E-wing
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| Star Wars craft | |
| E-wing | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | FreiTek Inc. |
| Specification | E-wing starfighter |
| Type | Space Superiority Starfighter |
| Length | 11.2 meters |
| Weapons | 3 laser cannons 1 proton torpedo launcher (sixteen torpedoes) |
| Shield | Forward/Rear Projecting Chempat Deflecting Shields |
| Hull | Unknown |
| Crew | 1 pilot, 1 R-7 astromech droid |
| Top Speed | 4,200G/Class 2 Hyperdrive/1,300 km/h |
| Troop Capacity | none |
| Affiliation | New Republic |
| Cargo Capacity | 110 kilograms of cargo and has enough consumable supplies for one week of non-combat operations |
| Passengers | N/A |
The E-wing is a type of single-pilot starfighter in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Developed by FreiTek Inc., it was the first fighter designed entirely under the support of the New Republic.
The E-Wing is the culmination of New Republic engineering. Its main strength is the ability to deliver firepower and its role as a weapons platform. An overall space superority fighter, it delivers the cutting edge of technology and was key during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion and was able to face down many other opponents of the New Republic.
The Republic introduced the E-wing during Grand Admiral Thrawn's campaign to rebuild the fallen Empire. Equipped with the most recent in weapon, shielding, and propulsion technology, the fighter is extremely powerful and well-rounded. Its triple laser cannons made it an excellent dogfighter, and its proton torpedoes were perfect for bombardment against larger capital ships or picking off enemy starfighters at long range.
The spaceframe of the E-wing is surrounded by two aerodynamic foils which provide stability and increased weapons capability. The nosecone contains the starfighter's powerful sensors, while an R7 astromech droid can easily be positioned in a concealed slot directly behind the cockpit. Much of the great cost of the E-wing came from the use of the R7 droid, a much more sophisticated and expensive astromech than the classic R2 series.
This fighter had a relatively heavy weapons loadout of three lasers and one proton torpedo launcher with a magazine of sixteen torpedoes. Like most Rebel designs, the lasers were spread out and could be set to converge at varying distances. The torpedo loadout presumably consisted of anti-fighter proton torpedoes; no other fighter could carry so many. FreiTek's engineers also incorporated a number of remarkable advances in flight control and power regulation, resulting in the E-wing to be as fast and maneuverable as the TIE Interceptor, while the heavily reinforced hull allowed it to take more damage than even the famous X-wings of the New Republic.
The E-wing had some initial teething problems relating to the placement of the wing lasers near the outboard engines. The tibanna cooling gas tended to degrade at accelerated rates which swiftly rendered those guns near-useless (and cutting gun firepower to a third), which became a problem in the costly battle against the cloned Emperor's invasion at Mon Calamari. Those problems were eventually resolved and the fighter entered fleet service. It is known to have served at least with the New Republic's Fifth Fleet as the primary fleet space superiority fighter. They served primarily as escorts for K-wings, sacrificing themselves so that the K-wings could launch their concussion bombs.
Four major models appeared to have been designed; the last (Series IV) was introduced around the time of the capture of Coruscant by the Yuuzhan Vong. By that point in the war, the X-wing was rapidly equipping most squadrons in the massive military expansion; the more sophisticated E-Wing may have been limited to some elite squadrons.
[edit] E-wing Squadron Examples
- Blue Squadron aboard cruiser Mandjur, Black Fleet Crisis
- Black Moon Squadron based out of Borleias, Behind Enemy Lines
[edit] External links
- E-wing on the starwars.com Databank
- E-wing on Wookieepedia: The Star Wars Wiki
| Vehicles of the Rebel Alliance / New Republic | |
|---|---|
| Ground vehicles and repulsor craft | |
| Snowspeeder | |
| Starfighters | |
| X-wing | Y-wing | A-wing | B-wing | |
| Expanded Universe | |
| K-wing | E-wing | |
| Capital ships | |
| Mon Calamari Cruiser | Corellian Corvette | Nebulon-B Frigate | |
| Other | |
| GR-75 Medium Transport | Millennium Falcon | |
| See also | |
| Star Wars air vehicles | Star Wars aquatic vehicles | Star Wars ground vehicles | Star Wars starfighters | Star Wars support craft |
