History

The Alliance brain trust of Jan Dodonna and engineer Walex Blissex developed the A-wing starfighter after examining the role of speed in the Battle of Yavin and the sleek fighters developed by the Tamuuz-an. The top-secret result of their experimentation was the A-wing, the fastest vessel of the Galactic Civil War. The A-wing has it's roots in the Delta-7 Aethersprite that was designed for the Jedi Knights shortly before the clone wars, as Blissex lead the design team that developed the Delta-7.

While the X-wing is durable and reliable, it is slower than Imperial starfighters and less maneuverable. The A-wing is one of the fastest fighters currently in production, and has the agility to compete with all but the most maneuverable of the TIE series.

The A-wing fighter was built for the Alliance after the loss of the Hoth base and prior to the Battle of Endor. Because the Alliance was short on funds, most A-Wings were custom-built in private shops. Consequently, replacements of this fighter dribbled in, and they all had subtle differences in their construction. For example, the A-wing that Tycho Celchu flew in the Battle of Endor was built on Cardooine and its cockpit was inlaid with Fijisi wood.

Design

The A-wing is a flat, one-man, wedged-shaped snub 9.6 meters in length. The shape of the fighter when looked at from above resembles the letter "A", and that is where it's name is derived from.

The A-wing does suffer from breakdowns if not properly maintained due largely to the stress on the chassis and power systems caused by the fighter's massive thruster package. If one engine pops out of synch with it's twin, because of a loss of reactor chamber pressure for example, then the fighter has to be taken out of service and repaired immediately. Other fighters have damper systems to prevent that, but the A-wing is delicately balanced machine that needs to be kept in perfect tune to perform. Because of this coupled with the often unreasonable performance demands placed on it by pilots, this fast-moving starfighter has one of the worst operational records in the fleet. With proper care, however, the A-wing is one of the deadliest fighters in space.

Weapons

The A-wing fighter is classified as an Interceptor, and so puts speed and maneuverability over raw power.

The A-Wing is armed with, 2 Borstel RG-9 Laser Cannons. While this may seem like a light armament even for an interceptor, the A-wing makes up in quality what it lacks in quantity. A unique mounting configuration greatly increases combat effectiveness. A short hydro-servo bearing at the end of each wing tip allows both cannons to elevate and depress 60 degrees. Consequently, A-wings can engage targets from much wider angles than other starfighters. They can open fire much sooner on an oblique approach and continue firing even after they begin to pull away. A few field modified A-wings can swivel their cannons 180 degrees to shoot straight back, but they are rare. A separate dedicated power converter feeds each cannon.

The A-wing also has twin Dymek HM-6 Concussion Missile Launchers in the leading edge of each wing. These launchers are packed with a magazine of 6 warheads each, making this a very dangerous fighter to dogfight with.

Engines and Systems

The twin Novaldex J-77 Event Horizon engines are some of the largest mounted on a starfighter, giving the A-wing one of the highest power to weight ratios of any fighter. These engines push the tiny craft through realspace, giving it phenomenal sublight speed and performance. Its top sublight speed is 120 MGLT, and can maneuver at 1,300 kilometers per hour in an atmosphere.

A MPS Bpr-99 Power Core and Fusion Reactor power the engines. The A-wing uses an Incom GBk-785 Hyperdrive Motivation Unit to give it a hyperspeed multiplier of x1, produced by famed starfighter manufacturer Incom. The Awing designers went with a Microaxial LpL-449 NavCom Unit over an astromech, and as a result the A-wing can only store two hyper-jump coordinates.

Recon A-wing (A-wing R)

The reconnaissance version of the A-wing starfighter is specially modified to perform high speed reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. It is packed with sophisticated sensors and ECM equipment, and the Novaldex J-77 engines have been tweaked to provide maximum performance. Twin Sensor pods have replaced the laterally-mounted laser cannons. For self-defense, the Recon A-Wing has a single laser cannon mounted in the starboard missile bay, with its own power generator so as not to draw power from the engines. The port missile bay remains unchanged, and is usually loaded with magnetic-pulse torpedoes.

Weakness

The major weakness of the A-Wing is its weak shields and hull. This is countered by it's incredible speed and maneuverability, and so it take a remarkable pilot to exploit this weakness.

Statistics

Starfighter Specifications

Overview
Name: A-Wing
Model: Dodonna/Blissex RZ-1
Designer: Jan Dodonna and Walex Blissex
Manufacturer: Rebellion (various small workshops)
Combat Designation: Interception/Recon Starfighter
Crew: 1 pilot
Length: 9.6 m
Width: 6.2 m
Height: ? m
Cargo Capacity: 40 kg
Power System: MPS Bpr-99 Power Core and Fusion Reactor
Propulsion System: Twin Novaldex J-77 Event Horizion Engines
Speed Rating: 120 MGLT
Flight Control System: Torplex Rq9.Z Advanced Avionics Control
Navigation: Microaxial LpL-449 NavCom Unit
Maneuverability Rating: 96 DPF
Hyperdrive: Incom GBk-785 Hyperdrive Motivation Unit (class 1)

Sensor Systems
ANs-7e Sensor Unit
Long Range Phased Tachyon Detection Array Model Number PA-9r
Short Range Primary Threat Analysis Grid Number PG-7u

Targeting Computer
Fabritech ANq 3.6 Target Tracker
IN-3444-B Sightline Holographic Crosshairs

Weapons
Two Borstel RG-9 Laser Cannons
Two Dymek HM-6 Concussion Missile Launchers (6 missiles each)

Shields/Armor
Forward/Rear Projecting Sirplex Z-9 Shields (50 SBD)
Titanium Alloy hull (15 RU)

Special Design Feature
hydro-servo pivoting laser cannons

Credits