Starfighter

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"Starfighter" is a science fiction term used to describe small, fast, usually one-manned craft designed for armed combat (cf starship).

The appearance and use of fictional starfighters is often modeled on fighter aircraft, with little regard for the actual physics of spaceflight. Exceptions include the Gunstar from The Last Starfighter, the Viper from the reimagined series of Battlestar Galactica, and the Starfury from Babylon 5, which are capable of multidirectional orientation. In some cases, the Starfighters are used as atmospheric fighters as well, explaining their looks.

Starfighters are popular as the subjects of flight simulator-like space combat video games, such as the "Wing Commander" and "X-Wing" series. This connection was made explicitly as early as the 1984 film The Last Starfighter in which a video game on Earth is used as a recruiting device for an alien civilization whose starfighters require the same skills as the video game.

In the Star Wars universe, a Starfighter is a blanket term for all small combat space craft, regardless of shields, hyperspace capability, weaponry (unless it carries none), armor, maneuverability and crew. "Snubfighter" (a term first used in Star Wars), though no concise definition has been given, often refers to a fighter carrying shielding, secondary weapons systems such as Proton Torpedoes or concussion missiles, and being hyperspace capable. Starfighters sometimes bear mission designations similar to modern fighter aircraft, such as "strike fighter" and "space superiority fighter".

Examples

The following are some examples of starfighters from various media franchises:

Babylon 5

• The Earth Alliance (Starfury fighters)
  • SA-23E Aurora
  • SA-23J Thunderbolt
  • Raider Fighter
• The Minbari Federation
  • Nial-class Heavy Fighter
• The Narn Regime
  • Frazi-class Fighter
• The Centauri Republic
  • Sentri-class Medium Fighter
• The Shadows
  • Shadow Fighter
• The Vorlons
  • Vorlon Fighter

Battlestar Galactica

• The Twelve Colonies
  • Colonial Viper (the Viper Mark II and Viper Mark VII of the 2003 miniseries were modified to maneuver more effectively in space)
  • Colonial Blackbird (2004 series)
• The Cylons
  • Cylon Raider
  • Cylon Heavy Raider (2004 series)

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

• The Earth Defense Directorate
  • Star Fighter (2-person capacity in tandem configuration, four person capacity in side-by-side configuration).
  • Star Fighter mk II (a tandem-seated Star Fighter with two extra stabilizer fins, used in the second season)
• The Draconian Empire
  • Draconian Marauder (also known as a "Hatchet Fighter")
• Others
  • Scorpion Fighter (generic starfighter frequently used on the show by various villains)
  • Zad Fighter (nicknamed "Shark" seen in the two part episode Flight of the War Witch)

Macross

• U.N. Spacy
  • VF-1 Valkyrie
  • VF-3000 Crusader
  • VF-4 Lightning III
  • VF-5000
  • VF-6
  • VF-9 Cutlass
  • VF-11 Thunderbolt
  • VF-14 Vampire
  • VF-17 Nightmare
  • YF-19 and VF-19 Excalibur
  • YF-21
  • VF-22 Sturmvogel II
  • VF-25 Messiah
• The Barota
  • Fz-109 Elgerzorene
• The Zentradi
  • Fighter Pod
  • Variable Device
  • Variable Glaug
• Parallel World U.N. Spacy
  • VF-XX Zentradian Valkyrie
  • VF-2SS Valkyrie II
  • VF-2JA Icarus
  • Metal Siren

Robotech

• Robotech Armed Forces (Veritech fighters)
  • VF-1 Valkyrie
  • Condor
  • VFA-6 Alpha
  • VFB-9 Beta
• Army of the Southern Cross (Veritech fighters)
  • VF-8 Logan
  • VFH-10 Veritech AGAC Fighter/Helicopter
• Zentraedi
  • Fighter Pod

Space: Above and Beyond

• The United States Marine Corps
  • SA-43 Hammerhead Endo/Exo-Atmospheric Attack Jet
• The Chigs
  • Chig Fighter
  • Chig Stealth Fighter

StarCraft

• The Protoss
  • Corsair-class support fighter
  • Interceptor-class attack drones
  • Scout-class superiority fighter
• The Terrans
  • Wraith-class superiority fighter

Stargate

• Tau'ri/Earth (USAF fighters)
  • X-301
  • X-302, later put into production as the F-302
• The Goa'uld
  • Death glider
  • Needle Threader^[1]
• The Wraith
  • Wraith dart
• The Ancients (also known as Alterans or Lanteans)
  • Gateships (referred to as Puddle Jumpers)
• The Ori
  • Ori Fighter^[2]

