E-Wing Advanced Knowledge Notes

Introduction

Welcome to the E-Wing Advanced Knowledge course! This course will review the background and technical specifications of the E-Wing. While most of this information will be predominantly based on sources from the "Legends" canon, we will also hold a brief discussion of the craft based on its appearances in the "New" canon as well. Additionally, we will discuss information about the role the craft has played in history of the Emperor's Hammer, and the community members that helped support its appearance in many of our gaming platforms.

Background

As the Rebellion reshaped itself into a more formal government structure (the so-called "New Republic"), they now had the resources of an established government, far beyond what they commanded when they were a simple uprising. A new starfighter, one backed by a new government that no longer had to rely on rebellious engineers or corporate defectors, was an obvious next step.

Under this environment, the E-Wing was born - a top-of-the-line modern starfighter developed by the original designers of the X-Wing, intended to be the new face of the New Republic. While it has never lived up to those lofty standards, it has been a regular part of the New Republic Fleet in the decades since its introduction at the World Devestators' attack on Mon Calamari in 10 ABY.

Design

The E-Wing was to be the first starfighter built by the New Republic, and for this task they turned to a trusted group, if not a known name. FreiTek, a company formed by the Incom design team that famously developed the X-Wing fighter and then defected to the Rebellion with their design, was given the monumental task of building a successor to their beloved creation.

The goal was to create a starfighter that would be an improvement upon the X-Wing in every conceivable way: faster, stronger, more powerful, with any weakness of the X-Wing addressed. A pair of FreiTek’s own J8F fusial thrust engines were selected, promising speeds near equal to an A-Wing. A trio of Taim & Bak IX9 laser cannons promised a more powerful punch than what was available to an X-Wing, and the pair of proton torpedo launchers would be given a capacity of sixteen proton torpedoes, nearly three times the capacity of a standard X-Wing. Its heavy armor was carefully balanced to still maintain phenomenal maneuverability, managing to make it both more durable and maneuverable than the craft it was intended to replace. Finally FreiTek opted to remove the famous S-Foil design of the X-Wing (in hopes of reducing production and maintenance costs), and eliminated the exposed R2 unit placement in favor of a concealed astromech droid placement within the fighter itself, relying on the latest and greatest astromech droid model from Industrial Automation, the R7-series.

The latter choice would prove to be highly controversial: the E-Wing would initially only function using an R7, which was the only astromech model with the technical capabilities to handle the complexity of E-Wing’s internal systems and control units. This placed a "hidden cost" upon the Republic military, which was now tasked with not only budgeting for a brand new starfighter, but also Industrial Automation’s latest (and most expensive) astromech droid. This presented an immediate barrier to adoption for the E-Wing, established before a single fighter had even left the production line.

Issues

Complaints about the R7 were immediately common, although whether it was due to the high cost of an R7 or the emotional impact of pilots being forced to discard their R2 and R5 droids in favor of a newer model is debatable.

What is not debatable, however, is that the first E-Wing models launched with a serious defect. The laser cannons, already controversial among pilots (3 cannons being perceived as worse than 4 cannons, by simple math if not completely rational thinking) proved to have a serious flaw. The synthetic Tibana gas that powered the lasers was soon found to degrade at accelerated rates, immediately reducing the range and the effectiveness of the promised “fire-linked” laser cannons. These problems occurred in the open, at the highly visible World Devastators' assault of Mon Calamari - an inauspicious start for what was supposed to be the replacement of the beloved X-Wing.

Republic technicians and engineers quickly concieved of a temporary fix. By tripling the power sent through the cannons’ actuators, they could increase the range and deliver a devestating burst of "fire-linked" lasers. This had two drawbacks, however: Laser fire would be released in "bursts" (instead of a steady release) and this "quick fix" left the craft open to an internal power overload. While not perfect, many pilots preferred this modification, even with the risks. E-Wings modified in this manner were referred to as "Type B" E-Wings.

Aftermath

FreiTek would go on to correct the E-Wing's technical deficencies and common complaints. The "Series 4" E-Wing utilized more stable gas, introduced a secondary power generator for the weapons system, and was capable of interfacing with older droid units like the R2. But the damage was done. Regardless of the fixes and corrections made to account for these issues, the E-Wing suffered from a poor reputation. FreiTek itself would disappear from public light, being absorbed by Incom when the FreiTek founders were appointed as the new leaders of Incom. The corporation once touted as the future of starfighter manufacturing was now simply a forgotten division of a larger company with a longer and more trustworthy history.

Incom, now led by the founders of FreiTek, would go on to produce newer models of X-Wing, with their XJ-series X-Wing immediately a hit with both pilots and politicans alike. The X-Wing would again resume its place as the highly-visible lead starfighter in the Republic fleet, displacing the E-Wing from the role it was intended for, yet never achieved.

