TIE/sr starfighter
- "There might have been some trouble with the pre-launch check list, the crews aren't used to dealing with the hyperdrives on these new TIE scouts."
"If so, it's a deficiency they need to correct. Launch practice, Captain, beginning now. Please see to it personally." - ―Captain Dagon Niriz and Admiral Thrawn
The TIE/sr starfighter, or TIE scout, was a limited production TIE Series starfighter used by the Galactic Empire as a scout and light reconnaissance vessel. It was one of the many TIE variants in service during the Galactic Civil War.
Characteristics
At 24 meters long, the TIE/sr was one of the largest TIE variants, and it was distinctive in appearance, with a tall, elongated main fuselage behind the cockpit, flanked by large, bent-wing solar panels. Although slow and not very maneuverable by starfighter standards, neither heavily armored nor heavily armed, it boasted an impressive suite of com-scan equipment, and its enlarged hull could accommodate a crew of up to three, sometimes including a second pilot.
The most notable feature of the TIE scout was that it carried the most capable hyperdrive of any TIE variant. In contrast to the TIE/rc starfighter and TIE Vanguard fighters, which were capable of only sublight reconnaissance ahead of their carrier, the TIE scout could undertake extended lightspeed missions without being at the mercy of a capital ship, like most other TIE models.
It was also capable of making a sensor ping that could reveal unseen enemies.
The TIE scout proved to be too expensive for mass production.
Civilian model
Unlike most other TIE designs, the TIE scout also had a civilian variant. The Lone Scout-A, designed as an exploration vessel and armed with a single chin-mounted cannon. This variant could carry three passengers and supplies for up to a year, and boasted a cargo capacity comparing favorably with many light freighters: up to 60 cubic meters by volume, or 150 metric tons by weight. Since the Lone Scout-A had shields, the design was still used by the Imperial Navy, as the TIE scout was in need of supplementary designs.
History
Several TIE scouts were carried aboard Thrawn's flagship, Admonitor, when he was posted to the Unknown Regions. They may have been design ancestors of the similarly-sized TIE-variant scout ships later used by Household Phalanx pilots based at the Hand of Thrawn.
During the Galactic Civil War, TIE scouts were mostly used in the Outer Rim Territories as a scout fighter to scan locations for reconnaissance, and to detect minefields or potential ambushes in advance to the arrival of other forces. The high cost of the vessel prevented the Empire from using it more extensively, which kept the available units consigned to the most needed areas.[1]
Appearances
- Star Wars: Empire at War
- Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption
"Meltdown" – Instant Adventures
"Command Decision" – Star Wars Adventure Journal 11 (First appearance)- Honor Among Thieves
- Honor Among Thieves audiobook
- Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost 1
- Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost 3
Sources
Star Wars Customizable Card Game – Premiere Limited (Card: TIE Scout) (backup link)- Secrets of the Sisar Run (as TIE scout)
"It Ain't Sabacc" – Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 6
"Pick a Card, Any Card: Making Movie Magic at Decipher, Inc." – Star Wars Insider 31- The Official Star Wars Fact File 7 (TIE1, TIE Fighter)
- Star Wars: Empire at War: Prima Official Game Guide
- Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption Expansion: Prima Official Game Guide
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Rebellion Era Campaign Guide
TIE scout in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)- File:StarWarsLCG Logo.png Star Wars: The Card Game – Darkness and Light (Card: TIE Scout)
