The Road to Episode Infinity: Top Ten TIE Fighters

TIE fighters have been iconic since they first screamed onto screens in the summer of 1977. Over the years, hundreds of TIE fighter variations have been created. Here are my top ten:

#10 TIE Crawler

The Empire must have had some extra TIE cockpits lying around when they designed this armored vehicle. It is officially known as a century tank and the design is fairly simple.

The TIE crawler first appeared in a 1992 comic book as an early example of an expanded universe vehicle. It continued to appear in comics and books, then in 2007 it was released as a 548-piece Lego set. The vehicle has yet to enter Disney canon.

#9 Mining Guild TIE Fighter

Apparently the Empire agreed to let the Mining Guild use TIE fighters, as long as they made them yellow. The front solar panels on each side of the fighter have been removed to increase visibility. This fighter has appeared in episodes of “Star Wars: Rebels” as well as a recent Visual Encyclopedia.

#8 Imperial TIE Fighter
(TIE/ln space superiority starfighter)

The classic Imperial TIE Fighter is a simple design. They were short ranged, mass produced fighters built without hyperdrives. TIE supposedly stands for Twin Ion Engines, although the real story behind the name is that the 1970s model makers thought they resembled a bow-tie.

#7 TIE Striker
(TIE/sk x1 experimental air superiority fighter)

The Striker was designed for atmosphere missions and they were notably used during the battle of Scarif.

The Striker was marketed heavily during the promotion of "Rogue One" and was featured in several toy models including a Lego set, a Hasbro vehicle, a Micro-Machine model, and in the X-Wing miniature game.

#6 Special Forces TIE Fighter
(TIE/sf space superiority fighter)

The Special Forces First Order Tie Fighter is notable because of its ability to seat two pilots. The Special Forces fighter was reserved for only the most elite pilots. This vehicle was distinguished from other First Order TIE fighters (TIE/fo) by the red stripe on its left side.

One of these fighters was stolen by Finn and Poe in their escape from The Finalizer, early in The Force Awakens.

#5 TIE Bomber

(TIE/sa bomber)

The Empire often used TIE Bombers as the first line of offense in battles to weaken capital ships or bases. The Bombers were piloted from the right pod, where the left pod carried the explosives, which could include concussion missiles, proton torpedoes, proton bombs, thermal detonators, or orbital mines.

Though TIE Bombers are most associated with the Empire Strikes Back, it was actually designed during production of “A New Hope” and it even appeared in a 1978 comic, two full years before the release of “Empire”

#4 Kylo Ren’s TIE Silencer
(TIE/vn space superiority fighter)

Kylo Ren’s TIE Silencer is a mean-looking, sleekly designed ship, first seen in “The Last Jedi”. Apparently Pablo Hidalgo originally wanted to name this ship the TIE Vandetta, hence the “vn” in its technical name. The red windows of this fighter combined with its long wing panels, causes it to resemble a Cylon Raider from Battlestar Galactica. It's certainly a dangerous looking ship.

#3 TIE Interceptor
(TIE/IN interceptor)

The TIE Interceptor was designed to compete with ultra-fast Rebel ships such as the A-Wing starfighter. The Interceptor was first featured in “Return of the Jedi”. During the Battle of Endor, these fighters represented 20% of the fleet. Interceptors were sometimes called "squints" by Rebel pilots, and they were notably superior to the regular TIE fighters

#2 TIE Defender
(TIE/D defender)

The TIE Defender was one of the few TIE designs that featured both shields and a hyperdrive. The Defender was first featured in the game “Star Wars: TIE Fighter” in 1994. This was the first Star Wars game where you could play as The Empire. Later, the Defender would appear in novels, the Customizable Card Game, and a 2010 Lego set.

The Defender was reintroduced into Star Wars canon through the video game “Star Wars: Commander” and in the third season of Star Wars Rebels.

