The latest game in the iconic Star Wars franchise, Star Wars: Squadrons, is one unlike any other, taking immersion to a whole other level by making the player feel like they are flying the iconic ships that have been around Star Wars since its inception. The game is smaller and limited but does have eight ships, most of which are extremely well known and iconic, not least of all the famous TIE Fighter.
The famous Imperial starfighter has been a constant in the franchise, finding its way to just about every form of Star Wars imaginable, and with such a rich history, there are both some simple and complicated things about the ship many fans do not know.
Sienar/Sienar-Jaemus Fleet Systems
Casual fans of Star Wars who merely enjoy consuming the content and who do not obsess over every little detail have never thought of the creation of ships and who manufactured them.
With politicking at play, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin commissioned Sienar Fleet Systems to manufacture the TIE line of ships, including the famous TIE Fighter, which got mass-produced. Later, SFS became Sienar-Jaemus Fleet Systems and continued the TIE line with the First Order. Sienar will be familiar to Squadrons players, that being the family of New Republic pilot Grace Sienar.
Cost
War costs money, and just because they were a powerful dictatorship and tyrannical organization that ruled over the Galaxy, the Empire still had to dish out their endless supply of Imperial credits.
Luckily, TIE Fighters were relatively cheap, much cheaper than the TIE Interceptor, TIE Bomber, or TIE Reaper models, for example, costing 60,000 new and 25,000 used. The First Order versions bumped up the price, though, with the TIE/fo Fighter cost 90,000 credits, with the specialized TIE/sf Fighter costing a whopping 190,000 credits.
Size & Speed
The two main TIE Fighters have some differences from one another, one of which being size. The TIE/In Fighter used by the Empire is 7.24m in length, 8.8m in width, and 8.82m in height/depth, with the TIE/fo being 6.69m in length, 6.34m in width, and 8.17m in height/depth.
While the TIE/fo has far less to offer in size, it packs more of a punch speed-wise. The Empire TIE has a max acceleration of 4,100 G (force on gravity), a max atmospheric acceleration of 100 kph, and an MGLT (Megalight per hour, this being the relative speed of a ship in realspace) of 100. The TIE/fo's speed stats come in at 4,400 G, 130 MGLT, and 1,200 kph. The modified First Order TIE, the TIE/sf, boasts even more impressive speed stats, with 4,450G, 1,250 kph, and 140 MGLT.
Differences In The First Order Models
The TIE/sf Fighter popped up throughout the sequel trilogy, but simply watching it in the movies does not tell audiences what much about the ship, nor how different it is from the regular First Order TIE/fo.
As well as the speed modifications and higher prices mentioned above, the TIE/fo has an obvious, distinguishable red on the left side. It also has space for two people, a pilot and gunner, rather than just a pilot, a hyperdrive system on every unit, a slew of extra and superior weapons, consumables to last nearly a week rather than just a day, a life support system, an ion cooling system, and is overall, a superior fighter.
The New Republic Nicknames
Pilot-related content is on a pretty brilliant run at the moment, with the Alphabet Squadron series of novels and Squadrons giving fans of ships and pilots the content of their dreams.
With this content, the personalities of pilots shine through, and the rivalry in a war too. Like clones with clankers and rebels with bucketheads, New Republic pilots have nicknames for various Imperial things, such as TIE Fighters, which they call eyeballs, or evil-eyes.
The In-Universe Design Basis
Nearly every ship seen in the beloved original trilogy is either based on an existing ship from the Republic era or before or is simply a continuation of the line of ships. The TIE Fighter is no different.
Designed by Raith Sienar of Sienar Fleet Systems, the TIE Fighter was based on the Star Courier, the ETA-2 Actis class light interceptor, and, perhaps most of all, the Alpha-3 Nimbus class V-wing whose vertical wings were used on the TIE fighter.
The Empire Used Gave Them To Loyalists
The Empire may have used fear to no end to impose its will and tyranny upon the Galaxy, but that does not mean they are not without their external allies who benefit from loyalty to them.
Various corporations and organizations struck deals with and stayed loyal to the Galactic Empire through their reign. Some got rewarded for such loyalty, some getting their own TIE Fighters such as the Mining Guild; this reward helped secure the Empire's interests as they expanded.
Ben Burtt's Legendary Sound
There are so many elements that go into each and every Star Wars movie, so many of which get overlooked by casual viewers. Ben Burtt is a sound designer who is crucial to the legacy of the franchise.
He created so many iconic sounds for the franchise, such as the lightsaber hum and R2-D2's sounds, but also the TIE Fighter's iconic scream, which comes from a mixture of a car on wet pavement and an elephant call.
4.6 Million At Once
Many fans will realize that the TIE Fighter was the most prominent Imperial starfighter seen throughout the original trilogy. In fact, it was the most common fighter in the Empire, making up a large chunk of their fleet.
In the TIE Fighter Owners' Workshop Manual, it is said that Galactic historians believe more TIE Fighters existed at the same time at the point of the Empire than any other starfighter in history. There were at least 4.6 million units manufactured by Sienar Fleet Systems.
Their Attack Of The Clones Cameo
The first appearance of the TIE Fighter was over forty years ago in the first Star Wars movie, A New Hope, and chronologically the ships were not manufactured until after the Clone Wars. However, what many fans do not know is that they appeared on screen before they existed.
In Attack Of The Clones, during the famous Anakin and Obi-Wan chase of Zam Wessell, a TIE Fighter can be seen chasing an X-wing. Canonically this is not recognized, but it still can be seen if you look very closely and pause expertly.