While perhaps not the star it was designed to be, the E-Wing continues to serve the Republic faithfully, and remains a visible part of its navy even through today.

Appearances in New Canon

In an alternative timeline, E-Wings were a part of the New Republic Navy as of 9 ABY. A squadron was deployed to Lothal and was present during the festivities celeberating the anniversary Rebellion's victory at the Battle of Lothal.

These E-Wings are similar in design, but do not appear to have the top laser cannon, reducing the cannon count from three to two. While they still require the use of R7 astromech droids, the droid is not housed within an interior chamber, and instead is exposed, similar to astromech droid placement in X-Wing or Y-Wing crafts.

Use by the Emperor's Hammer

The E-Wing was first provided to the Infiltrator Wing for use by Mutt, CEO of the Infiltration Engineering Systems of the Corporate Division. This came via a patch for X-Wing Disk that modified an X-Wing to instead appear as an E-Wing.

The next E-Wing advancement for the Infiltrator Wing was developed by then-Major General Dogger, commodore of the FRG Ka'Tal, who provided a pathway towards use of "Type B" E-Wings. This patch, for X-Wing CD, provided pilots with the "fire-linked" laser bursts the "Type B" E-Wing was known for. This patch contained the following background information, describing how E-Wings were discovered by the Infiltrator Wing, and how they were originally deployed:

Fighters from the FRG Ka'Tal, posing as an escort for a Rebel convoy, managed to capture the entire convoy, although the contents were thought to be worthless. Upon inspection, the freighters were found to contain E-Wings. After some discussion, it was decided that the newly captured ships would be assigned to Laser Squadron, because a ship this versatile would be necessary to protect Moff Renegade. The E-Wing is also used by some command officers.

Both Mutt and Dogger's offerings brought tremendous attention to the Emperor's Hammer and the Infiltrator Wing, released at a time when ship patches for X-Wing or TIE Fighter were highly uncommon.

The E-Wing has never been officially included as a flyable ship in any game platform supported by the Emperor's Hammer. E-Wing patches have been developed by Emperor Hammer's members for other platforms, and are credited as follows:

• Kermee (TIE Fighter Remasted and X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter)
• Ender mBind (Balance of Power)
• Xavier Sienar (X-Wing Alliance)

E-Wing Specifications

Model: E-7 E-wing multi-role starfighter (Series 1)
Manufacturer: FreiTek Inc.
Combat Designation: Escort starfighter
Length: 11.2 meters
Maximum acceleration: 4,200 G
MGLT: 120 MGLT
Maximum atmospheric speed: 1,300 km/h
Engine unit(s): FreiTek J8LF fusial thrust engines
Hyperdrive rating: Class 2
Power plant: Power generator
Shielding: Deflector shield generator
Hull: Heavy armor
Sensor systems: Primary sensor array
Targeting systems: Fire control systems
Navigation system: 10-jump memory (R7 astromech)
Laser Cannons: Three Taim & Bak IX9 laser cannons
Warhead Launchers: Two Proton torpedo launchers
Warhead Capacity: 16 Proton torpedoes capacity
Crew: Pilot, R7-series astromech droid
Passengers: None
Cargo capacity: 110 kg
Consumables: 1 week

Credits

Created by Locke Setzer, based on his Imperial University dissertation for Graduate of Starfighter Operations, "E-Wing: A failure of design or a failure of adoption?"

Sources

"E-Wing starfighter", StarWars.com. July 11, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110714062924/http://starwars.com/databank/starship/ewing/index.html

Andrew Fischer et al., Star Wars: Age of Rebellion: Stay on Target (Fantasy of Flight Games)

Bill Smith, Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels, (Del Ray)

Blackman, W. Haden, The New Essential Guide to Vehicles & Vessels (Del Rey)

Jason Fry, The Essential Guide to Warfare (Random House, 2012)

"E-Wing escort fighter", Wookiepedia. https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/E-wing_escort_starfighter

James Whitbrook, "The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of the E-Wing, Star Wars' Legendary Starfighter", io9.com. July 19, 2023. https://gizmodo.com/star-wars-ahsoka-e-wing-starfighter-explained-disney-1850656178

Disclaimer

While many source books were referenced during the development of this course, not all information aligns across each source. This course only includes information referenced across multiple sources, and disregards any data points that are only included in a single source and conflict with other sourcebooks, novel descriptions, or visual representations. In circumstances where multiple sources disagree, the information is omitted or preference is given to whichever source more closely aligns with the descriptions in novelizations and/or visualizations showcased in graphic novels.