The Special Forces TIE Fighter or TIE/sf Fighter (also known as the TIE/sf space superiority fighter) is a starfighter model used by the First Order in the Star Warssequel trilogy. Armed with heavy weapons, limited hyperdrive, and enhanced deflector shield generators, the Special Forces TIE fighter is more robust than the First Order's standard TIE fighter.
An elite military unity, the Special Force TIEs took on the most challenging and hazardous missions to achieve the First Order's goals, and specialized in long-range reconnaissance and demolition operations. To accomplish such missions, the unit flew the two seater Special Forces TIE fighter, which Siena-Jeamus Fleet Systems equipped with Class two miniaturized hyperdrive, and a more powerful weapons package than the standard First Order TIE fighter.
The TIE/sf's primary weapons are two front-facing laser cannons, a laser turret, and a missile launcher. One pilot alone could operate the entire fighter and all its weapons from the cockpit's forward-facing seat, but the TIE/sf was most effective with a gunner in the rear-facing seat, controlling the laser turrent and missile launcher. A targeting display presented data for the gunner, and a wide transparisteel viewpoint offered views directly through the cockpit's aft hull.
Although the TIE/sf and TIE/fo shared the same overall dimensions and were similar in appearance, the resemblance was largely superficial, and the respective crafts featured numerous unique and non-interchangable components. Unlike the TIE/fo, which housed a single ion reactor aft of the pilot's seat, the TIE/sf derived power from twin reactors set on either side of the command pod. Because they had additional armament, shield generators, and power-cell banks creating more heat than a standard TIE could dissipate, designers incorporated an experimental ion-flux cooling system to prevent overheating. The combined weight of the TIE/sf's exclusive features made the craft substantially heavier than TIE/fo. Red flashes on the cockpit's port side visually distinguished them from standard TIE/fos.
Specifications[]
Weapons
Laser cannons: TIE/sf fighters are fitted the front-facing SJFS L-s0.6 laser cannons.
Laser turret: Mounted beneath the command pod is a SJFS Lb-14 dual heavy laser turret. It could rotate 360 degrees but at limited angles, as safety systems prevented the cannon from firing at the craft's own wings.
Missile launcher: The TIE/sf is armed with an Kuat Drive Yards Arekyd missile launcher that could fire ST7 concussion missiles and mag-pulse warheads.
Hyperdrive: The TIE/sf had the distinction of being one of the few TIE models equipped with a hyperdrive, sharing that with its successor the Imperials TIE series; TIE Advanced x1, TIE Advanced v1, TIE Reaper, TIE Defender, and TIE Avenger, which allows them to operate independently.
Cockpit: Unlike the single pilot TIE/fo cockpit, the TIE/sf was outfitted with a cockpit that could accommodate both a pilot and rear-facing gunner. Because missions would require hours of travel through hyperspace. The TIE/sf's pressurized cockpit, allows pilots to remove their helmets while operating the craft.
Flight/Targeting controls: Instead of reinventing flight and weapons controls for the TIE/sf, SFJS engineers reproduced the TIE/fo controls for the TIE/sf, but relocated the pilot's essential targeting computer display to the gunner's controls. TIE/sf pilots relied on either their helmets' built-in targeting interface projectors or their own keen eyes and reflexes to fire at targets.
Trivia[]
Like the Imperial TIE fighters, the Special Force TIEs have the window alignment error. While they have point aligned windows on the exteriror, they are edge angled on the exterior.
Gallery[]
Concept art of the TIE/sf Fighter that Finn and Poe Dameron stole crashed on Jakku.
First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter on Wookieepedia
