TIE / sa bomber / Legends The TIE / sa bomber , simply known as the TIE bomber or T / B , was a larger , less maneuverable TIE starfighter used for destroying large starships and pinpoint - precision bombing . The " sa " in the TIE bomber ' s designation stood for " surface assault . " Due to their distinctive dual - hull shape , TIE bombers came to be referred to occasionally as " dupe s " or ( albeit indirectly ) " sitting ducks " by enemy pilots . The latter nickname was due to its bulky structure making it much slower and far less maneuverable than other TIE craft . Characteristics . The TIE / sa bomber had two hulls next to each other ; one carried the pilot and the other carried a pair of general purpose warhead launchers , enabling them to carry a variety of weapons tailored for the mission . The bomber was much more heavily built - up than the " fighter " - series of TIEs ; it carried more sophisticated sensors to penetrate capital ship jamming and SFS P - s4 twin ion engine s powered by a SFS I - a2b solar ionization reactor to allow a full payload to be carried at a reasonable speed . An Imperial Star Destroyer generally carried a squadron of 12 bombers . The TIE bomber was capable of carrying at least one of the following payloads , for a total of 15 metric tons : sixteen concussion missiles , twelve proton torpedoes , eight proton rockets , six space mine s , four proton bombs , sixty - four thermal detonators , or thousands of propaganda pamphlets . Guided concussion missiles / proton torpedoes were generally carried nearing the inside of the second hull , orbital mines were placed in a rack above the missile rack , while proton bombs and orbital mines were generally near the exterior of the hull , near the bomb - drop chute . In addition , the second hull also possessed an ordnance maneuvering arm that retrieves and loads armaments . Its fixed armament was two wing - mounted laser cannons . The bomber was agile enough to deliver devastating strikes with surgical precision ; as shown by a mission when a group of these craft destroyed a Rebel - occupied tower in the middle of a crowded city while leaving the surroundings untouched . Nonetheless , the bomber was slower and less maneuverable than the TIE / LN starfighter . Like most mass - produced TIEs , it lacked shields , though it did partly compensate by having a stronger hull . This was largely the reason why one of its nicknames by Rebel pilots was " sitting duck , " as they were considered easy prey . Standard Imperial doctrine required that bombers be escorted to target by other starfighters . While not expected to engage enemy fighters in dogfights due to their slower speed and agility , TIE Bombers could target them from a standoff distance with their large magazines of concussion missiles . During the conflict at Mylok IV , a squadron of Demetrius Zaarin ' s bombers held off large numbers of Nharwaak and Rebel Y - wings , allowing the Imperials to aid the Habeen in evacuating their base . Due to a shortage of TIE Interceptors during the pacification of the Pakuuni system , Maarek Stele thrust his bomber into the space superiority role against Rebel and pirates , once defending Thrawn ' s craft from an attack while he visited the newly completed outpost NL - 1 . Imperial commanders used bombers to counter Rebel B - wing starfighters , with the TIEs launching their missiles directly into their flightpaths . The TIE Bomber ' s lack of shields was exploited by enemy forces during the Sepan Civil War . There , the Ripoblus conducted an attack on the Dimok Science Station Youst spearheaded by six Assault Transports . The station ' s defending fighters , consisting of Z - 95 Headhunters and " Delta " - class JV - 7 escort shuttles , quickly fell victim to the turrets of the ATR - 6 that they were trying to attack . When Admiral Harkov ' s forces entered the area to repel the Ripoblus , they deployed TIE Bomber to take out the ATR - 6s from a safe distance with proton torpedoes . Imperial pilots discovered that a full - strength ATR - 6 could survive even three torpedo hits , with several Bombers lost trying to finish off the injured ATR - 6 with laser cannon fire . Maarek Stele opted wisely to replace his payload with proton rockets , which required more careful aiming , but one of these devastating warheads was enough to quickly destroy an ATR - 6 . Near the end of the campaign , while covering the transfer of TIE Avengers , Stele distracted the gunners of the Dimok cruiser " Ben Het " so bombers could safely conduct their torpedo runs against it , resulting in its destruction . The TIE Bomber , unlike other TIE models , was also equipped with life support systems and a cockpit ejection seat , although pilots nonetheless wear flight suits in case of an emergency . History . The TIE Bomber succeeded the TIE / gt starfighter as the Empire ' s primary ground assault