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Basilisk battle droid

Weapons: heavy laser cannons (2), claws (2).
They could be equipped with additional lasers, bombs, torpedoes, guided missiles, etc.
Basilisks were heavily armed, semi-sentient battle droids used by the Mandalorians. Among the Mandalorians, droids were known as "Bes"ulik, which meant "iron beast" in Mando. “Basilisks” were capable of fighting both in space and on earth, and were also armed to the teeth, thanks to which they soon became the favorite “pets” of the Mandalorians and the personification of strength in Mandalorian culture. With their Basilisks, the Mandalorians conquered countless worlds during the Exar Kun War approximately (4000 years before the Battle of Yavin) and the Mandalorian Wars. However, after the crushing defeat at Malachor V, the capitulating Mandalorians were forced to destroy the Basilisks on the orders of Jedi Master Revan, although some clans, such as Gendry and Ordo, managed to retain them. A few Basilisks survived into the era of the Galactic Empire, but by this time they had become little more than an exotic means of transportation. "Basilisks" possessed primitive artificial intelligence comparable to that of a semi-intelligent predator. Their level of consciousness allowed them to act independently, but in battle they always appeared with a rider. Over time, a strong emotional connection was established between the “Basilisk” and its owner. The droids were even able to sense the death of a rider, after which they would emit a deafening mechanical howl. The Basilisk's Mustafar steel hull was covered in heavy toranium armor and was usually painted green, although grey, red or gold were also available. In addition, many Mandalorians decorated their vehicles with swords, battle axes, and other weapons. On the back of the Basilisk there was an armored saddle, which almost completely protected the rider. Even in those distant times, “Basilisks” looked very unusual, resembling incongruous semi-organic alien structures. They resembled some cross between a Curran beetle and a Zalorian rock lion, but instead of jaws they were armed with lasers, and in place of antennae were the air intakes of jet turbines. Once in a combat zone, the Basilisk would raise its rear "wings" to reveal rows of high-speed rocket engines. The Mandalorians used several specialized droid models for various types of combat. Two-seat bomb-throwing models accommodated a pilot and gunner; models of the "stealth" class were distinguished by lighter armor and the presence of additional engines. The most common option was the model for open combat - a single-seat design that maintained an optimal balance of armament, protection and speed. Battle droids could operate both in the atmosphere and in deep space. The two heavy, hanging front claws were used to break obstacles and cut through crowds of enemies, and as an additional function served as landing gear supports. With the help of its front and rear sensor clusters, the Basilisk could quickly detect an impending attack from almost any direction. Mandalorian riders hid droids and hand weapons - axes, swords and blasters - in the droid's skin plates. Shortly before the Mandalorian Wars, the Basilisks were seriously modernized: they had a normal cockpit and even compartments for troops, and improved protection, armament and controllability. Such droids were fully consistent with Mandalorian combat tactics and were a versatile and fast ground-air unit of heavy equipment. They were used mainly for orbital landing, supporting ground troops, bombing and attacking ground targets. They were also often used in space battles as heavy fighters.

Disruptor-class Dreadnought

Old Republic Dreadnought

Victory-class Star Destroyer

Weapons: turbolaser batteries (10), twin turbolasers (40), missile launchers (80), tractor beam projectors (10).
The Victory-class Star Destroyer is the very first ship in the Star Destroyer series. The Victory was originally a ship of the Old Republic, but with Palpatine's rise to power, these ships became part of the Empire's fleet. The Victory-class Star Destroyer entered service with the Republic fleet shortly before the end of the Clone Wars. The Clone Wars allowed the ship to very quickly prove its combat effectiveness. The first flotilla consisting of ships of this type was the Victory Fleet, which crushed the separatists in many battles. The separatists did not have anything that could be opposed to the new ships. After the Clone Wars, Victory-class cruisers were considered the most powerful ships in the galaxy for several years. Only very large ships of the Confederation or personal ships of major rulers, built to order and presented in a single copy, could compete with the “Victories”. With the establishment of the Empire and the advent of more advanced Imperial-class Star Destroyers in its fleet, the production of Victories decreased, but this did not mean that Victories lost their importance for the Imperial Navy. They continued to serve in some navies. They continued to be involved in combined arms operations of the fleet. Many of them were in reserve in the Galaxy Core. Pobeda are an excellent addition to ground operations, as they are capable of entering planetary atmospheres. The ship's ability to provide artillery support to advancing troops directly from the upper atmosphere provides enormous assistance to ground forces. This gives Pobeda a significant tactical advantage, since much more destructive and accurate strikes can be launched from the atmosphere. However, Pobeda is not capable of landing on the surface of the planet without a specially prepared landing site. Despite the primary purpose of the Pobeda as a fire support ship, this ship can also be very dangerous for large enemy ships. A full torpedo salvo from all 80 guns can remove the shields from the MC80 and permanently disable its protective field generators.

