The Republic Sienar Systems Twin Ion Engine (T.I.E.) starfighter was the forerunner of the Imperial TIE starfighter and its variants.^[2][3]

Characteristics[]

The T.I.E. starfighter was the first fighter to utilize the famous "ball-shaped cockpit flanked by vertical wings" design, and seemed very similar in terms of shape to its descendants.^[2]

History[]

The T.I.E. could be traced back to a courier design produced by Raith Sienar's Sienar Design Systems before 32 BBY, the ship which became Darth Maul's Scimitar^[5]—although Scimitar was a large, sophisticated runner rather than a compact, mass-produced starfighter.^[6] The next stage was the Advanced Project ship, a starfighter prototype design, the latest and smallest of which Sienar was building in 29 BBY.^[7]

It would be another seven years, however, before Sienar revealed the final component of the T.I.E. design, the SIE-TIE twin ion engine, a powerful and highly-innovative propulsion unit which was officially endorsed by Republic Sienar Systems shortly before the First Battle of Geonosis and the outbreak of the Clone Wars.^[8] This paved the way for the final starfighter design, and it meant that Republic Sienar Systems was well-prepared when the Republic called for a new, standard mass-production starfighter during the Clone Wars.^[2]

The T.I.E. production went underway as part of a drive by the Republic Navy to standardize their starfighter capability and create fighters that could deploy in the limited space available aboard existing warships like the Dreadnaught-class and Carrack-class cruisers.^[4]

Although the new engine design was incompatible with established hyperdrive, life-support and shield systems, the T.I.E. was incredibly cheap, very fast, and could stack tightly in converted cargo holds or external launch-racks aboard the Navy's existing line-combat ships.^[4] By this time, the original T.I.E. had evolved into the TIE starfighter, which would later be supplanted by the TIE/LN starfighter, the dominant starfighter model of the Galactic Empire.^[1][4]

Sources[]

• Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game (First mentioned)
• The Star Wars Sourcebook
• The Star Wars Sourcebook, Second Edition
• The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
• "Alliance Intelligence Report: TIE Fighters" — Star Wars Adventure Journal 10
• TIE fighter in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
• The Essential Guide to Warfare

Notes and references[]

TIE Series
Galactic Empire starfighters T.I.E. starfighter · TIE starfighter · TIE/LN starfighter (Light Duty) · Super TIE · TIE/IN interceptor (Emperor's Royal Guard) TIE Advanced prototype · TIE Advanced x1 (Modified) · TIE/x2 starfighter · TIE/x3 starfighter · TIE/ad starfighter · TIE/fc starfighter · TIE/rc starfighter · TIE/rc vanguard · TIE/sr starfighter TIE/gt starfighter · TIE/sa bomber · TIE/ca Punisher TIE/sh VIP shuttle · TIE/br boarding shuttle · TIE lander · Shadow Squadron TIE starfighter TIE/hu Hunter · TIE/ag Aggressor · TIE/ph Phantom · TIE/D Defender · TIE/D automated starfighter TIE Oppressor · TIE Sentinel Non-Galactic Empire starfighters Advanced Project ship · Aleph-class starfighter · Lone Scout-A · Lone Scout A-2 · Nssis-class Clawcraft Scimitar assault bomber · TIE Reconnaissance Fighter · TIE/rpt starfighter · TIE stealth · Starhunter · Predator-class fighter · Neutralizer-class bomber Non-starfighter models Century tank · TIE ap-1 · TIE fighter boat · TIE Subfighter · Lancet Aerial Artillery TIE Projects TIE Experimental Project · TIE Mod Team · TIE Bomber Mark 2 proposal
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