Defender starfighter The Defender starfighter , or Republic Systems Defender , was a starfighter developed by the Republic Engineering Corporation as part of the Defender design program . It was based on the ATL ( " Air - to - Land " ) Interceptor used by the Fromm Gang 15 BBY . Characteristics . The Defender was 5 . 3 meters long and armed with three laser cannons : one in the nose of the craft , and one each on either side beneath the wing . To save space and weight , the standard Defender starfighter was not equipped with a hyperdrive . Its extendible S - foil maneuvering struts could retract into the spaceframe for non - combat situations , but once an enemy had been engaged , the struts swung down and forward to give the Defender better positioning for maneuvering - jet bursts . While sudden maneuvers in an atmosphere actually risked tearing off the struts ( due to the G - forces , the gravity of the planet itself , and atmospheric drag ) , in space , the Defender could literally spin around 180 degrees in mid - flight by firing one maneuvering jet forward and one backward . History . The original ATL Interceptors were used by the Fromm Gang to defend Trigon One in 15 BBY . Based upon this design , the Defender entered service with the New Republic relatively quickly in the years after the Battle of Endor . As its name suggests , it was used primarily as a short - range fighter to defend larger targets against attack . The New Republic Defender was intended to fulfill the need for a system space and atmospheric defense starfighter . Before the Alliance to Restore the Republic defeated the Galactic Empire , its fighter design philosophy emphasized fast ships that could evade Imperial pursuit by jumping into hyperspace . However , when the New Republic gained control and the remnants of the Empire became disenfranchised , New Republic worlds became desperate for a fighter that could fend off Imperial raids . Although the Defender was slow by contemporary standards in starfighter design ( at only two - thirds of the top speed of an A - wing or TIE Interceptor ) , it was far faster than the aging Republic Y - wing and Z - 95 Headhunters that were usually relegated to planetary defense . The design was originally intended to deploy with the " Nebula " - class Star Destroyer and " Defender " - class assault carrier , but these ships were delayed for the best part of a decade , and although the fighter saw service in campaigns like the liberation of Kathol and at the Battle of Cadinth , it did not become as renowned as existing designs such as the X - wing or E - wing . Eventually , some of these fighters found their way onto the black market — by 9 ABY , the smuggler Mazzic was using a pair of hyperdrive - equipped Defenders as gunships , and they impressed Talon Karrde so much , that he acquired two similarly - equipped ships of his own for use aboard " Wild Karrde " . Mara Jade similarly used a Defender one on her mission on Nirauan in 19 ABY . The craft she used however was not equipped with hyperdrive despite it also belonging to Karrde ' s organization . Jade ' s Defender launched from one of Karrde ' s ships the " Starry Ice " . Behind the scenes . The Defender was based on one of the last toys of the Kenner " Star Wars " toy line , the ATL Interceptor from the animated television series " " . However , it had originally been designed as the Death Star Defender , which was intended for use in " " .