The Death Star

Weapons: superlaser (1), turbolaser batteries (5000), heavy turbolasers (5000), laser cannons (2500), ion cannons (2500), tractor beam projectors (768).
The initial technical design of the Death Star, then known as the Great Weapon, was created by Geonosian industry. These weapons were designed to destroy the armies and planets of the Republic. Poggle the Lesser gave the plans for the Great Weapon to Count Dooku to keep them from falling into the hands of the Jedi. Dooku gave the project to Palpatine. Later, the plans were expanded with Wilhuff Tarkin and Wright Synar's vision for the Expeditionary Battle Planetoid. After the destruction of the Separatist Council and the end of the Clone Wars, most Separatist developments passed into the hands of the Galactic Empire, including the unfinished battle station. Construction resumed under Imperial supervision and took place in orbit of the prison planet Despaera to give Palpatine's newly created Empire unlimited power. Wilhuff Tarkin was assigned to covertly lead the secret project. Tarkin's creative thinking led to the implementation of the Death Star as the Empire's main weapon to keep the galaxy at bay. To speed up the construction of the superweapon, Darth Vader organized an invasion of Kashyyyk, and its inhabitants, the Wookiees, were enslaved. These Wookiees were transported to Despaer, at the Death Star construction site. Most of the funding came from funds previously earmarked for the Systems Research Division and the Public Works Division. Particular attention was paid to the technology of creating a superlaser - the heart of the entire station. By this time, Tarkin already had many of the galaxy's brightest minds, including Tol Sivron, Qwi Xux, and Bevel Lemelisk. Even before the Death Star was built, its prison blocks began to fill with detainees. Political violators of the building, rebels, dangerous pirates, even the remnants of the Security Forces of the Royal House of Naboo, who unsuccessfully tried to save their queen, and other enemies of the Empire disappeared from the people in the giant prisons of the unfinished station. After completion of construction, Tarkin, in order to test the superlaser, destroyed Despaer. But the rebels managed to find the station's weak point using the drawings (one part was stolen by Kyle Katarn and Jen Ors from the imperial base on Danuth, and the other was captured during the raid on Toprava) and destroyed it in the Battle of Yavin.

