scenes



 * Production paintings for Return of the Jedi show the A-wing painted in blue markings, but these were changed to red to allow the models to be filmed for bluescreen. According to the X-wing games, red signifies Red Squadron. A-wings from other squadrons bear their respective color.


 * The craft was originally known only as "A fighter" during the production of Return of the Jedi.


 * A-wings appear in the games Star Wars: Empire at War, Star Wars: X-wing, and Star Wars: Rebel Assault; however, those games are set several years before the A-wing is stated to have been developed, making it an anomaly. Thus, it is likely that these ships are actually R-22 Spearheads, and therefore all pre-Yavin A-wing instances have been retconned to be.


 * Like some other ships (Executor, for example), the size of the A-wing is in dispute. Fans argue that the 9.6 meters and the derived width and height are too big. A comparisation between the headroom of the pilot and the relative size of the cockpit to the entire fighter shows that the actual length is around 4.8 meters. However, like the issue on Home One, the official length, for now, remains 9.6 meters.


 * The weapons payload of the A-wing varies from source to source, with some not having the concussion missile launchers.