TIE/D Automated Fighter
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| TIE/D fighter | |
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| Manufacturer | |
| Model | TIE/D automated fighter |
| Class | Starfighter |
| Armament | Twin laser cannons |
| Crew | Integrated Cybot Galactica Ace-6 droid brain |
| Affiliation |
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In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, a Droid TIE fighter or TIE/D fighter is a vehicle used by the Galactic Empire. Prior to using clones, the Empire used Droid TIE Fighters in fighting off the New Republic. It is also called the TIE/D Fighter, which is the abbreviation for TIE Drone not TIE Droid.
Designed by Sienar Fleet Systems and General Arndall Lott, who modelled them after the automation of the Katana fleet, TIE/Ds are a vast improvement over his original prototypes. They are fast, small and very expendable. Much like the TIE Fighter, they are powered by twin ion engines but piloted by a droid brain, a Cybot Galactica Ace-6 fighter unit. The computerized units can be programmed with the latest tactics and combat protocols. But the programming has proven to be inferior to the unpredictability and battlefield ingenuity of living pilots.
As the craft did not possess a living pilot and the droid brain weighed considerably less, the extra mass was used to improve its armour plating. The craft also featured rectangular radiator-arrays with cut outs similar to the TIE Interceptor which gave the ship the extra power by letting it radiate more waste-heat — used to improve its maneuverability.
The TIE/D was developed by the Imperial Remnant to serve as expendable support fighters for living TIE pilots, since living pilots were in short supply. Prior to the Battle of Endor, the demand for automated fighters had been low when the Empire had an endless supply of clone and Academy-trained personnel at its disposal. Though the Clone Wars had shown the effectiveness of living pilots over droid starfighters, Imperial engineers were still determined to produce the ultimate automated space combat fighter.
They first saw action against the New Republic in Mon Calamari six years after the Battle of Endor (10 ABY). However, most of the TIE/D factories in existence were aboard the resurrected Emperor Palpatine's World Devastators, which had been destroyed in the Battle of Mon Calamari, and manufacturers have chosen to devote their resources to traditional starfighters, rather than to the TIE/Ds.
[edit] References
- Dark Empire, trade paperback, 1993. Tom Veitch, ISBN 1-56971-073-2
- The Dark Empire sourcebook, Wizards of the Coast, 1st edition, 1993. Horne, Michael, ISBN 0-87431-194-2
- The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels (Star Wars), 1st printing, 1996. Bill Smith, ISBN 0-590-02361-6
- Star Wars: Rouge Squadron
| Vehicles of the Galactic Empire | |
|---|---|
| Entries in italics denote vehicles from the Expanded Universe | |
| Ground vehicles | |
| AT-ST | AT-AT | AT-TE | 74-Z Speeder Bike | Juggernaut | AT-PT | TIE crawler | |
| Starfighters | |
| TIE Fighter | TIE Interceptor | TIE Bomber | TIE Advanced x1 | TIE Avenger | TIE Defender | TIE/D fighter
TIE Hunter | TIE Phantom | Assault Gunboat | Missile Boat | Skipray Blastboat | A-9 Vigilance |
|
| Capital ships | |
| Star Destroyer | Super Star Destroyer | Executor | Nebulon-B Frigate | Corellian Corvette
Lancer-Class Frigate | Interdictor Cruiser | Carrack-Class Light Cruiser |
|
| Other | |
| Lambda-class shuttle | Death Star | Walker Dropship | World Devastator | Sun Crusher | |
| See also | |
| Star Wars air vehicles | Star Wars aquatic vehicles | Star Wars ground vehicles | Star Wars starfighters | Star Wars support craft |
|
