TIE Advanced x1 / Legends The TIE Advanced x1 , or TIE / x1 was an advanced prototype starfighter touted as a replacement for the standard TIE Fighter tested by Darth Vader and X1 at the battles of Yavin and Mustafar respectively . While it never made it into production , many of its best design features were later incorporated into the TIE / sa bomber and TIE / IN interceptor . Further development of the Advanced continued , eventually leading to the TIE Avenger and TIE Defender . Characteristics . The TIE Advanced x1 featured a Sienar Fleet Systems I - s3a solar ionization reactor and paired P - s5 . 6 twin ion engines like the original TIE Fighter . However , the x1 had an original spaceframe , with an elongated rear deck and reinforced durasteel - alloy hull . The x1 ' s most important innovation was the use of " bent - wing " solar array wings , like those used on the TIE / sa bomber , which had the advantages of increased surface area for more power while also reducing the craft ' s profile , compared to the TIE / LN starfighter ' s hexagonal panel wings . Speed was only slightly improved due to the added mass of the vessel ; a good deal of the extra power was bled off to the deflector shield generators . While less maneuverable than standard TIE fighters , it was more resilient in battle . The 9 . 2 meter - long craft had twin heavy L - s9 . 3 laser cannons in a gimballed , front - mounted position , as well as a cluster missile launcher . In addition to its shields , it had a modest Class 4 . 0 hyperdrive but no life support systems . The target tracking system was also more sophisticated than the already formidable advanced targeting system on standard TIE craft , used to overcome the extremely powerful electronic jamming used by all combat craft to defeat target lock in battle . For best performance , the targeting system of the x1 required frequent adjustment in combat . Only the most elite Imperial pilots flew the TIE Advanced , and the starfighter was capable of fighting a T - 65 X - wing starfighter to a draw . History . Wishing to cut all ties with his Jedi past after his fateful duel , Darth Vader contacted Raith Sienar with a set of specifications for a new starfighter . Sienar and his team rose to the challenge and eventually presented Vader with the TIE Advanced x1 model . At least one ended up piloted by Juno Eclipse , back when she was still part of the Imperial forces as a member of the Black Eight Squadron . In 1 BBY , several months after the start of the Galactic Civil War , a renegade clone of the late Galen Marek stole Vader ' s TIE Advanced to escape Kamino and travel to Cato Neimoidia . Vader continued to fly it often afterwards , and even went to some lengths to have it recovered and repaired when damaged during the trench run at the Battle of Yavin 4 . Armed with the references of a pleased Darth Vader , Sienar then presented his x1 to the Imperial Navy for mass distribution . The Empire , however , decided not to order the TIE Advanced x1 in large quantities , citing their excessive cost . Privately , some Imperial Navy strategists admitted that the Navy was afraid to purchase a fighter with a hyperdrive , fearing that it would give bureaucrats an excuse to slash orders for new capital starships . Some also feared that hyperdrive - equipped starfighters would facilitate defections . In the end , only a few squadrons were equipped with x1 ' s . Nonetheless , Vader improved on the x1 design , eventually creating a modified version of the design that was also rumored to possess solar strakes to the panels . The few ships built were carried aboard Star Destroyers and other Imperial vessels . TIE Advanced x1s were deployed from Commander Strom ' s " Pursuit " - class light cruiser to stage an attack on the Wheel , which the Empire blamed on the Rebellion , excusing the Imperial takeover of the station . TIE Advanced were also utilized during the events at Constancia , with two being dispatched alongside Boarding Craft 356 to retrieve a life pod believed to contain a badly injured Luke Skywalker and Gamine ( although in actuality it contained Han Solo and Sharlee in battle armor . Storm Squadron was known to use x1s extensively . Several x1 starfighters were also in a fleet gathering observed by Admiral Kendal Ozzel and Captain Firmus Piett at some point between the former ' s promotion to Admiral and the latter ' s promotion to Admiral . The Empire instead opted for the TIE / IN interceptor , which featured the TIE Advanced x1 ' s drive system in a more compact ship . Although the TIE interceptor lacked a hyperdrive and shields , it was blindingly fast , incredibly maneuverable , and 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 . The Advanced x1 ' s bent - wing solar array wings were the same as the wings used on the similar but twin - hulled TIE / sa bomber . The fighter flown by Vader at Yavin was repaired when he reached Imperial Relay Outpost V - 798 . Vader had it with him on the " Terror " , while overseeing the TIE Phantom project . When the " Terror " was destroyed by Rebel operatives , Vader escaped in his fighter . Vader again utilized his TIE Advanced x1 during the Battle of Hoth . However , his ship was damaged and rendered inoperative by Rebel starfighters piloted by members of Renegade Squadron It was later stowed aboard the " Executor " and was apparently vaporized when the ship collided with the second Death Star during the Battle of Endor , though at least one TIE Advanced x1 was involved in the space battle over the sanctuary moon . One of Vader ' s other TIE Advanced x1 models was discovered by Jaden Korr in a hangar at Darth Vader ' s former stronghold on Vjun . Also , the Sith Lord X1 flew such a ship during the Battle of Mustafar . During the liberation of Coruscant , at least two TIE Advanced x1s , utilized by Elite Force , were tasked with guarding the Imperial Palace , although they ultimately failed . By the beginning of the Yuuzhan Vong War , enough of these ships had been made that some ended up in the hands of private parties such as Lando Calrissian , who used a modified TIE Advanced x1 for entertainment purposes in the asteroid belt at Dubrillion . During the Battle of Dubrillion , Jacen , Jaina , and Anakin Solo — Vader ' s grandchildren — flew three of these fighters against Yuuzhan Vong coralskippers . Behind the scenes . In Geoffrey Mandel ' s 1978 blueprints for the " Imperial I " - class Star Destroyers , fighters known as " TIE Assault Craft " could be seen as part of the fighter complement . These bent - wing craft might have been TIE Advanced x1s with a different name or possibly a sister craft of the x1 . The size comparison chart found in the 2011 reference book " Millennium Falcon Owner ' s Workshop Manual " seems to suggest a different length for the x1 . By using the well documented sizes of the " Millennium Falcon " and the X - wing as a scale , the resulting size is roughly 7 . 6 meters . The x1 is armed with a supply of cluster missile s in its appearance in the game " " . The x1 appears to have navigation lights that are like fog lights . Various x1 starfighters were seen in the background of an artwork by Tommy Lee Edwards depicting Admiral Ozzel and Captain Piett observing a fleet gathering in the 2012 guidebook " The Essential Guide to Warfare " . The background itself uses a picture from Ansel Hsiao ' s personal gallery as a background , originally titled " Strategic Reserve . " According to Ansel Hsiao in an email dated July 18 , 2012 , when he was creating the artwork , he chose the X1 starfighters to be among the fleet for a few reasons : He hadn ' t completed any TIEs that utilized a hyperdrive outside of the x1 at the time the artwork was made , and he envisioned the fleet in question as being a high mobility fleet , which required fighters that possessed a functioning hyperdrive . He reasoned that with those needs , units such as the fleet in the image were important enough to have access to limited - production fighters , and that limited - production fighters in a galaxy - spanning empire would still mean a lot of fighters in a relative sense . The " " game gives the following description of the craft : " The prototype starfighter used by Darth Vader at the Battle of Yavin and the basis for the frighteningly efficient TIE Interceptor , the TIE Advanced X1 is easily recognizable due to its distinctive bent wings . Unlike all other TIE Fighters , the prototype is equipped with a deflector shield generator and a modest hyperdrive system . The TIE Advanced is armed with fixed twin heavy blaster cannons , but has no life support systems . "