E-Wing /B

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Craft: FreiTek Inc. E-7 E-wing Starfighter: Type B
Type: Attack and close support fighter
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 11.2 meters
Skill: Starfighter piloting: E-wing
Crew: 1
Crew Skill: Starfighter piloting 5D, starship gunnery 4D+2
Cargo Capacity: 110 kilograms
Consumables: 1 week
Cost: 185,000
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x2
Nav Computer: Uses R7 Astromech Droid
Maneuverability: 3D+1
Space: 11
Atmosphere: 435; 1,300 kmh
Hull: 5D
Shields: 1D
Sensors:
Passive: 30/0D
Scan: 55/1D
Search: 85/2D+1
Focus: 5/4D

Weapons:
Triple Heavy Blaster Cannons (fire-linked)
Fire Arc: Front
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 3D+2
Space Range: 1-5/10/25
Atmosphere Range: 100-500/1/2.5 km
Damage: 6D
Proton Torpedo Launcher
Fire Arc: Front
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 2D
Space Range: 1/3/7
Atmosphere Range: 30-100/300/700
Damage: 9D

Game Notes:
When a pilot rolls a mishap while firing the blaster cannon, roll on the table below:

• 1-3 – Blaster cannon functions normally.
• 4 – Blaster cannon shorts out for one round but can be repaired with a Very Easy starship weapons repair roll by R7 unit.
• 5 – Blaster cannon burns out. Cannot be repaired in battle. With replacement parts, starship weapons repair difficulty is Moderate and takes one hour.
• 6 – Blaster cannon will explode in 1D rounds doing 8D damage to ship (and pilot).

Background: Once the Rebel Alliance depended upon preying on unarmed Imperial shipments. Now, the situation is reversed. The Empire has increasingly preyed on Republic shipping and the Republic finds itself hard-pressed to defend its vessels from assault. To address this need, FreiTek, a company formed by the Incom designers who defected and brought the X-wing design with them to the Rebellion, has produced the E-wing.

The FreiTek E-wing is the first fighter designed and executed entirely under the auspices of the New Republic. Intended as a defensive interceptor, it is a heavy, combat dedicated ship. The vessel is akin to the B-wing and Y-wing designs: designed to take punishment and eager to dish it out. The vessel isn’t pretty, but it can hold its own, and isn’t nearly as prone to break down as the finicky B-wing. To simplify the design, FreiTek eliminated movable S-foils in favor of a fixed wing design, resulting in a more reliable and cheaper fighter (of course, the cost is still high because of the E-wing’s impressive weaponry). A major breakthrough has been a totally redesigned hyperdrive interface. Developed in conjunction with Industrial Automaton, it uses the newly developed R7 astromech droid and is an attempt to recapture the success of the Xwing/R2 interfacing system.

From initial tests, the E-wing is a solid design and has performed well according to its pilots, with one exception. According to some, the weapons systems need some work. The original design used synthetically spin-coiled Tibanna gas. Most companies use natural spin-sealing methods, but with the state of the galactic economy, synthetics seemed an economical alternative. Unfortunately, when exposed to the residual engine emissions, the gas’s spiral structure breaks down, dramatically decreasing weapon range.

Ordinarily, Republic techs would just replace the artificially coiled gas, but this can take weeks. With the recent crisis at Calamari, there was no time to waste. The techs jury-rigged the weapons by tripling the power intake (an admittedly risky solution, but the only one short of grounding all E-wings for the duration). These models have been dubbed the “Type B” to distinguish them. So far, there have been no mishaps, but the technicians are hoping to solve the flaw before any pilots pay the price.

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