PROFILE #223: DARTH VADER'S TIE FIGHTER (DEDICATED TO JAMES EARL JONES)

The TIE Advanced x1 Prototype was the fighter used by Lord Darth Vader at the Battle of Yavin. This particular vessel was one of several TIE prototypes fielded by Sienar Fleet Systems design team during the critical years between the Battle of Yavin & the death of Emperor Palpatine at Endor. The TIE Advanced x1 was perhaps the most successful of these prototypes, & many of the refinements in that vessel were later incorporated into the TIE Interceptor & the TIE Advanced (TIE/AD) ship dubbed the "TIE Avenger." The TIE Advanced x1 featured a custom-designed spaceframe & a reinforced durasteel-alloy hull, with an elongated rear deck & matching bent wings covered with solar panels. The vessel mounted a Sienar Fleet Systems (SFS) I-S3a solar ionization reactor & paired SFS P-s5.6 twin ion engines for a far more powerful drive system than that of a standard TIE/In. Speed was only slightly improved over earlier models, due to the added mass & to the fact that a good deal of the extra power was bled off to the shield generators. The TIE Advanced x1 was less maneuverable than standard TIE fighters, but it could take far more punishment than the fragile TIE/In ships. The TIE Advanced x1 sported twin heavy blaster canons in a fixed, front-mounted position. In a major exception to standard Imperial military policy, the TIE Advanced x1 featured shield generators & a modest hyperdrive (although the navigation computer could store only ten sets of jump coordinates). 

The TIE Advanced x1 lacked a life-support system, & the pilot had to wear a fully strapped suit with an internal oxygen supply. Pilots were strapped into an adjustable shock couch with foot yokes & a hand control panel. The TIE Advanced x1 was initially produced in only very modest numbers. Lord Darth Vader received one of these vessels for his personal missions; most of the other ships were deployed to elite Imperial squadrons for field testing. By the time of the Battle of Hoth, TIE Advanced x1 fighters had been deployed to a number of Imperial Navy Fleets, including Lord Vader's Star Destroyer squadron. The Empire decided not to order the TIE Advanced x1 in large quantities, citing the excessive cost. Privately, some Imperial Navy strategists admitted that the Navy was afraid to purchase a fighter with a hyperdrive, fearing that it would provide an excuse to slash orders for new capital ships. The Empire instead opted for the TIE Interceptor, which featured the TIE Advanced x1's drive system, but in a more compact ship. While the TIE Interceptor lacked hyperdrives & shields, it was blindingly fast, incredibly maneuverable, & significantly cheaper than the TIE Advanced x1. By the Battle of Endor, the large increase in TiE Interceptor production meant the end of production for the TIE Advanced x1. 

All of this comes from the Essential Guide book published in 1996. 

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