- "This one's a troop carrier, not a starfighter, but it wears all the hallmarks of the TIE design."
- ―Antoc Merrick in The Rebel Files
The TIE/rp Reaper attack lander, also known simply as the TIE Reaper, was a troop carrier variant of Sienar Fleet Systems's TIE fighter series used by the Galactic Empire. The TIE Reaper differed from the standard craft of the TIE line as it was primarily a troop dropship; it was designed for ferrying troops amidst the heat of battle, such as the death troopers during the Battle of Scarif.
Characteristics[]
The TIE/rp Reaper attack lander[15] was a troop carrier[4] variant of the TIE fighter series.[1] Also known as the TIE Reaper,[3] the starship was manufactured by Sienar Fleet Systems, as with all craft of the TIE line,[1] and used by the Galactic Empire.[2]
The transport was designed specifically to ferry elite troops to flashpoints on a battlefield.[9] Thus, the attack lander featured two streamlined flat, pointed, horizontal wings,[2] which had a large horizontal stabilizer hinged between[6] and functioned also as solar collectors.[7] At 24.2 meters long, 16.5 meters wide, and 4.7 meters high, a new TIE Reaper cost 140,000 credits, while a used one cost 65,000 credits. The vessel was also equipped with shields, ejector seats, and life-support systems, and it held enough consumables for five days.[6]
Thrust was provided by[7] the dropship's[1] 90 MGLT twin ion engines, with the vessel having a maximum speed of 950 kph. Its Class 1 hyperdrive[6] could be accessed from[8] the cockpit, which housed three seats lined alongside the front-facing window and uncluttered space behind. From the seats, a single pilot could operate the craft,[8] which had a T-s9a targeting computer, SFS N-a1 Navcon navigation system, and two SFS L-s9.3 laser cannons.[6]
The TIE Reaper was similar in design to the TIE/sk x1 experimental air superiority fighter, also known as the TIE striker, a streamlined TIE variant specialized for in-atmosphere missions,[16] such as patrolling important Imperial ground-based installations.[17] The two units complemented each other at the Imperial security complex on Scarif, where they operated alongside Surface Command and the Imperial Army's Scarif Deployment[4] battling rebel forces.[2]
History[]
Early in the reign of the Galactic Empire, the Ninth Sister of the Inquisitorius used a TIE Reaper as her personal transport.[10]
A TIE Reaper was used as part of the forces sent to respond to the mass uprising on the Narkina 5 Imperial Prison Complex. It flew above the canyon where Cassian Andor and Ruescott Melshi were hiding, having just escaped from the facility, narrowly missing them[18]. Years later, at least one TIE Reaper was present in the Ring of Kafrene during Rebel Alliance Captain Cassian Andor's mission to the asteroid belt in 0 BBY, and another TIE Reaper was present during the mission to Eadu, piloted by Captain Feroph.[19] Another TIE Reaper was present near the Scarif Shield Gate, where it was piloted by Major Vermeil of the Imperial Starfighter Corps.[13]
A TIE Reaper was used during the Battle of Scarif with Imperial Director[2] of Advanced Weapons Research Orson Krennic's detatchment of death troopers—elite soldiers of Imperial Intelligence.[12] The squad was inserted into battle to defeat Rogue One—a squad of rebel soldiers who took it upon themselves to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's moon-sized battlestation and planet-killing superweapon. In order to ensure the TIE Reaper could successfully insert the squad, it was escorted by a flight of TIE strikers.[2]
In 3 ABY,[20] a pair of TIE Reapers were utilized by Imperial forces under Darth Vader to travel to the Meridional Ice Cap on Tython, expecting to find the Rebel Alliance's base of operations. When the Imperials were thwarted by the Ice Cap's booby traps, Vader ordered them back to the ships. However, Vader's snowtroopers were betrayed and killed by the rogue assassin droids BT-1 and 0-0-0, who allied themselves with Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra, though they were in turn disabled by Vader. Aphra later escaped with one of the Reapers along with the memory cores of the droids.[8]
Sometime between 32 and 34 ABY,[21] the Ranc Gang, a criminal organization formed from remnants of the Galactic Empire, had TIE Reapers under their command on the planet Kaddak.[14]
Behind the scenes[]
The TIE/rp Reaper attack lander first appeared, albeit unnamed, in the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story[2] and was designed by co-production designer Doug Chiang.[22] The starship was first identified as TIE Reaper in Electronic Arts' mobile game Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes.[3]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
- Andor — "Daughter of Ferrix"
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (First appearance)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Graphic Novel Adaptation
- Rogue One Adaptation 6
- Doctor Aphra (2016) 40
- "In Service to the Empire" — Empire Ascendant 1
- Doctor Aphra (2020) 25 (In flashback(s))
- Alphabet Squadron
- Alphabet Squadron audiobook
- "Hunted" on the official Electronic Arts Star Wars YouTube channel (video) (backup link)
- Star Wars: Squadrons
- Count to Three on Electronic Arts' official website (article) (backup link)
- Victory's Price
- Victory's Price audiobook
- Poe Dameron 10
- Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes (First identified as TIE Reaper)
Non-canon appearances[]
- Star Wars: Visions — "T0-B1" (Ambiguous canonicity)
- Visions: T0-B1: The Droid Who Became a Jedi (Ambiguous canonicity)
Sources[]
- The Art of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story "Binding the Galaxy, Pt 2" on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- Star Wars: The Rebel Files
- Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles
- Knights of Fate (First identified as TIE/rp Reaper attack lander)
- Star Wars Helmet Collection 71 (Helmets: General Merrick) (Picture only)
- Star Wars Helmet Collection 79 (Highlights of the Saga: The Battle of Scarif) (Picture only)
- TIE Fighter Owners' Workshop Manual
- Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
- Star Wars: Squadrons Screenshots on StarWars.com (backup link)
- "TIE Fighters" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Star Wars Starships & Vehicles 2 (Starships and Vehicles: TIE Series (1))
- Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide