Lambda - class T - 4a shuttle / Legends The " Lambda " - class T - 4a shuttle , also known as the Imperial Shuttle , was a standard light utility craft in common use throughout the Imperial military as a transport for troops and high - ranking individuals . Characteristics . Sienar Fleet Systems " Lambda " - class shuttle was based on a tri - wing design with a central stationary wing flanked by a pair of folding wings . When in flight position , the wing configuration resembled an inverted Y . When landing , the lower wings folded upwards . This design feature was implemented as a means to protect the ship ' s occupants as it touches down . The Lambda was designed as both a cargo and troop transport and could carry 80 metric tons or more than 20 soldiers . It had a crew of six : a pilot , co - pilot , navigator , communications officer , gunner , and engineer . A shuttle could be piloted by a skeleton crew consisting of a single officer during emergencies . It was also equipped with a Class 1 hyperdrive since its mission profile involved traveling across the galaxy . The cockpit was at the front of the craft , and the boarding ramp was behind and under it . Its main drive units were capable of reaching speeds of 850 kilometers per hour inside atmospheres , or 50 MGLT . Cooling intakes were on the fuselage , and formation lights were at the end of the wings . The Lambda was reasonably well armed , with three double blaster cannons ( one rear - mounted ) and two double laser cannons . The military version built by Cygnus Spaceworks was armed with ten laser cannons . It was also protected by a powerful deflector shield , which was powered by a pair of generators . A Lambda was covered by a heavily reinforced hull capable of deflecting laser fire . The shuttle class was so well armed that it was able to travel across the galaxy without an escort , thus making it suitable for covert operations . Additionally , the shuttle was equipped with a state - of - the - art communications grid . In an emergency the cockpit could be jettisoned from the main body and travel a short distance at sublight speed . The lifeboat did not have enough space for all passengers when the shuttle had its full complement and therefore priority was given to the most senior officers on board . History . The " Lambda " - class T - 4a shuttle was designed by former Cygnus Spaceworks employees who were lured away by Sienar Fleet Systems , which promised them high salaries , a portion of future profits , and even personal star yachts . Although these shuttles were primarily manufactured by Sienar , Cygnus was subcontracted to build a more heavily armed military version . The T - 4a was the immediate successor of the " Theta " - class T - 2c shuttle , and was first introduced in 19 BBY at some point after the Imperial subjugation of Kashyyyk . The " Lambda " - class shuttle was used along with the TIE / sh shuttle to transport officers between ships in a fleet . Lower ranking officers usually used the TIE shuttle , while the larger " Lambda " - class shuttles were reserved for flag officers . The Lambda was also favored by Imperial personnel because it was heavily armed and shielded . Thus , the vehicle class found itself used by key Imperial officials including Darth Vader and even Emperor Palpatine himself . Vader and the Emperor in particular utilized shuttles during instances that required them to make a personal appearance as a means of motivating the troops . These high - ranking officials often converted the cargo space into personal quarters and equipped them with secure HoloNet transceivers directly connected to Imperial Center . Emperor Palpatine ' s shuttle was equipped with extra shielding , for obvious reasons . It was also rumored that it was equipped with a cloaking device for added protection . The " Lambda " - class shuttle " Tydirium " was captured by the Alliance to Restore the Republic and used to insert a strike team on the forest moon of Endor . In addition to this , the Alliance maintained a fleet of " Lambda " - class shuttles as support ships , with the Alliance Starbird painted on the central wing . During the Galactic Civil War , the Rebels used a fleet of captured " Lambda " - class shuttles as support ships . The Alliance logo was painted on their central wing , to help tell them apart from the Imperial ships . The Alliance shuttles were occasionally used as landing craft or scoutships . With the fall of the Empire , Cygnus also manufactured a variant of the shuttle similar to the original version , largely to compete with Sienar . The Lambda also found itself used by various sectorial and planetary security forces including the New Republic and the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances . Jacen Solo and Ben Skywalker used an armed " Lambda " - class variant during their mission