The TIE fighter's primary weapons are a pair of laser cannons tied to a secondary generator and mated with an advanced targeting computer which assists the pilot in hitting other fast-moving starfighters. These wings are also structurally sound enough to double as landing gear and feature repulsorlifts for take-off and landing, though TIE fighters are designed to be launched and recovered by cycling storage racks used by Imperial starships and garrisons. TIE fighters have two hexagonal wings fitted with solar panels which power a twin ion engine (TIE) system that accelerates ionized gases at a substantial fraction of lightspeed along almost any vector, affording the ships tremendous speed and maneuverability albeit with limited fuel reserves. To meet these requirements, Sienar incorporated aspects of the V-wing and Jedi interceptor into the new starfighter. Tarkin specified that the TIE had to be fast, maneuverable, energy-efficient, and inexpensive simply put they are meant to be easily mass-produced and engage in swarm tactics, with the expectation of being expendable assets that would be lost in combat. Star Wars literature states that Grand Moff Tarkin commissioned Sienar Fleet Systems to design and manufacture the Twin Ion Engine line edition (TIE/ln) space superiority starfighter and most TIE variants. They retained the starfighter's design but altered its aesthetic to suggest improvements to the vessel's manufacturing process and materials.
ĭesigners for The Force Awakens (2015) had numerous discussions about how much to "update" the TIE fighter for the first sequel film set 30 years after Return of the Jedi. Dark Horse Comics' Sean Cooke designed the TIE predator for Star Wars: Legacy (2006), set 130 years after the events of Star Wars, to appear both reminiscent of and more advanced than the original TIE fighter. The V-wing starfighter, seen at the end of Revenge of the Sith, also makes the distinctive TIE fighter sound when flying by a Star Destroyer. The Jedi starfighter, created for Revenge of the Sith (2005), was designed to bridge the appearance of the Jedi starfighter in Attack of the Clones (2002) and the TIE fighter design from the original trilogy. Darth Vader's distinct TIE Advanced x1 in Star Wars was designed to make it instantly recognizable, and the TIE Interceptors developed for Jedi were designed to look fast, deadly, sleek and frightening. Combat scenes between TIE fighters and the Millennium Falcon and Rebel Alliance X-wing fighters in Star Wars were meant to be reminiscent of World War II dogfight footage editors used World War II air combat clips as placeholders while Industrial Light & Magic completed the movie's special effects. This could have been a possible inspiration for the sound. In the book The Sounds of Star Wars, the engine roar is likened to German Junker Ju 87 "Stuka" bombers, who used sirens to frighten civilians on raids. Sound designer Ben Burtt created the distinctive TIE fighter sound effect by combining an elephant call with a car driving on wet pavement. Initially given a blue color scheme, the TIE fighter models for the first film were grey to better film against a bluescreen TIE fighters in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) shifted back to being a muted blue. Joe Johnston created additional details, such as the cockpit window and the attachment points between the solar panels and the hull. Star Wars creator George Lucas liked the basic design consisting of two panels connected by a stick with a ball-shaped cockpit, but Cantwell's concept had few details. Colin Cantwell created the concept model that established the TIE fighter's ball-cockpit and hexagonal panels design for Star Wars (1977).