E - wing escort starfighter The E - wing escort starfighter was a single - pilot starfighter developed by FreiTek Inc . It was the first fighter designed entirely under the support of the New Republic . As designed , the E - wing was intended to match , or exceed , the performance of the preceding X - wing series in nearly every respect , and was originally intended to replace the older design in New Republic service . However , the craft suffered from some significant problems when first deployed among front - line squadrons , including malfunction issues with the laser cannons and the new R7 astromech units . As a result , many pilots continued to fly upgraded versions of the venerable X - wing . Despite the initial problems , improved models of the E - wing would see wide spread use by the New Republic , particularly by the Fifth Fleet , and later by the Galactic Alliance . They would play a significant role in every engagement from the Black Fleet Crisis , through the Yuuzhan Vong War , and beyond . By the time of the Second Galactic Civil War , the E - wing had matured into an excellent starfighter design and equipped several elite squadrons of the Galactic Alliance . However , it never achieved the same popularity or wide spread use as the X - wing . Characteristics . The E - wing was considered an excellent combination of firepower , maneuverability , speed , and armor , but initial models required the use of the R7 - series astromech droid , which was exclusively built for the E - wing . The spaceframe of the E - wing was surrounded by two aerodynamic foils which provided stability and increased weapons ability . The nosecone contained the starfighter ' s powerful sensors , while a concealed astromech droid could easily be positioned midway through the craft . Directly in front of the astromech slot was the cockpit . The fighter was heavily armed with three laser cannons and one proton torpedo launcher with a magazine of sixteen torpedoes . Like most Rebel designs , the lasers were spread out and could be set to converge at varying distances . A single E - wing cost 185 , 000 credits . Much of the great cost of the E - wing came from the use of the R7 droid , a much more sophisticated and expensive astromech than the classic R2 and R5 astromechs . Later models of the E - wing starfighters were however able to interface with earlier astromech models , such as an R2 or R5 unit . History . The Republic introduced the E - wing during Grand Admiral Thrawn ' s campaign to rebuild the fallen Empire . The fighter later served in the fight against the resurrected Palpatine . Built with cutting - edge weapons , shielding , and propulsion systems , the fighter was extremely powerful and well - rounded . It was intended as an escort fighter and could also serve as a medium - range assault craft . It had enough speed to counter TIE / In starfighter s and had better armor than other New Republic starfighters , including the X - wing . They were used by the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances during the Second Galactic Civil War , during early skirmishes with Corellia . Development . The E - wing had some initial teething problems relating to the placement of the wing lasers near the outboard engines . The synthetic Tibanna used for the lasers tended to degrade at accelerated rates , which swiftly rendered those guns near - useless ( and cutting gun firepower to a third ) . Rebel engineers came up with a temporary solution during the World Devastator assault on Mon Calamari . Those problems were eventually resolved and the fighter entered fleet service . It is known to have served at least with the New Republic ' s Fifth Fleet as the primary fleet space superiority fighter . When the Fifth Fleet was moved to the Koornacht Cluster during the Black Fleet Crisis , many E - wings saw action against the Yevetha in the conflict that ensued . Four major models appeared to have been designed ; the last ( Series IV ) was introduced around the time of the capture of Coruscant by the Yuuzhan Vong . By that point in the war , the XJ X - wing was rapidly equipping most squadrons in the massive military expansion ; the more sophisticated E - wing may have been limited to some elite squadrons . The Series IV E - wing remained in service through the transition from New Republic to Galactic Alliance , and was still in operation as of the Second Galactic Civil War . Behind the scenes . The E - wing ' s first appeared in the comic series " Dark Empire " . The ship was later included in the original " Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels " after being adapted by West End Games for the RPG . However there are a number of visual discrepancies between the EGVV schematics and the original " Dark Empire " Artwork :