to Adumar in 40 ABY . Behind the scenes . " Lambda " shuttles were erroneously referred to as " " Tyderian " class " in some sources , a misunderstanding originating from the shuttle " Tydirium " . The name Lambda comes from the Greek letter ( uppercase Λ , lowercase λ ) whose lowercase form resembles the general arrangement of the shuttle ' s wings . The designation of this shuttle type as " Lambda " - class dates back to the of " " ( 1983 ) , and was picked up by contributors to West End Games when that company began writing material about the shuttle . In " Return of the Jedi " ( and in a re - used scene inserted into the special edition of ) , there are inconsistencies between the ILM model and the mock - up used on the set . The main difference between the two is the cockpit of the shuttle . While the bottom of the cockpit lines up with the bottom of the shuttle ' s body in the ILM model , the mock - up of the shuttle has a cockpit that dips much further down . The other notable difference is that the landing gear of the shuttle in the mockup are much taller , allowing people to easily walk underneath , while with the ILM model , there wouldn ' t be enough room for a person to fit under the Lambda . This has affected other " Star Wars " media as well , most likely due to using different reference pictures when creating illustrations . The Sienar / Cygnus connection has occasionally been a source of confusion , but the StarWars . com Databank indicates that the Lambda ' s predecessor was built by Cygnus and the designers of that shuttle were lured away by Sienar , who then built the original Lambda shuttles . Cygnus then built the Lambda under license from Sienar . Sienar and Cygnus also cooperated on the " Sentinel " - class landing craft , a derivative design . Another derivative design known as the " Delta " - class JV - 7 escort shuttle was seen in the " X - Wing " computer game series . The craft library of the game " " describes it as a " militarized version of the " Lambda " - class shuttle built under subcontract to Sienar , " but little else is known about its design and manufacturing history . In these titles that feature the " Delta " - class , the " Lambda " - class was toned down . It lacks the potently deadly rear turret , has less armor and shields , and is slower than the " Delta " . " Lambda " - class shuttles are frequently found in the hands of pirates and smugglers , rather than exclusively used by Imperials . Missions often use them as starfighters ( instead of their role of transporting important personnel ) and not surprisingly they fare poorly due to their large size and lack of maneuverability . One notable inconsistency in several official sources is the layout of the cockpit . " " shows six seats in the center of the cockpit and additional seats on each side , two of which accommodate port and starboard gunners . An early drawing from Lucasfilm Ltd . also showed this layout , and was used by the artist drawing the shuttle . However , the deckplan for the shuttle shown above only contains six seats in the cockpit . The movie cockpit also appears to only hold six crew members . The Lego model ' s cockpit only holds four . A " Lambda " - class T - 4a shuttle is in the pilot episode of the " Firefly " television series created by . It can be seen lifting off from the Evesdown Docks in the background behind " Serenity " . In September of 2010 , LEGO Star Wars released a model of the shuttle that was fully in scale to minifigures . The shuttle model included folding wings , detachable landing gear , and five minifigures : Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker , Darth Vader , a shuttle pilot , an Imperial officer , and a stormtrooper . The model was dubbed an Ultimate Collectors Model . In 1995 the model kit company AMT / Ertl released a model kit of the Imperial Shuttle . This model resembles the set piece rather than the ILM filming miniature . The German model company Revell released a second kit of this ship , which appears to have been based on the AMT / Ertl kit and has the same proportionality . In " " and " " ( the latter via a co - op port of the former ) , a " Lambda " - class T - 4a shuttle , specifically the " Tydirium " , was playable during the late stages of the mission " Imperial Academy Heist . " In the former game , the player can unlock and play it outside of the level , although only for Triumph of the Empire and Revenge on Yavin , by getting a Gold Medal for both levels . However , in the latter game , it was only playable via that level , and cannot actually be selected for missions due to the Revenge on Yavin level being cut out from the Co - Op mode of the latter game . Nonetheless , in " Rebel Strike " , the player can at least get details on the shuttle by approaching the shuttle and pressing the c - stick in the Arcade mode .