Starfighter Corps ( Galactic Empire ) The Starfighter Corps , also known simply as Imperial pilot corp , was a component of the Imperial Navy under the aegis of Flight Branch that controlled the Navy ' s starfighters and pilots . History . Origins . After the Declaration of a New Order in 19 BBY , the Republic Starfighter Corps lost its status as an independent arm of the military and was merged with the Imperial Navy . Unlike the Republic Navy , the Imperial Navy ' s doctrine focused on capital ship firepower rather than starfighter superiority and it subordinated the Starfighter Corps to this role . Consequently , the Empire turned away from snubfighter development , seeing it as a distasteful legacy of the great swarms of Vulture droid starfighters deployed by the Confederate Navy during the Clone Wars . The Empire instead focused on the creation of a new generation of space superiority fighters , culminating in Sienar Fleet Systems ' TIE Series of starfighters . The TIE / LN Line Starfighter and the TIE / SA Bomber were barebones fighter designs built around a ball - shaped cockpit and Raith Sienar ' s revolutionary twin ion engine design . Seen as complements to Star Destroyers , they served as escorts , scouts , hit - and - fade raiders , and bombers supporting ground troops . As such , they lacked hyperdrives , deflector shields , or even life support systems , reducing their mass and giving them great speed and maneuverability , but also limiting their survivability and their range . TIE Fighters were deployed from the " Victory " - class Star Destroyer " Strikefast " as early as one week after the Declaration of a New Order , and they generally served the Starfighter Corps well during the Reconquest of the Rim and the campaigns against the last Separatist holdouts during the early Imperial Period , piloted by such Imperial aces as Shea Hublin . The Corps ' doctrine went largely unchallenged until the Alliance to Restore the Republic emerged as a credible opponent to the Empire after 1 BBY . In time , the TIE Fighter came to be the most potent symbol of the Imperial Navy ' s control of space . The Galactic Civil War . The Alliance Starfighter Corps ' s doctrine during the Galactic Civil War was built around shielded , hyperspace - capable starfighters that were capable of long - range independent operations , were fast enough to counter TIE Fighters , and carried payloads powerful enough to bring down the shields of large capital ships . The Empire suffered an outright humiliation at the Fei Hu campaign in 1 BBY , where the Rebel Lightspeed Panthers , equipped with the T - 65 X - wing starfighter , destroyed 265 Imperial fighters over the course of nine months with the loss of only four of their own . The subsequent Imperial defeat at the Battle of Yavin and the destruction of the First Death Star led the Starfighter Corps to begin mass production of the much faster , much more maneuverable TIE / IN interceptor , and to investigate development of its own snubfighter s . However , both sheer cost and institutional opposition within the Navy meant that the TIE / AD " Avenger " and the TIE / D Defender would never see action outside of limited deployments . The Starfighter Corps attempted to redeem the humiliating defeat at Yavin with the victory at the Second Battle of Ord Biniir , which so happened to have occurred on the same day . The second squadron of the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing under the command of Captain Soontir Fel successfully engaged and destroyed numerous Rebel Y - wing starfighters and recaptured Ord Biniir . The victory was heavily propagandised by the Empire and Fel became an Imperial hero . Now considered an elite unit , the 181st was reduced in size to a group , and the 181st Imperial Fighter Group became one of the most glamorous Imperial units and attracted the Empire ' s finest pilots . By 4 ABY , the TIE Interceptor formed twenty percent of the Starfighter Corps and was the craft of choice for elite units like the 181st Imperial Fighter Group . It was deployed in force alongside traditional TIE Fighters at the Battle of Endor , but despite inflicting heavy losses upon the attacking Alliance Fleet , was ultimately unable to prevent the destruction of the Second Death Star and the death of Emperor Palpatine . After Endor . The Imperial Military splintered among various rogue Moffs and Admirals that set themselves up as warlords in the aftermath of Endor , with only a Loyalist rump remaining to defend Sate Pestage ' s " de jure " successor government on Coruscant . Elite units like the 181st under Colonel Baron Soontir Fel remained loyal , fighting against the advancing New Republic at engagements like Brentaal IV , but were ultimately unable to prevent the New Republic ' s liberation of Coruscant in 6 ABY . The collapse of centralized Imperial authority led to numerous changes in starfighter doctrine : Warlord Zsinj deployed the shielded , missile - equipped TIE Raptor , a craft of his own design . Separated from the Imperial Academy and traditional sources of recruitment , officers like Grand Admiral Thrawn were forced to recognize that veteran TIE pilot s could no longer be treated as expendable assets . TIE Interceptors were retrofitted with deflector shields , while poorly - armored TIE models were redesigned as support craft flown by droid brains , resulting in the development of the TIE / D automated starfighter . The Starfighter Corps and the rest of the Imperial Military was consolidated under a single command in 12 ABY after Admiral Natasi Daala and Admiral Gilad Pellaeon reunified the Empire , forming the Imperial Remnant . Starfighters were an integral element of the Orinda campaign , the Remnant ' s first military offensive against the New Republic , and elite groups like the 181st , led by General Turr Phennir , continued to skirmish with the Republic until the Bastion Accords of 19 ABY . Under the Fel Empire in 130 ABY , the Starfighter Corps remained skeptical of snubfighters and continued to prefer the ancient combination of interceptors and bombers , with the heavily - shielded " Predator " - class fighter and the " Neutralizer " - class bomber filling its starfighter forces . Organization . Administration . The Starfighter Corps was under the purview of Flight Branch , which was responsible for the flight operations of all the Empire ' s warships , as well as all of the Empire ' s starfighters , including the pilots and support personnel . Tactical organization . The Starfighter Corps took most of its organization from the Clone Wars - era structure of the Republic Starfighter Corps , though the positions of fighter wing s and fighter group s in the hierarchy were swapped : The typical formation of an " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer ' s wing was four TIE Fighter squadrons ( one squadron was often equipped to be a reconnaissance squadron with TIE / rc starfighter s ) , one squadron of TIE Bombers ( lower priority ships had to make do with older TIE / gt fighter - bombers ) , and one squadron of TIE Boarding Craft . Often one or two flights in a fighter squadron were TIE / FC fire control craft . Sometimes , well disciplined pilots flew in formations of five , including the leader who often operates in the center . Sometimes one of the fighter squadrons was used for training purposes . By the Battle of Endor , one squadron had been swapped out in favor of a squadron of TIE Interceptors . During typical operations , two TIE squadrons provided screening for their Star Destroyer and any escort vessels , two conducted forward recon , and two were held in reserve . In addition , various units also placed authority on the leader , with the unit splitting apart if their leader was shot down . TIE Fighters assigned to ground operations were Navy vessels , but their pilots reported to an Imperial Army garrison commander , organized into ground support wing s . The Navy ' s insistence on retaining control of all starfighters meant that ground support wings were smaller than those assigned to Star Destroyers , and consisted of forty TIEs in ten flights of four fighters each . Three flights were TIE Bombers , six were sorted into two squadrons of TIE Fighters , and a single flight of TIE / FC fire control craft . Nonetheless , the ground support wings were considered a change from the pre - Clone Wars era Republic Military , where Army units generally were not allowed access to starfighters at all , in large part due to the Republic Navy having extremely strict control over its starfighters . Personnel . Specializations . The most visible members of the Starfighter Corps were the TIE pilot s . Distinguished by all - black flight suits and bulky , fully - enclosed , vacuum - sealed helmets , the Empire at its height produced millions of TIE pilots , and generally considered them expendable assets . The TIE pilots formed the elite of the Flight Branch , and in fact regarded the lack of protection in TIE Fighters to be a testament to this , and to their abilities . Serving TIE pilots rarely supported the intermittent attempts by Imperial officers to champion the introduction of better - protected starfighters . The rivalry between ground - and space - based pilots was legendary , which could often lead to drunken cantina brawls between " ground - hogs " and " vac - heads " . Other specializations included ground crew , providing maintenance and technical support for squadrons . The Imperial gunner s were a special sub - unit of the Corps . Even though they did not make it to becoming pilots , Imperial gunners nonetheless possessed keen eyes , superior reflexes , and a rapport with specialized equipment , and as such they were tasked to use their skills with weapons to handle the powerful turbolasers and ion cannons of Imperial vessels , such as Star Destroyers and World Devastator s . They were trained on handling light , medium and heavy turbolasers , as well as ion cannons , missile launchers and tractor beams . The Cruisemissile trooper s were a specialized variant of the TIE pilots that were specifically trained to operate the Cruisemissile assault craft s , acting as the spearheads for the Imperial Navy , and by extension , the Starfighter Corps . Unlike standard TIE pilots and the fighters they were assigned to , however , the cruisemissile troopers were affixed to their craft from the waist down . Training . Starfighter Corps training occurred after basic training at the Imperial