Republic Starfighter Corps / Legends The Republic Starfighter Corps was the aerial warfare branch of the Republic Military . Alongside the Republic Navy and the Republic Army , it served the Galactic Republic for nearly fifteen thousand years until after the New Sith Wars , when the Starfighter Corps was scaled down by the Ruusan Reformation and made part of the Judicial Forces . The Republic Starfighter Corps was restored in 22 BBY with the outbreak of the Clone Wars . However , after the Declaration of a New Order in 19 BBY , the Starfighter Corps lost its status as an independent arm and was subordinated to the requirements of the Imperial Navy . History . The Sith Wars . Part of the Republic Military , throughout its history the Republic Starfighter Corps fulfilled both planetary - based orbital defense and fleet - based deep - space combat . Traditionally it was far more involved in the former role than the latter , it being far more difficult to attach starfighters to fleets than it was to operate them from the surface of a planet . Consequently , the Republic Navy tended to disdain dedicated carriers while the Republic Starfighter Corps operated long - range , hyperspace - capable , heavily - armed snubfighter s from planetary bases . For much of galactic history , however , snubfighters were absent from deep - space engagements : many of the advantages of snubfighters disappeared in the great distances between opposing squadrons of battleships . Starfighters that were designed for fleet engagements were traditionally short - ranged superiority fighters like the S - 100 " Stinger " - class starfighter , intended for scouting ahead of assault fleets and countering attacking snubfighters with superior speed and mobility . During the Great Hyperspace War , " Stinger " - class starfighters duelled with the " Blade " - class starfighters of the Sith Empire . From the Mandalorian Wars for nearly four thousand years , the " Aurek " - class tactical strikefighter was the Republic ' s standard planet - based " hyperspace snub " , with the S - 250 " Chela " - class starfighter fulfilling a similar role . For many centuries , however , commanders were sceptical of the ability of snubfighters to decisively impact on a space battle . When anti - ship missile capability was needed , naval commanders preferred specialist bomber starfighters , large , complex and heavy craft built around powerful sensor arrays and days - long mission profiles , designed to track down enemy fleets and launch surprise attacks . Naval wisdom held for centuries that this was the only scenario in which torpedo runs could penetrate defensive fighter screens and flak defenses . In the aftermath of the Ruusan campaign , the final actions of the New Sith Wars , the Republic Starfighter Corps and the rest of the Republic Military were downsized and merged into the Judicial Forces . Clone Wars . The Republic Starfighter Corps was restored in 22 BBY with the outbreak of the Clone Wars . Tactically speaking , the Corps was fully integrated into the Grand Army of the Republic and the Republic Navy . Its ranks filled with clone pilots and operating alongside the Jedi Starfighter Corps , it was equipped with a new collection of advanced starfighters , including the V - 19 Torrent , the BTL - B Y - wing and the Z - 95 Headhunter . Late - war additions to the Starfighter Corps ' arsenal included the V - wing starfighter , the ARC - 170 snubfighter and the NTB - 630 and PTB - 625 bombers . The Republic Navy ' s main starfighter carriers of the war , the " Venator " - and " Victory " - class Star Destroyers , were originally designed with traditional doctrine in mind and to operate NTB - 630 torpedo bombers alongside short - range A - 6 Interceptor s . However , developments in snubfighter technology had outraced doctrine : the performance of N - 1 starfighters at the Battle of Naboo had shown that hyperspace - capable snubfighters could indeed destroy battleships . The experience was confirmed with the destruction of the Separatist superweapon " Malevolence " at the Battle of the Kaliida Nebula , helped in no small part by it being crippled by Y - wing starfighters . Consequently , carrier capacity was largely given over to snubfighters like the ARC - 170 by the end of the Clone Wars , and designers like Vors Voorhorian and Walex Blissex spent the war years designing a new generation of starfighters that could dogfight on equal terms with any starfighter in space . As the Clone Wars progressed , heavy losses among clone pilots and the growing significance of space combat meant that clone troopers otherwise trained for ground warfare found themselves pressed into pilot roles . Among these units was the 501st Legion , which deployed a detachment of pilots to the Battle of Coruscant in 19 BBY who , alongside Squad Seven , proved instrumental in breaking through Confederate Navy pickets to allow Obi - Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to board the " Invisible Hand " to rescue the kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine . Legacy . The Starfighter Corps was entirely merged and integrated into the new Imperial Navy after the Declaration of a New Order . Unlike the Republic Navy , the Imperial Navy ' s doctrine focused on capital ship firepower rather than starfighter superiority and it subordinated the Imperial Starfighter Corps to this role . Consequently the Imperial Army was often starved of starfighter support , and had to organize fighters loaned from the Navy into understrength ground support wing s . The Empire turned away from snubfighter development and instead focused on the creation of a new generation of space superiority fighters , culminating in Sienar Fleet Systems ' TIE Series of starfighter . The Alliance Starfighter Corps of the Rebel Alliance , meanwhile , continued development of snubfighters , and was notable in that it remained an entirely independent branch of the Alliance Military . Organization . Mandalorian Wars and Jedi Civil War . Squadrons were the highest organizational unit of the Corps during this period , with each squadron commanded by a Commander . Because of the lack of any larger units , there was a higher turnover rate of this position than in other fields , with many commanders choosing to take assignments on larger ships in order to receive promotions . Clone Wars . During the Clone Wars the Corps was divided into Groups , with each group assigned to specific units such as capital ships or starfighter bases :