With Star Wars: Squadrons being such a detailed and immersive game that allows players to truly appreciate each class's strengths and weaknesses and each individual ship, it is nearly impossible to pick an outright best ship. However, there is no doubt that the TIE Interceptor is in the conversation, just as it is when talking about common individual starfighters like the X-wing and TIE Fighter.

RELATED: Star Wars: Squadrons: 10 Things Most Fans Didn't Know They Could Do

The TIE Interceptor is nowhere near as iconic as those two ships, but it still has a history to it and has seen itself present across many in-universe decades and across many pieces of content, meaning there are many things about the ship fans do not know.

The Cost

One of the many magical aspects of Star Wars is getting lost. Watching the movies and having no cares in the world except for what is on screen. Due to this, it is easy to forget about many of the real-life based questions that arise, such as the costs of all these ships.

New, a TIE Interceptor cost the 120,000 credits, 5o,000 used, costing exactly double that of the TIE Fighter, both used and new. Kylo Ren's modified TIE Silencer, seen in The Last Jedi, cost 310,000 credits.

Size & Speed

The TIE Interceptor is the Imperial ship most known for its speed and ability to take out starfighters. In terms of size, it is longer than both the TIE Fighter and bomber at 11.45m, with a width of 8.08 and a depth/height of 7.2m.

It is obviously no slouch in the size department, but speed is where it really shines. The ship has a maximum acceleration of 4,420 G (force on gravity), a maximum atmospheric speed of 1,250 kph, and an MGLT (Megalight per hour), the relative sublight speed of a ship in realspace of 110, faster than the other aforementioned fighters in every way.

Response To The Rebellion's Fast Ships

While the TIE Interceptor is incredibly quick, it still did not reach the capabilities of the Alliance to Restore the Republic's RZ-1 A-wing fighter, which was faster in MGLT, max acceleration, and max atmospheric speed.

That was the entire reason a ship in the vein of the TIE Interceptor got commissioned by the Empire; they wanted a ship to respond to the increasing speed of the rebel ships, with the TIE Interceptor eventually being the ship to get mass-produced for this purpose.

Only Mass Manufactured Due To The Cost Of TIE Advanced x1

Darth Vader's TIE Fighter from Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope.

However, the first proposed ship to fulfill this purpose of speed and maneuverability was not the TIE Interceptor, but rather a prototype ship, the TIE Advanced x1.

RELATED: Star Wars: Top 10 Ships From The Sequel Trilogy

This ship was a highly experimental and modified model created by Sienar Fleet Systems that would eventually be used by Darth Vader during the Battle of Yavin. The reason the TIE Interceptor was eventually mass-produced over this ship was due to how high of a cost there would be to mass produce the TIE Advanced x1. A single unit cost 40,000 more credits than the TIE Interceptor new.

More Time On-Screen Outside Of The Movies

TIE Interceptors attack in Return Of The Jedi.

There is a slew of well-known, even iconic, starfighters such as the X-wing and TIE Fighter, and behind those two, the TIE Interceptor is a recognizable and beloved ship by those fans who love this side of the franchise. However, despite this, the TIE Interceptor has only appeared in one Star Wars film to date, Return of the Jedi.

Kylo Ren's personal and modified TIE's also appeared in the sequel trilogy, but the core TIE only appears in one film, something not many fans realize, with the ship spending most of its on-screen time either in video games or in Rebels.

Use Of Solar Panels

A TIE Interceptor attacks in Star Wars.

One common feature among the TIE line of ships are the solar panels, these being the black sections of the wing that look a totally different material to that of the silver metal surrounding them.

The TIE Interceptor has quite large solar panels which were deliberately put in place by the manufacturers. These solar panels, also known as solar collectors captured solar radiation, producing energy for the ship, with the Interceptor's solar panels helping give the ship the necessary energy to keep up its high-intensity flying.

Enlarged Engines

TIE Interceptor in Star Wars Battlefront

It was not just big solar panels that were deliberately designed into the ships by Sienar Fleet Systems, there were many aspects to the TIE Interceptor placed deliberately to aid with its immense power output.

RELATED: Star Wars: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Popular Empire Villains

This included enlarged versions of the twin ion engines of which the TIE line gets its iconic name. The enlarged engines allowed for the TIE Interceptor to move at a faster pace, although it obviously did not help it rise to the level of the RZ-1 A-wing.

Used By Elite Pilots, Not Expendables

Star Wars Squadrons Cinematic Trailer Varko Grey

The Empire is a ruthless, hate-filled, fear-inducing organization whose tyranny and dictatorship affected the entire Galaxy. But their evil ways and general lack of empathy did not stop with the entire Galaxy, it infiltrated their own ranks.

TIE Fighters were in total abundance, there were more TIE Fighters during the Empire's reign than there was any other starfighter at any single point in history, and they were completely expendable. So too were the pilots, who were told their lives did not matter and they would be allowed to die without a second thought. For TIE Interceptor's though, elite pilots were chosen, pilots who were skilled and not as expendable as the more average TIE Fighter pilots.

First Order's Version

The First Order retained a lot from the Empire. The tyrannical nature, the craving of power, the inducing of fear, and much of the technology and equipment used during the Galactic Civil War.

But one piece of technology not many will know was retained by the First Order was the TIE Interceptor. Not the exact model, of course, the First Order had their own upgraded Interceptor known as the TIE/ba Baron Space Superiority Interceptor, but the reason not many fans know it exists is because it did not appear in the sequel trilogy, with its only on-screen appearances coming in Star Wars: Resistance.

One-Fifth Of The Empire's Fleet

There were at least 4.6 million TIE Fighters produced for the Galactic Empire throughout their twenty-plus year reign, making up most of the Empire's fleet and becoming one of the most iconic ships in cinematic and pop culture history in the process.

The TIE Interceptors were not in short supply, however, even though they were not seen as expendable. By the time of the Battle of Endor, at 4ABY, the TIE Interceptor's made up approximately one fifth of the Empire's fleet.

NEXT: Star Wars Squadrons: The Best & Worst Things About The Game