TIE Fighter

The TIE Fighter (also known as the TIE/LN Starfighter) was a series of Imperial combat fighters that appeared in the original Star Wars franchise.

Used by the Galactic Empire, TIEs served as the Imperial Navy's primary attack forces and space patrol. Small and quick they can easily take out a single fighter or overpower a small vessel. However since they lack shielding and life support systems, they can become easy vulnerable targets against the enemy.

Description
Sienor Fleet Systems' TIE Fighter was the clearest symbol of the Imperial Navy's control of space. TIE Fighters were present aboard even the smallest Imperial cruisers and were stationed at starports and garrison bases across the galaxy, an ever-present reminder of the Empire's might.

TIE Fighters were short range ships whose most distinguishing feature is the pair of dominate solar array wings mounted on either side of a small, spherical command pod. The TIE Fighter presented a small target from the front and back, and its incredible maneuverability made it difficult to hit in combat.

One TIE Fighter may be vulnerable to attack and may be easily destroyed, but for every TIE that is defeated, thousands more would rise up. In battle, an Imperial cruiser could arrive near an enemy ship and launch all its TIEs before Rebel gunners have a chance to respond. TIE Fighters were used for planetary and cruiser defense as well as in assaults against Rebels, pirate, and alien vessels. A secondary TIE mission profile involved escorting heavily armed TIE Bombers used in attacking planetary installations.

TIE Fighters had only sublight drives. This saved weight and increased speed and maneuverability, but it made TIEs dependent on a home base, such as a nearby planet or an Imperial Cruiser.

The TIEs maneuverability and speed came at great practical cost to the pilot inside. TIE Fighters had no shields, no secondary weapon or drive systems, minuscule fuel supplies and no on board life support system: pilots had to wear fully sealed flight suits with self-contained atmosphere converters. By eliminating all these systems, the TIE saved mass and made room for large generators, engines and weapons inside the compact hull.

The pilot is strapped into a simple high-gee shock couch and is protected by crash webbing and a repulsorlight anti-gravity field. The pilot's feet slip into control yokes: pressing or pulling on the yokes controls speed and maneuvering. The hand-control yoke affects precise maneuvering, targeting, navigation, and fire control. Auxiliary speed and maneuver controls were also located in the hand-controlled yoke, but attempting both flight and fire control through the hand-control unit is difficult.

The TIE had a pair of forward-mounted, fire-linked laser cannons. The laser generators were located in the undercarriage of the main pod and fed off the power generators and batteries. The TIE Fighter drew much of its energy from solar radiation absorbed by the hexagonal wings.

A New Hope
Several TIE Fighters served in patrolling and scouting the surrounding areas of the Death Star. Four Fighters engaged the Millennium Falcon in a dogfight after her crew and passengers attempted to escape. They put up a vicious fight but were easily destroyed one by one by the Falcon's Turrents, manned by Han Solo and Luke Skywalker.

When the Rebels committed an attack on the Death Star, the TIEs were called in to destroy the Rebel fighters with Darth Vader joining the fight in a more Advanced TIE Fighter. Despite their efforts, the battle was lost to the Rebels and the Death Star destroyed.

The Empire Strikes Back
Four TIE fighters were involved in pursing the Millennium Falcon after escaping from the planet Hoth. The Falcon journeyed into an asteroid field and as Solo said they followed. Two of the fighters got struck by asteroids and the other two collided into each other while flying through a gorge.

Return of the Jedi
The TIE Fighters, alongside their predecessors, the TIE Interceptors, were engaged in a major battle above the forest moon of Endor when the Rebels committed an attack on the Empire's Second Death Star. While the Fighters charged into battle, the Star Destroyers nearby stayed out of it because the Emperor was going to use the Death Star's laser to destroy the Rebels.

When the energy shield protecting the Death Star was down, few TIE Fighters went after a squadron of Rebel fighters that were heading for the main reactor. They chased them through the station's interior works but their attempts to stop them were in vain, The Rebels succeeded in destroying the Death Star and bringing the Empire's reign of terror to an end.

The Force Awakens
The TIE Fighters are set to appear in the seventh upcoming Star Wars movie The Force Awakens, which takes place thirty years after the events of Return of the Jedi.

Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars
The TIE Fighters make a brief appearance in the Phineas and Ferb special "Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars" Where three are seen flying down the trench like in A New Hope.

Star Wars Rebels
The TIE Fighters appear in the Disney XD series Star Wars Rebels, where they are often seen chasing or engaged in dogfights against the Rebels of Lothal.

Shorts
In "The Machine in the Ghost", TIE Fighters were engaged in a dogfight against the Ghost after a raid attempt on an Imperial supply convoy. Moving so fast, Kanan had a bit of trouble trying to hit them but was able to take out two. The TIEs succeeded in taking out the Ghost's sheilds making the Rebels a more vulnerable target. However their attempts to capture or destroy them, the last two TIEs were destroyed before the Ghost jumped to lightspeed.

Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion
When the Rebels fled with stolen shipment for the Empire, four TIE Fighters chased after the ghost in a attempt to capture them or destroy them. The chase left the skies of Lothal and into outer space where the Rebels jumped to light speed and would return later on.

When the Rebels attempted to rescue Wookiee Prisoners on Kassel, three TIEs ambushed the Ghost and opened fire. The Ghost fled with the TIEs in pursuit while the ground forces dealt with the Rebels and Wookiee Prisoners. When Hera returned to pick up team, it is possible the TIEs were either destroyed or lost during the pursue.

The Series
In the episode "Fighter Flight" one TIE Fighter was hijacked by Zeb and Ezra when they were running from Stormtroopers during a supplyrun. Flying blind with fruit juice covering the ship's visor, they flew away from the town of Kothal and across the open fields of Lothal. When Ezra and Zeb told Kanan about the TIE, he told them to get rid of it as stealing a TIE can attract unwanted attention and the Empire could be tracking it. Ezra and Zeb flew all the way to the rebel rendezvous point when they spotted trouble at a farm owned by Morad Sumar; friend of Ezra's parents. They used the TIE to rescue the farmers and help them escape from the Imperials. They later continued on their way to regroup with the Rebels. Zeb and Ezra claimed that they crashed the TIE Fighter they stole on purpose but in fact they hid it in a secret place where Sabine got hold of it and decorated it in graffiti artwork and Rebel colours.

The TIE Fighter was used in the Rebel's mission to rescue Kanan who was being held prisoner aboard Tarkin's Star Destroyer in orbit of Mustafar. They remotely piloted the TIE Fighter aboard the ship and once inside, released a pulse that rendered the ship powerless. As the ship began to blow up, Hera, Zeb and Sabine used the TIE to escape while Ezra and Kanan used the Inquisitor's TIE Fighter and regrouped with the Transport ship they stole and escaped to hyperspace with a fleet of other Rebels.

Trivia

 * The roaring engine sound for TIE Fighters was created by combining an elephant's scream with the noise of a car driving on a wet road.
 * The word TIE stands for Twin Ion Engine.
 * According to Dave Filoni, The design of the TIE Fighter for Star Wars Rebels was influenced by the original concept art made by Ralph McQuarrie as well possibly based on the original Kenner Toys that were in stores during the early 1980s. For instance the wing proportion is shorter and the command pod is larger comparing to the Fighter seen in the original trilogy.