craft in the TIE series . The TIE / gt being the first of the series to have its main pod elongated from a sphere to a cylindrical shape to accommodate a bomb bay . Backwater planets and lower priority capital ships had to initially make do with the TIE / gt , though the eventual widespread adaptation of the Bomber phased out the gt in areas such as the Dantooine system where " Deathfire " McDibs was known to pilot one . The TIE / sa Bomber adopted a longer , though similarly elongated pod to that of the TIE / gt for its dual - pod design and used larger curved wings , with an increased surface area of solar ionization paneling , providing higher power output to accommodate the increase in mass . The TIE Bomber came into service during the early years of the Empire and was used to quell the Separatist holdouts still active at the time , namely Gizor Dellso ' s fleet of former CIS naval starships and private droid army . Two months after the Battle of Yavin , TIE bombers were deployed during a Rebel scouting mission to the Dominus sector to bomb the Rebel scouts , but the Rebels were able to escape the bombers . A short while later , at least one bomber was equipped with a pod under its fuselage . The bomber had a hyperdrive , and under the orders of Colonel Bircher , the pilot followed Gray Flight away from an ambush . It detonated , severely damaging Leia Organa ' s X - wing . TIE bombers were constructed at Imperial Airbase s on the order of Darth Vader during campaigns against the Rebel Alliance . During the Evacuation of Yavin , TIE bombers bombed the Great Temple , although several were destroyed by traps planted by General Jan Dodonna . Around six months after the Battle of Yavin , the Empire dispatched TIE bombers to Luke Skywalker ' s homeworld , Tatooine . The six - ship detachment attacked Mos Eisley Spaceport , but were eliminated by the Rebel ' s Rogue Squadron . A group on the planet Barkhesh attempted to interdict a Barkhesh Resistance convoy , but were stopped by Rogue Squadron . A flight was also sent to bomb the crashed Rebel starship " Nonnah " but failed in their mission . A squadron was also sent to Corellia to interdict the defection of Crix Madine . Although the craft destroyed the Coronet Capitol Tower , they were unable to prevent the escape of Madine . TIE bombers were also stationed at the Weapons Research Facility on Fest , and attempted to destroy a Rebel commando team which had absconded with All Terrain Personal Transport s , but were again stopped by Rogue Squadron . A squadron was subsequently assigned to blockade Chandrila where they failed to stop an armored hovertrain escorted by Rogue Squadron . Later , a squadron led by Moff Kohl Seerdon attacked Thyferra ' s bacta supplies , but were again intercepted by Rogue Squadron . During Tycho Celchu ' s defection , TIE bombers attempted to interdict the pilot . During the Battle of Hoth , several TIE bomber squadrons attacked escaping Rebel transports trying to run the blockade , causing significant losses among them . Only the intervention of Rogue Squadron in holding off enough of the bombers allowed the greater part of the Rebels to escape . Shortly afterwards , a pair of these craft were used to bomb the asteroid in which the " Millennium Falcon " was hiding . During the Raid at Bakura , Wedge Antilles hijacked a TIE bomber from the prison facility to help save Derek Klivian , who crash - landed on the surface of the planet . Bombers also participated in various conflicts on Bespin , including a minor raid conducted by the Rebel Alliance , and the Battle of Bespin . After the Battle of Endor , TIE bombers were among the forces which fought against the Wookiee liberation effort . In 14 ABY , two TIE bombers were stationed at Vjun and tried to stop the Jedi Jaden Korr from entering Bast Castle . TIE bombers continued to see extensive use throughout the Galactic Civil War , where they often performed bombing run s on enemy forces , and even saw action in the early part of the Yuuzhan Vong War . At least one TIE bomber survived up to 139 ABY , where it acted as the personal ship of a mysterious masked bounty hunter . It was summoned via remote control through her cybernetic hand , an element that resulted in her death when Ania Solo had used the removed cybernetic hand to summon the ship to crush its owner . Successors . The TIE Bomber quickly supplanted the TIE / gt starfighter as the Imperial Navy ' s front line assault bomber . Despite its disadvantages , notably its lack of speed , shields , and hyperdrive , it endeared itself to bureaucracy as it could be mass - produced like other inexpensive TIEs . Other warhead - carrying fighters such as the Assault Gunboat , TIE Avenger ( despite its lower magazine capacity ) , TIE Defender , and Missile Boat , despite having shields and a hyperdrive , were far costlier and only found deployment in specific missions . The TIE Bomber thus remained the mainstay of the Imperial Navy ' s heavy fighters . One of its most notable accomplishments was the destruction of Ali Tarrak ' s TIE Defender manufacturing facility . Around the time the Rebel Alliance surfaced , approximately 3 BBY , the Sith Lord Darth Vader commissioned the development of the TIE Advanced x1 Starfighter , which incorporated the use of the wing design used on the TIE bomber , with a single spherical cockpit module , that had the advantage of an integrated hyperdrive and basic associated shielding , without the significant loss in performance that a TIE / LN starfighter would sacrifice with the added hardware . The project didn ' t see full production models assembled however , as the TIE Interceptor assumed production as the Empire ' s superior model TIE starfighter due to its agility and speed , with usable firepower . Further development of the TIE Bomber paved the way for the more advanced Scimitar assault bomber , which was designed with the input of Bomber pilots from the elite " Scimitar " wing . Variants . TIE / sh shuttle . A variant of the bomber replaced the warhead bay with a small cargo bay that could hold two passengers . This craft could ferry personnel from one ship to another or from a ship to a planetary base . Captain Lorth Needa used a shuttle of this type to personally apologize to Darth Vader for losing track of " Millennium Falcon " . However , higher ranking officers usually used the Lambda shuttle . TIE / br boarding shuttle . Another variant of the bomber featured an enlarged secondary pod with clamps and a hull - cutter . This could carry a stormtrooper raiding / boarding party for insertion into a captured or disabled enemy ship . It was used by Darth Vader and a team of stormtroopers to enter Princess Leia Organa ' s CR90 corvette , " Tantive IV " , as well as by General Bentilais san Sk ' ar and his Stormtroopers for a kidnapping mission on Shiva IV . TIE lander . Using larger , vertically elongated wings than that of the bomber , this landing craft carried an additional , much larger , personnel pod on its underside that carried ground troops for surface deployment . Shira Brie fictitiously recalls these craft landing on her homeworld as a child , as part of a convincing cover story to infiltrate the Rebel Alliance . TIE Heavy Bomber . A TIE Heavy Bomber carried two ordnance pods , the second on top of the first . TIE / IT Interdictor starfighter . The modular nature of TIE series technology allowed for expansion of the TIE bomber concept . This variant included four ordnance bays , though they appear to have been fairly rare . They had been developed around the time of the Battle of Yavin , and had the role of heavy space / planetary bomber . Gand starfighter . Gand Starfighters were modified TIE bombers , with a hyperdrive motivator and navicomp , wings cut in Interceptor shape , six concussion missiles and shields . Scimitar assault bomber . It was 8 meters long , and thus longer than the standard TIE / LN starfighter . Its weapons included two laser cannons , concussion missile launchers , and chutes for thermal detonators and proton grenades . However , instead of two ion engines , it only had one , thus the lack of the prefix TIE . It was designed to bomb planets into submission . Behind the scenes . While the designs for the bomber and boarding craft were made for " " , the craft did not appear until the comic " " , and did not make its first movie appearance until " " and had a brief appearance in " " . The boarding craft is shown in the depiction of the Star Destroyer " Devastator " for " " . In " " and its sequel , " " , a TIE / sa is shown to possess the ability to hover in place . This stationary flight is unmentioned in other works save for " " . This latter occurrence , however , is thought to owe to game mechanics . In " " and " " , the TIE bomber can hold two people . In " Battlefront " it holds both the pilot and a bomb - aimer ( or " bombardier " ) while in " Battlefront II " the pilot controls bombing while the passenger fires and manually - aims guided missiles . In " " , " " , " " , and " " , the TIE Bomber was actually faster than the Y - wing . In the X - wing series of video games , the TIE / sa has a speed of 80 MGLT . While the TIE bomber ' s reactor is listed as a Sienar Fleet Systems I - a2b solar ionization reactor in " " , this same reactor is stated in both the same book and other sources to be the same reactor that powers large capital ships like the " Imperial " - class Star Destroyers , in which it takes up almost half of the vessel . It is described as a " miniature sun " , producing stellar - scale energy , and most likely annihilating tens of thousands of tons of fuel per second . There is no known official explanation for this , but it is possible that SFS produced multiple sizes of the reactor model .