Academy . Flight training was reserved for the top five percent of graduates of the Sector Naval Academies , and the top third of graduates from the Imperial Naval Academy on Prefsbelt IV . The Empire operated various flight school s on capital ships , planets or asteroid bases . The most prestigious was the Flight Academy housed aboard the " Venator " - class Star Destroyer " Vensenor " . At flight school , a trainee pilot would be assigned to a partner and learn to operate as a team in combat through hundreds of hours of flight drills . Attrition was high : at one point flight training had a ninety percent failure rate . Fatalities in training were common , especially after cadets were assigned to actual combat missions . In some cases , they also trained their pilots via simulations of past battles , with there being at least four training operations for each vehicle . Completing a certain number of training missions had them being presented with a special medallion signifying their completion of the required training , with three for each vehicle . The Bronze medallion was awarded to those who completed half of the necessary training requirements . Silver was likewise awarded to those who completed three quarters of the necessary training requirements . Gold , lastly was awarded to those who completed all the necessary training . Similarly , training patch es for various Imperial craft were also issued to any pilots who did at least five laps in the training simulator . Ranks . Flight Branch rank insignia plaques were similar to those of the Imperial Army . The branch ' s specialist ranks included General , Colonel , Major , Commander , Flight Captain , Flight Lieutenant , and Flight Officer , which were the equivalent of Rear Admiral , Senior Captain , Senior Commander , Junior Commander , Senior Lieutenant , Junior Lieutenant , and Ensign , respectively , in the Navy ' s Line Branch . For the junior ranks of Captain and lower , their titles were prefixed by " Flight " . TIE pilots in command positions also used positional titles , including Squadron Leader , Group Captain and Wing Commander . The very few pilots promoted beyond General were promoted into the Line Branch at the rank of Vice Admiral , although they generally retained the honorific branch title of Air Marshal . Equipment . Uniforms . Outside of combat , the Starfighter Corps wore the same olive - grey military uniforms as the rest of the Imperial Navy . In some cases , veterans like Captain Yorr , Juno Eclipse , and ace clone pilots were honored with all - black dress uniforms similar to those of the non - commissioned officers of the Stormtrooper Corps . Pilots in action wore all - black flight suits and fully - enclosed , vacuum - sealed helmets displaying the Imperial crest . The helmets themselves bore a strong enough resemblance to Stormtrooper helmets that the official field manual for the Empire ' s military forces , " " , had to specifically state that the pilots , despite the appearance of the helmets , belonged strictly to the Imperial Navy , and were not Stormtroopers . Elite units were permitted to customize their uniforms and craft : the aces of the 181st Imperial Fighter Group wore red piping along the arms and legs of their flight suits and uniforms , as well as the wings of their TIE Interceptors , signifying that they had achieved ten kills in combat . Owing to their being a specialized version of the TIE pilots , the cruisemissile troopers wore similar uniforms to the ones used by TIE pilots while in action , although the primary difference is that the colors of the uniforms are inverted ( ie , the main color is white , and the Imperial crests on their helmets are black ) . Weapons . Some TIE pilots carried blaster pistols as sidearms in the event that they were shot down . However , since the odds of a pilot surviving a crash were low , standard issue of personal weapons was rare . Ceremonial sabers were issued as part of the Corps ' dress uniform : officers who had been dishonorably discharged would have their swords broken as a sign of their disgrace . Vehicles . The primary craft of the Starfighter Corps were the immense number of variants of the TIE Series . By far the most common were the TIE / LN starfighter , the TIE / IN interceptor , and the TIE / sa bomber . Less common were the older TIE / gt fighter - bomber , the TIE / fc fire control craft , and the TIE / rc reconnaissance starfighter . As the Galactic Civil War ground on , the Starfighter Corps developed a series of experimental TIE variants designed to combat Rebel snubfighters , including the shielded , hyperdrive - capable and torpedo - equipped TIE / D Defender , the TIE Hunter , and the TIE / ph phantom , an exceedingly rare variant developed by Grand Admiral Martio Batch , equipped with a cloaking device . Although their most well known starfighter ordnance was the TIE series , they also had access to other types of fighters as well . A notable example of starfighters outside the TIE series was the " Alpha " - class Xg - 1 Star Wing and the Missile Boat . However , the latter ultimately was shelved until further notice , both due to a near - theft of one of the prototypes and events caused by a coup from one of the Grand Admirals .