E-7 E-Wing Starfighter

The Freitek E-7 Fighter, known colloquially as the "E-Wing", was a starfighter in service in the New Republic Navy circa 9ABY. Though withdrawn from frontline service, it is still in service in secondary roles throughout the New Republic, Planetary Defence Forces, and in the Infiltrator Wing of the TIE Corps.

Overview

Having defected to the Rebellion prior to the destruction of the First Death Star, Incom Corporation engineers began work on a craft designed to succeed the ubiquitous X-Wing. The craft that would become the E-Wing was designed to meet Alliance/New Republic requirements for a medium-range interceptor, strike and escort fighter for convoy protection. Requirements included superior speed, agility and firepower than its predecessors.

Entering service prior to 9ABY, the E-Wing experienced teething issues due to its advanced technologies. The realities of frontier service prompted New Republic technicians to remove the added armor plate and third laser cannon, reducing its combat effectiveness and limiting its potential as a strike craft.

In Infiltrator Wing Service

Early Service

Not long after the prototype first flew, a pre-production E-Wing was delivered in secret to the Infiltrator Wing headquarters in the Phare System. Infiltrator Wing pilots were soon testing the the E-Wing against current New Republic and Imperial craft, and found it a suitable, if over-engineered, replacement for the T-65. When the plans for the production-model E-Wing were delivered, Infiltrator Wing shipyards began to produce them in limited numbers.

Early model E-Wings in the Infiltrator Wing suffered similar issues to New Republic E-Wings; overcomplicated systems required state-of-the-art Astromech Droids, the lasers were underpowered, and the X-Wing was simply easier to maintain and operate. Lack of spare parts and attrition saw E-Wings go from being utilised by five squadrons to one. Scorpion Squadron, then the escort squadron for the Infiltrator Wing Commander, was the only squadron able to maintain a roster of E-Wings long-term.

Initial Refits

One of the major issues Infiltrator Wing pilots found with the E-Wing was firepower; the triple-linked Laser Cannon was tricky to use for pilots transitioning from twin- or quad-cannon starfighters, and the weapons themselves were notoriously underpowered compared to their contemporaries due to relying on synthetic Tibanna Gas. Where the New Republic attempted to "overcharge" the capacitors at the risk of catastrophic failure, however, Infiltrator Wing mechanics stripped down the weapons and removed the "finicky" components, allowing regular Tibanna to be used, albeit at an increase in maintenance requirements.

The second issue was the requirement for an R7 Astromech. At the time, the most advanced Astromech produced by Industrial Automaton to-date, it was near-impossible to acquire and old a select few were appropriated. Again, Infiltrator Wing mechanics displayed their ingenuity by adapting the astromech slot to accept older droid models, and modifying the droids themselves to better integrate them with the E-Wing's systems.

These initial refits returned the E-Wing to combat effectiveness, but as newer models of X-Wing were being developed by Infiltrator Wing shipyards or acquired through loyalists within the New Republic, it failed to secure the E-Wing's place as the X-Wing's successor.