#1 Darth Vader’s TIE Advanced

(TIE/x1)

Vader’s TIE Advanced is iconic and perfectly designed. One wonders, why the Empire ever bothered with those rigid-looking -dime-a-dozen TIE fighters, when they could have had fleets of Adanced x1’s instead.

It is not known exactly what happened to Vader’s ship between “A New Hope” and “Empire”. The ship does appear frequently in the current line of comics, so perhaps we will get an explanation eventually.

Not On This List:
TIE Bizarro

(TIE Experimental M1)

The 1999 game, “Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance” introduced several odd entries in the TIE fighter line, including the TIE Warhead, the TIE Bomb, and the TIE BigGun. Fortunately, none of these are canon, but the most bizarre fighter in this line-up was the TIE Bizarro. This unfortunately designed ship features one wing panel sandwiched between two cockpits. It does not surprise me that this massive design-fail of a ship was introduced to Star Wars fans in the same year of Jar Jar Binks.

*UPDATE: July 2020*

4 More TIE Fighters

Two Star Wars films and a live action TV show have released since I published this article, so I wanted to add some TIEs to this list to reflect an ever-expanding galaxy.

TIE Brute

The TIE Brute was an Imperial starfighter that housed twin laser canons in a pod to the left of the cockpit. The TIE was used frequently during the Empire's expansion years to help infiltrate planets. Han Solo himself flew a TIE Brute during his time in the Imperial Navy.

The TIE Brute appears in the film "Solo" and during production it was nicknamed the "Bubba" TIE.

TIE Dagger

TIE Daggers were used by Sith forces under the command of the resurrected Emperor Palpatine. This TIE was designed to be deadly and intimidating. Heavy laser canons were wedged between twin triangular shaped wings on both sides of the starfighter. Its menacing appearance was meant to strike fear in the hearts of enemy pilots.

Some fans lovingly (or not so lovingly) refer to this model as the TIE Dorito. This TIE is featured in a 2020 Lego model called "Sith TIE Fighter".

TIE Whisper

The TIE Whisper model was designed by The First Order to have better stealth systems than normal TIE models. During his reign as Supreme Leader, Kylo Ren used modified TIE intercepters- which were also labelled TIE Whisper. He used one such craft to travel the galaxy in search of Darth Sidious. This ship was destroyed on planet Pasaana by Rey. Kylo Ren used another TIE Whisper to fly to the Endorian moon Kef Bir.

Outland TIE Fighter

For years fans have wondered how TIE fighters actually landed (do they land?) Some Star Wars media showed TIEs docked from the ceiling in hangar bays. "The Force Awakens" showed TIEs stacked against stepped walls. But one TIE model, Outland TIE fighter, can actually fold its wings to land on a planet. This design was taken from unused "Force Awakens" concept art and was repurposed for "The Mandalorian" TV show.

In "The Mandalorian" it is Moff Gideon who flies an Outland TIE Fighter. "Chapter 7: The Reckoning" shows Gideon landing on planet Nevarro in his craft. Perhaps the model was an experimental Imperial design or perhaps TIEs were modified after the fall of the Empire.

Top 10 Lists

Top 10 Tie Fighters
https://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/01/top-ten-tie-fighters.html

Top 10 Lightsabers
http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2017/02/top-ten-lightsabers.html

Top 10 Bounty Hunters
http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2013/03/top-ten-bounty-hunters.htm

Top 10 Troopers
http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2017/02/top-ten-troopers.html

Top 10 Star Wars Ships

https://roadto7.blogspot.com/2020/07/top-10-star-wars-ships.html

Top 10 Star Wars Battles
http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2017/01/top-ten-star-wars-battles.html

Top 10 Planets
http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2013/01/top-ten-planets.html

Top 10 Jedi Council Members
http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2013/04/best-jedi-council-members.html

Top 12 Astromechs

https://roadto7.blogspot.com/2019/09/astromechs-ranked.html