V-19 TORRENT Rushed into service across the earliest weeks
of the Clone Wars, the Slayn & Korpil V-19 Torrent Starfighter was the mainstay strike
craft of the Republic Navy for most of the first half of the conflict. The design of
the V-19 is framed around it’s folding S-Foils, which serve to improve the fighter’s heat
radiation and atmospheric manoeuvrability. These foils are able to reconfigure to allow
the craft to vertically land on the deck of a warship or on a planet’s surface, but
their complex mechanisms have been known to fail under sufficient stress.
The V-19 is passably effective in large numbers, but the ship’s brief design and production
period resulted in unimpressive performance overall, forcing the republic to rely heavily
on pilot skill rather than technical superiority when engaging confederate droid fighters.
Plans were quickly developed to replace the Torrent with a newer fighter, but supply issues
led to a range of delays. Eventually the fighter was replaced by the Z-95 Headhunter and Alpha
Nimbus V-Wings, fighters that both proved far more popular among Republic pilots.
BTL-B Y-WING Beginning a legacy of strike bomber designs
that would last for many decades, the Koensayr Manufacturing BTL-B Y-Wing served as the primary
republic torpedo bomber across the full three years of the Clone Wars. The ship carried
an onboard hyperdrive and Astromech unit that allowed the craft to operate alone or as part
of a wing in almost any environment, these features allowed Y-Wings to be deployed on
hostile flanks or left to wait in ambush without the support of a larger warship.
The bombers carried a twin-linked dorsal gun turret that could effectively defend the craft
from attacking starfighters without forcing the bomber to alter its approach toward a
target warship. Once in range the ship was able to deploy up to 10 MG7 Proton Torpedoes
through its twin launch tubes and could pose a deadly threat to the critical subsystems
of even the largest confederate vessels. DELTA 7B AETHERSPRITE STARFIGHTER
A refined version of the Delta-7 Light Interceptor, the KDY Delta-7B Aethersprite was an incredibly
fast attack fighter used exclusively by members of the Jedi Order. The ship was designed to
rely on the enhanced reflexes and awareness of a force-sensitive pilot, carrying barely
any avionics, precise sensors or flight support systems to result in an extremely favourable
thrust-to-weight ratio. The most noticeable change between the 7B
and its predecessor is the relocation of the Astromech socket from the port wing to the
central spine, this added vertical space allows full-sized Astromech units to be inserted,
rather than simply Astromech head modules, as had been the requirement on the Delta-7.
The ship is almost entirely lacking in armor and carries no shields, relying instead on
speed and manoeuvrability as well as pilot instinct to evade danger and press the attack.
ARC-170 STARFIGHTER Introduced late in the war to great effect,
the Incom-Subpro Aggressive Reconnaissance-170 Fighter Bomber was one of the most fearsome
and sophisticated strike craft to take part in the clone wars. Designed in collaboration
between two of the most renowned shipwright corporations in the galaxy, the 170 was built
to operate over huge distances, bringing an impressive amount of firepower and versatility
to any engagement. The 170 carries extremely high-yield underslung
guns that demand the use of four radiator S-foils to dissipate heat. These weapons are
supported by a twin-linked tailgun and a pair of rapid-reload proton torpedo launchers for
engaging larger vessels. A wing of ARC-170s is able to make a serious difference to the
landscape of any battle, posing as much a threat to fighter wings as to warships, and
presenting a difficult challenge for any confederate commander.
ALPHA NIMBUS V-WING Also introduced in the final months of the
war, the Alpha-3 Nimbus V-Wing Interceptor was a tiny and lethally effective dogfighter
that had universally replaced the V-19 Torrent and Z-95 Headhunter by the end of the Clone
Wars. The ship was one of the smallest ever designed to carry an Astromech Unit and took
advantage of unconventional vertical S-Foils to dissipate heat from its large engines and
weapon systems. Like the Delta-7B, the V-Wing stripped away
systems to improve its thrust to weight ratio, most notably the ships onboard life support
system, which was simply replaced by a spacesuit to be worn by the pilot, establishing a precedent
that would be carried into the empire’s TIE Fighter Lineage. The interceptor was one
of the last ships in service to rely on hyperspace rings for FTL Travel, as the ship simply lacked
the internal space for an onboard hyperdrive. The V-Wing was a serious contender for the
most effective dogfighter of the Clone Wars, threatened only by the impressive Tri-Fighters
of the Confederacy. ETA-2 ACTIS INTERCEPTOR
The last craft ever developed for use by the Jedi Order before the organization collapsed,
the Kuat Systems Engineering Eta-2 Actis Interceptor improves upon the design principles established
by the Delta-7 Series. Capable of impressive speeds both in and out of atmosphere, the
Actis was one of the most agile fighters ever developed at the time of its introduction.
The ship carries a pair of medium-grade laser cannons supported by 2 light ion cannons.
These weapons boast an impressive rate of fire and are able to quickly dispatch most
targets when used at close range. The fighter carries a full Astromech droid that is positioned
to perform rapid-repairs in combat. This feature sees frequent use due to the fighter’s lack
of shields and meaningful armor, leaving the craft extremely vulnerable should it’s Astromech
be destroyed. It was this leaning by Republic designers toward lightly armoured craft that
rely on Astromech units for navigation and repairs that inspired the Confederacy to begin
the widespread use of Buzz Droids in space combat. Like the V-Wing, the Actis blazes
the trail for a number of design styles that would eventually become staples of the Empire’s
TIE Series, most notably the ship’s cockpit design.