Star Trek

• Starfleet/Federation
  • Federation Attack Fighter[1]
  • Raider Class Attack Ship
  • Valkyrie-class Fighter (seen in Star Trek: Invasion)
  • Type-3 Valkyrie
  • Wraith-class Stealth Fighter (Appears in Star Trek: Shattered Universe and several novels)
• Klingon Empire
  • Kronos-class Fighter (Appears in the novel Time's Enemy)
• Bajorans
  • Bajoran raider
  • Bajoran interceptor
• Cardassians
  • Hideki-class patrol ship
  • Cardassian Pursuit Vessel (Mentioned by Gul Dukat)
  • Cardassian Fighter (Seen in Star Trek: Invasion, and in the novel Antimatter)
• The Dominion
  • Jem'Hadar fighter
• Romulan Empire
  • Reman Scorpion (seen in Star Trek Nemesis)
  • Romulan Interceptor (Mentioned by Quark)
• Vulcans
  • Vulcan fighter (seen on Enterprise)
• Talaxians
  • Talaxian Fighter
• Terran Empire
  • Phantom class Fighter
  • Spectre class Fighter

Star Wars

• Galactic Republic
  • ARC-170 starfighter
  • V-19 Torrent starfighter
  • V-wing starfighter
  • Jedi starfighter
• Rebel Alliance/New Republic
  • A-wing
  • B-wing
  • X-wing
  • Y-wing
• Galactic Empire
  • TIE Fighter
  • TIE Interceptor
  • TIE Advanced
  • TIE Bomber
• Confederacy of Independent Systems
  • Droid starfighter(Vulture droid)
  • Geonosian starfighter
  • Droid Tri-Fighter
  • Scarab droid

FreeSpace

• The Galactic Terran Alliance
  • GTF Apollo space superiority fighter
  • GTF Ares strategic assault fighter
  • GTF Erinyes heavy assault fighter
  • GTF Hercules heavy assault fighter
  • GTF Hercules Mark II heavy assault fighter
  • GTF Loki reconnaissance fighter
  • GTF Myrmidon advanced space superiority fighter
  • GTF Pegasus stealth reconnaissance fighter
  • GTF Perseus interceptor
  • GTF Ulysses space superiority fighter
  • GTF Valkyrie interceptor
• The Parliamentary Vasudan Empire
  • PVF Anubis light fighter
  • PVF Horus interceptor
  • PVF Ptah stealth reconnaissance fighter
  • PVF Serapis advanced interceptor
  • PVF Seth heavy fighter
  • PVF Tauret heavy fighter
  • PVF Thoth space superiority fighter
• The Shivans
  • SF Aeshma heavy attack fighter
  • SF Astaroth interceptor
  • SF Basilisk heavy attack fighter
  • SF Dragon space superiority fighter
  • SF Manticore interceptor
  • SF Mara space superiority fighter
  • SF Scorpion reconnaissance fighter

Other Properties

• Andromeda
  • RF-42 Centaur Tactical Fighter (Slipfighter)
• Darius series
  • The Silver Hawk
• Exosquad
  • Exofighter Space E-frame #CR-001
  • Neofighter Space E-frame #EL-909
• Farscape
  • The Peacekeeper Prowler
• Gradius
  • The Vic Viper
• Halo universe
  • UNSC C-709 Longsword Interceptor
  • Covenant Seraph
• Honorverse
  • Cimiterre (Havenite Design LAC)
  • Ferret (Manticoran Design LAC)
  • Katana (Grayson Design Space Superiority LAC)
  • Shrike (Manticoran Design LAC)
• Perry Rhodan
  • Moskito-Jet
  • Lightning-Jet
  • Space-Jet (various designs, unlike the above disk shaped, not like a plane)
• Star Fox Series
  • Arwing
  • Wolfen
• Super Robot Wars's Banpresto Originals
  • YAM-008-2 Altairlion
  • YSF-34 Vegalion
• R-Type
  • R-9 Arrowhead
• The Last Starfighter
  • Star League Gunstar (first major movie to use CGI for space battle sequences)
  • Xurian Deckfighter
• Xevious
  • The Solvalou fighter

See also

• F-104 Starfighter
• Starship
• Starship class
• Spacecraft
• Space battleship
• Mother ship

References