Bes ' uliik The Bes ' uliik was a cutting - edge starfighter created by MandalMotors after the Yuuzhan Vong War , the first prototypes of which entered service with the Mandalorians in 40 ABY , during the Second Galactic Civil War . Characteristics . A " Bes ' uliik " was originally designed for a crew of three , or two with an increased weapons / fuel loadout , although the earliest production prototypes were flown by single pilots . The fighter was designed to be versatile , capable of being everything from a planetary - attack bomber to a long - range " hunter - killer " . The spaceframe measured fifteen meters long , with a wingspan of a little over half its length . The hull was a plain , clean - lined " V " - shape with a squared - off tail and a dark gray finish with high - tech baffled exhausts to enhance its stealth capabilities . The four blasters and two additional weapons mountings were all located on the underside of the fuselage . The cockpit hatch hinged at the top for entry and the bottom edges for ejection , but there were also side hatches , and on the prototype , these bore the mythosaur logo stenciled in a lighter gray color . Inside , the cockpit made use of advanced display technology , and control systems that could be activated simply by where the pilot was looking . The fighter was also able to tilt vertically on its tail section , to land and take off in a tiny area , approximately eight - by - four meters . Late in the design process , the design was modified to add a protective layer of " beskar " armor , the legendary Mandalorian iron . The designers considered applying this as either as an outer skin or part of a laminated composite spaceframe . The initial prototype was completed with an " beskar " outer skin , but there was also some discussion of a heavier layer of solid hull armor . Although this would render the fighter heavier , there were also hopes that a new alliance with the Verpine engineers of the Roche asteroid field would extend to a technology exchange , enabling the designers to lighten the underlying spaceframe structure to compensate , or to improve fuel economy . History . The " Bes ' uliik " was originally designed as the Kyr ' galaar , a name which seems to have meant " death - hawk " It was conceived after the Yuuzhan Vong War as a single development prototype combining all the new ideas being produced by MandalMotors designers — a necessarily economizing approach , as their energies were focused on reestablishing commercial production of existing designs . In 40 ABY , when a lode of " beskar " was found 100 kilometers north of Enceri , it was realized that the powerful armor could also be applied to the new fighter . This was originally hinted to " Mand ' alor " Boba Fett by his lieutenant Goran Beviin soon after the discovery , and formally suggested by Jir Yomaget of MandalMotors when he showed Fett the new design shortly afterward . It seems to have been at around this time that the name was changed to " Bes ' uliik " , or " iron beast " , in honor of the ancient Basilisk war droid s of the Mandalorians ' warrior past ( the name of which was " Bes ' uliik " in the original Mando ' a ) . Fett and Yomaget decided that , for export versions , the fighter ' s armor and capabilities would be significantly reduced , but half of the production run would be retained for " defense " of Mandalore and the Mandalore sector , with the full capabilities of the prototype , and possibly with even heavier armor . The first " Bes ' uliik " was quickly completed and put into testing , and very soon after , four spaceworthy ( and even combat - ready ) prototypes were complete . At this point , these fighters were deployed as a combat flight , led by Fett in person , to destroy factories on Murkhana in a punitive raid on behalf of their Verpine allies — and also to display the new fighter ' s capabilities to potential buyers . The extent of Mandalorian confidence in the new fighter ' s abilities can be gauged by the fact that Fett gave Murkhana advance warning of exactly what they were going to target . At first Murkhana targeted the small group of ships with several squadrons of standard fighters . The defenders then realized how powerful the ships were , eventually having the entire fleet bombard the small group . Most of the shots ricocheted off harmlessly , allowing Fett and his team to easily accomplish the raid with little to no damage . Luke Skywalker piloted a " Bes ' uliik " during the Battle of Uroro Station in 40 ABY against Jacen Solo ' s personal Star Destroyer . Several years later , several squadrons of the starfighter were contracted under the command of Mirta Gev to defend a monolith in the Chiloon Rift controlled by two Columi brothers . Some of them were destroyed by the Jedi .