Comments:
Bursting from Imperial hangar bays in gnat-like clouds are the standard starfighters of the Imperial arsenal -- the Twin Ion Engine craft known as the TIE Fighter. The single-seater short-range vessel lacks a hyperdrive, and as such requires deployment from launch bases and capital ships. It features two fire-linked laser cannons chin-mounted on the ball-shaped cockpit. Though TIEs presented a formidable challenge to pirates and civilian craft, the skilled pilots of the Rebel Alliance made short work of them in combat. Imperial TIEs swarmed around the first Death Star, engaging Rebel Alliance X-wing fighters in fierce dogfights as the Rebels attempted to destroy the massive weapon.
