Century tank The century tank , also known as the TIE crawler or TIE tank , was an Imperial light armored vehicle . It was an unlikely fusion of two vastly different vehicle types . Description . The century tank resembled a TIE starfighter cockpit suspended between two massive tank treads . It could hold only a single person , who acted as pilot and gunner . Driving the tank treads at speeds of up to 90 kilometers per hour were twin Santhe SSct power generator s . The pilot used foot controls to adjust the angle of steering and speed , while the hand controls were tied into the fire control systems . The tank had a pair of medium blaster cannons in the familiar " chin " mounts found on most TIE cockpits . Suspended below the cockpit ball was a retractable light turbolaser which provided the tank with considerable firepower . History . The plans for the century tank were made as early as 0 BBY / Legends , with the Imperial Army boasting that its capabilities were superior to that of the TIE / LN Starfighter . One unit notable for their use of century tanks was the 71st Elite Mechanized Assault Group . Although the century tank became famous after Battle of Endor , an early version of the vehicle — the TIE ap - 1 , or TIE Mauler — saw some action during the first years of the Galactic Civil War , where it fought against the Alliance to Restore the Republic . The century tank was the first new design to roll out of the newly liberated Santhe / Sienar Technologies in the uncertain times after the Battle of Endor . The independent - minded Santhe family , owners of Sienar Fleet Systems , had long bristled under the restrictive contracts of the Empire , and saw the opportunity of independence following the Empire ' s defeat . Santhe tried to remain neutral in the drawn out fighting between the shrinking Imperial Remnant and the growing New Republic . They still produced TIE fighters for Imperial warlords , but did so on their terms . In an attempt to break into new markets , the century tank was conceived as a relatively inexpensive to produce and purchase compact assault vehicle ( CAV ) . Its use of recycled components and designs helped cut costs and training time . The tank was cheap and mass - produced and saw some action in the Imperial Civil War on Coruscant , as squabbling warlords sought to take control of the former Imperial capital prior to the reborn Emperor Palpatine ' s reappearance . At least one century tank was in service with the Corellian Security Force during the Second Galactic Civil War . Behind the scenes . The " Dark Empire Sourcebook " capitalizes the first letter , spelling it " Century tank , " whereas the Databank uses all lower - case letters to spell the name . In 2007 , LEGO released a set based on the tank . Called a " TIE Crawler , " the set comes with two shadow stormtrooper figures . LEGO ' s TIE crawler also was equipped with two dual laser cannons that extended from the outside of the port and starboard tread hulls , giving this variant increased firepower over the standard tank . The century tank was the second only fully - Expanded Universe LEGO set to be released , the first being the TIE / D automated starfighter , although the TIE / D was included in a set with two other in - universe TIE fighters and Darth Vader TIE / Advanced starfighter .