Death Star 2

Weapons: superlaser (1), turbolaser batteries (15000), heavy turbolasers (15000), laser cannons (7500), ion cannons (5000), tractor beam projectors (768).
Unlike the first Death Star, which took 19 years to build and become operational due to supply and design issues, construction of the new station took much less time (approximately 2-4 years). Techniques for accelerated construction have been developed since the time of the original station, and Imperial engineers made sure to allocate enough space on the station for the maximum possible number of self-replicating construction droids. The location of the construction site of the second Death Star remained a mystery to the rebels for a long time, unlike the construction of the first station above Despaer. After the initial stages of construction, the location of the construction site was changed by order of Darth Vader. Construction continued in the Endor system. This system was chosen because of the large deposits of necessary strategic metals on the planets Dor, Eloggi and Megiddo, but the actual construction took place in orbit of the forest moon Endor. Due to the anomalies and almost complete lack of information about this region, the Endor system was an ideal place for the construction of the Death Star. To protect the station at the time of construction, the Imperials installed a powerful shield generator on the Sacred Moon that surrounded the Death Star. To protect the generator, a special garrison detachment “Storm” was created. The most significant changes in the Death Star's design were the result of analyzing and eradicating the shortcomings of the first battle station, due to which it was destroyed during the Battle of Yavin. They consisted of reducing the diameter of the exhaust shaft into which the proton torpedoes hit, causing a chain reaction that destroyed the reactor of the first Death Star. Instead of a single two-meter outlet, there were millions of millimeter-wide exhaust ducts scattered across the surface of the station, each venting a small amount of excess temperature and gas into the vacuum. Even the most careful shot from a blaster could hardly hit them. And even if it did hit, it would dissipate along the road to the reactor in a chain of ingenious mechanisms. There was also a special system that closed the holes in the event of an unexpected attack. The entire improved defense system was in line with the military's views and was designed to make the new Death Star invulnerable. The next transformation to the battle station was to improve the superlaser. The weapon was still located in the northern hemisphere of the station, but it was significantly more powerful than the superlaser of the first Death Star and required only three minutes to reload instead of 24 hours. In addition, the improved superweapon was equipped with low-energy weapon functions and a precision targeting system while maintaining enormous destructive power, allowing it to destroy enemy ships, while the first Death Star was only suitable for firing at targets the size of planetary bodies. The new station's increased external surface also made it possible to accommodate more conventional weapons such as turbolasers, further enhancing the Death Star's already impressive defense system. But the destruction of the protective field generator on the surface of Endor allowed a group of Alliance fighters, led by Wedge Antilles and the Millennium Falcon under the command of General Lando Calrissian, to penetrate the station's superstructure and damage the reactor. The ensuing chain reaction destroyed the station. Many highly trained Imperial personnel died aboard the second Death Star. The explosion of the station and its subsequent fall to Endor led to the Endor Apocalypse and the death of many Ewoks.

Executioner-class super destroyer

Weapons: turbolasers (2000), heavy turbolasers (2000), heavy ion cannons (250), laser cannons (500), missile launchers (250), tractor beam projectors (40).
Engineer Lyra Wessex, who had once designed the Venator-class Star Destroyer and the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, came up with a design for a ship that dwarfed every other ship in the galaxy. The Emperor was interested in the project and allowed the construction of four ships of this type to begin simultaneously at the Fondor and Kuat shipyards. The Senate tried to protest against the Emperor's decision, but Palpatine was able to convince them. After the death of the Death Star, the Emperor ordered the construction of the Executioner to be accelerated. The reason for this was the emperor’s desire to provide his citizens with another symbol of the greatness and inviolability of the New Order. The size of this ship was 19,000 meters in length (versus 1,600 meters for an Imperial-class destroyer). The crew of such a ship was approximately 280,000 people. The ship carried at least 144 fighters, and its massive hangar could hold and service thousands or more. In addition, on board were 200 other combat starships and support ships, 5 garrison bases, and a sufficient number of stormtroopers and walkers to destroy any Rebel base. Powering such a Star Destroyer's shields alone required an amount of energy equivalent to that of an average star. Also on board this giant was a support squadron, like Star Destroyers of other series. The Executor could carry more than a thousand fighters, approximately more than five hundred TIE fighters, and as many other Imperial-made fighters. However, the standard layout included only 144 fighters (12 squadrons), which was only twice the size of the Imperial air wing, and was clearly insufficient to cover a ship of this size. The first two ships of the new type left the stocks at approximately the same time. The first ship, named Executor, became Darth Vader's flagship, and the second, Executor II, was hidden on Coruscant and renamed Lusankya. The Executioner's first mission, in which the Sith appreciated its power, was the destruction of the Alliance base on the planet Laaktien. Soon the ship was actively involved in many operations against the rebels. The first Executor died at the Battle of Endor when it crashed into the unfinished Death Star. Palpatine gave Lusankya to the Director of Imperial Intelligence. and to his mistress Ysanna Isard, and the two remaining ships from the first series were given to admirals chosen by Palpatine personally. The Lusankya was hidden on Coruscant, disguised as one of the planetary shield projectors. Later, after the liberation of Coruscant by the Alliance, Lusankya was able to take off from the surface using a giant repulsor platform that was buried with it, and Isard fled on this ship to Thyferra. After the operation on Thyferra and the victory over Isard Wedge, Antilles captured the Lusankya as a trophy and gave it to the New Republic. Subsequently, the restored Lusankya became the flagship of one of the New Republic fleets and took part in the Orinda military campaign against Admiral Gilad Pellaeon. One of the most notable battles of this period was the Second Battle of Orinda (in the title illustration), in which the Lusankya met in battle with the same type of imperial ship, the Reaper. This was the only known battle in which such a super battleship was opposed to a ship of a similar class. Both ships were damaged, but left the battlefield under their own power. The death of "Lusankya" was very similar to the death of "Executioner". During the Southern Vong invasion, Lusankya took part in the defense of Borleias, during which it was heavily damaged. Repairing the ship was considered impractical, and therefore they decided to use the ship in a different way. They removed some of its weapons, disembarked the crew, and rammed it into the South Vong shipworld (which was about the size of the Death Star). Although the Republicans lost this battle, the invaders suffered enormous losses, which had a significant impact on the course of the war. In total, Lusankya served in the New Republic fleet for about 20 years.

