Starfighter

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This article is about the class of fictional vehicles. For other uses see Starfighter (disambiguation)

A Colonial Viper from Battlestar Galactica, an example of a starfighter.

"Starfighter" is a science fiction term used to describe relatively small, maneuverable manned spacecraft designed for military combat (cf starship). Strictly speaking, the term "starfighter" only applies to those that can independently perform intersystem travel; "spacefighter" would be a more appropriate title for those that cannot. In the Star Wars Universe, a Starfighter is a blanket term for all small combat space craft, regardless of shields, hyperspace capability, weaponry (Unless it carries none), armour, maneuverability and crew. "Snubfighter" (a term first used in Star Wars), though no concise definition has been given, often refers to a fighter carrying shielding, secondary weapons systems such as Proton Torpedoes or concussion missiles, and being hyperspace capable.

The appearance and use of fictional starfighters is often modeled on fighter aircraft, with little regard for the actual physics of space travel. Exceptions include the Gunstar from The Last Starfighter and the Starfury from Babylon 5, which are capable of multidirectional orientation.

Starfighters are popular as the subjects of flight simulator-like space combat video games, such as the "Wing Commander" and "X-Wing" series. This connection is made explicitly in the 1984 film The Last Starfighter in which a video game on Earth is used as a recruiting device for an alien civilization whose starfighters require the same skills as the video game.

1 Examples of Starfighters
2 See also

[edit] Examples of Starfighters

The following are some examples of starfighters from various media franchises:

[edit] Babylon 5

The Earth Alliance (Starfury fighters)
The Minbari Federation
- Minbari Fighter

[edit] Battlestar Galactica

The Twelve Colonies
- Colonial Viper (the Viper Mark II and Viper Mark VII of the 2003 miniseries were modified to maneuver more effectively in space)
- Colonial Blackbird (2004 series)
The Cylons

[edit] Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

The Earth Defense Directorate
- Star Fighter (2-person capacity in tandem configuration, four person capacity in side-by-side configuration)
- Star Fighter mk II (a tandem-seated Star Fighter with two extra stabilizer fins, used in the second season)
The Draconian Empire
- Draconian Marauder

[edit] Macross

U.N. Spacy
- VF-1 Valkyrie
- VF-3000 Crusader
- VF-4 Lightning III
- VF-5000
- VF-6
- VF-9 Cutlass
- VF-11 Thunderbolt
- VF-14 Vampire
- VF-17 Nightmare
- YF-19 and VF-19 Excalibur
- YF-21
- VF-22 Sturmvogel II
The Barota
- Fz-109 Elgerzorene
The Zentradi
- Fighter Pod
- Variable Device
- Variable Glaug
Parallel World U.N. Spacy
- VF-XX Zentradian Valkyrie
- VF-2SS Valkyrie II
- VF-2JA Icarus
- Metal Siren

[edit] Stargate

Tau'ri/Earth (USAF fighters)
- X-301
- X-302, later put into production as the F-302
The Goa'uld
- Death glider
The Wraith
- Wraith dart

[edit] Star Trek

Starfleet/Federation
- Federation Attack Fighter[1]
- Raider Class Attack Ship
Bajorans
- Bajoran raider
- Bajoran interceptor
Cardassians
- Hideki-class patrol ship
The Dominion
- Jem'Hadar fighter
Romulan Empire
- Reman Scorpion (seen in Star Trek: Nemesis)
Vulcans
- Vulcan fighter (seen on Enterprise)