On the second go around, Incom and Subpro decided to pack in a hyperdrive off the assembly line with an astromech socket included. The ARC-170 is different from its predecessor in some serious ways. With the ARC-170, its lineage would become legendary. Without Incom/Subpro’s sophomore effort for the Galactic Republic, the Z-95 Headhunter would have been a good-maybe even great-snubfighter. In the X-Wing’s evolutionary line, the Aggressive ReConnaissance-170 starfighter is the missing link. The Lovable Middle ChildĪrchival footage of the ARC-170 during the Battle of Coruscant, 19 BBY. Z-95s were the preferred starfighters of the Reaper Squadron, and even after the rise of the Galactic Empire, numerous Z-95s could be found throughout the galaxy, whether in the hands of the Alliance to Restore the Republic or various pirate bands throughout the galaxy (especially once the T-65 X-Wing made the Z-95 obsolete).īut the Z-95 greatest gift to the galaxy was not found within its cockpit or innovative armaments, but in the designs that it inspired, including the Galactic Republic starfighter that would finish the Confederacy for good. The Headhunter would be one of the greatest nuisances for the Separatists, participating in battles across the galaxy during the Clone Wars. Incom/Subpro developed a clone variant for the Republic with a slightly altered design. For only a single-seat cockpit, the Headhunter still packed in blaster cannons, concussion missile launchers, ion cannons, and deflector shields if the Headhunter got in a scrap. Off the assembly line, most Z-95s couldn’t make the lightspeed jumps, but could be retrofitted with one from parts from aftermarket specialists and junkyards.īut what the Galactic Republic’s starring space fighter lacked in planet-hopping capabilities, it more than made up for when it came to firepower. That is if the snubfighter even had a hyperspace drive to begin with. The Z-95 also lacks an astromech socket, forcing pilots to rely on data chips for hyperspace jumps. Instead, the Headhunters sport only two stationary wings that cut vacuum and atmosphere equally with two pairs of Incom’s 2a fission engines. Unlike its famous ancestor, the Z-95 doesn’t split its S-foils into an ‘X’ attack configuration. The result was the legendary Z-95 Headhunter, and it doesn’t take much imagination to see the early DNA of the venerable X-Wing. Building on a Legacyīut what the Galactic Republic’s starring space fighter lacked in planet-hopping capabilities, it more than made up for when it came to firepower. In fact, the X-Wing could've easily become the Empire’s pre-eminent space weapon, exceeding even the Death Star itself. But strangely, the X-Wing wasn’t necessarily destined to be the small snubfighter that would pick away at the sickly corpse of the Empire, like womp rats feasting on carrion. The X-Wing served as the backbone of the Rebel Alliance and the subsequent Resistance against the tyranny of the First Order.
But other pilots, some even more impressive than the Jedi Master himself, have graced the X-Wing’s cockpit, like Wedge Antilles, Tycho Celchu, Corran Horn, Gavin Darklighter, and Poe Dameron.
Of course, everyone knows that the galaxy’s greatest hero-Luke Skywalker-sat in his red-striped X-Wing during that battle, donning the callsign Red 5. With a fleet of Rebel Alliance X-Wings attacking the Empire’s (first) Death Star, their heroic effort and sacrifice reset our calendar to 0 BBY. With its familiar S-foils and needle-nose cockpit design, the X-Wing’s influence is so vast, its existence defines our relationship with time.
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