Craft: Kuat Drive Yards A-9 Vigilance Interceptor
Type: Territorial defense interceptor
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 7.4 meters
Skill: Starfighter piloting: A-9
Crew: 1
Crew Skill: Starfighter piloting 4D+2, starship gunnery 4D+1
Cargo Capacity: 55 kilograms
Consumables: 1 day
Cost: 185,000
Maneuverability: 4D+1
Space: 12
Atmosphere: 450; 1,300 kmh
Hull: 2D+2
Sensors:
Passive: 10/1D
Scan: 35/2D+1
Search: 60/3D+1
Focus: 3/4D
Weapons:
2 Heavy Turbolaser Cannons (can be firelinked)
Fire Arc: Front
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 2D
Space Range: 1-3/12/25
Atmosphere Range: 100-300/1.2/2.5 km
Damage: 5D (6D when fire-linked)
Background: Designed by Kuat Drive Yards, famous for its Imperial-class Star Destroyers, the A-9 was an attempt to enter the very profitable Imperial starfighter market. Though KDY was a major manufacturer of fighters for the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars, the Imperial market was largely dominated by Sienar Fleet Systems, makers of the TIE Series.
The A-9 was intended to fulfill the Imperial Starfighter Corps’ desperate need for a faster, more maneuverable fighter to deal with the New Republic A-wing interceptor. Released almost six years after the Battle of Endor, shortly after the defeat of Grand Admiral Thrawn, the vessel the Empire received did not fully meet these requirements.
In true Imperial fashion, the craft had no shields or hyperdrive, requiring the craft to operate from a fixed base or starship. Like TIE series craft, A-9s were generally deployed in large numbers to compensate for their shortcomings and replaced as required.
After Norval II rebelled against its governor Abam Tev and successfully removed its government, the New Republic gained access to the new A-9 interceptors. This proved to be a boon to the beleaguered New Republic military after the fall of Coruscant, as the A-9, along with the new E-wing fighter, helped to even the odds when Emperor Palpatine’s forces attacked the ocean world of Dac.
While it was never widely adopted because of its technical shortfalls, the A-9 continued to show up in Imperial Remnant fleets, as well as in New Republic/Galactic Alliance squadrons years after its introduction. It was often rumored that KDY was in the process of developing the A-10 interceptor, which would address the problems with the A-9. In the Second Galactic Civil War, a number of them were in the Corellian Defense Force.