Rogue Squadron

Rogue Squadron's history can be traced back to the Battle of Yavin, during which only two Rebel pilots from Red Squadron survived: Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles. The squadron was conceived by Commander Arul Narra along with Luke and Wedge. Red Squadron was reformed into two groups: the first, the Renegades, remained under Narra's command, the second became a new unit, the Rogues. The call sign “Rogue-One” was the call sign of the squadron commander, and what he is doing in the next Disney miscarriage is completely unclear. Narra appointed Luke Skywalker as commander of the new flight. He and Antilles became the core of the flight, along with several other pilots, including Zev Senescu, Wes Janson and Derek "Hobby" Klivian. During the final evacuation of the rebel base on Yavin IV, the Rogue flight covered transports flying away along the Ison corridor. The Rebel flight was destroyed during an escort mission to Derra IV. Narra died, and the convoy delivering cargo to the base on Hoth did not reach its destination. After this, the Rogue flight became officially known as Rogue Squadron, whose commander was Luke Skywalker. The squadron included several new pilots. Having gained greater autonomy, the group began to operate outside the general plan, always remaining ready to carry out any urgent mission. During the Battle of Hoth, new fighters joined the Rogues to man twelve T-47 airspeeders designed for pilot and gunner duties. Some of the newcomers were added to the list at the very last moment, such as the smuggler Dash Rendar. The Rogue Snowspeeders provided the Rebels with enough time to evacuate, although at the cost of many pilots being killed. After fleeing Hoth, Antilles took command of the squadron while Skywalker was on Dagobah. Later, after the capture of Han Solo, Skywalker and Antilles created twelve units in addition to the main group and Rogue Squadron was finally formed. During the Battle of Endor, Rogue Squadron was disbanded and absorbed into the general fleet, with many pilots assigned to other squadrons. The remaining Rogues and a few new pilots formed Red Squadron, whose name Antilles took in memory of the Battle of Yavin; he himself adopted the call sign “Leader of the Reds.” In fact, only five pilots remained from Rogue Squadron: Wedge Antilles (Red Leader, X-wing), Tycho Celchu (Green-3, A-wing), Wes Janson, Derek Klivian (Red-4, Y -wing) and Keir Suntage (Red-7, X-wing). And everyone except “Red-7” survived. Over the next year, Antilles was officially named commander, and Rogue Squadron grew to twelve pilots, the standard complement for a New Republic starfighter squadron. The Rogues took part in many battles, including at Brentaal IV, where they managed to capture Baron Soontir Fel, who then defected to the New Republic and briefly joined Rogue Squadron. Two years later, Antilles reformed Rogue Squadron. She was to become an important force in the confrontation with Ysanna Isard. Tycho Celchu returned to the reformed squadron, Corran Horn (former operative of the Corellian Security Forces), Gavin Darklighter (cousin of Biggs Darklighter, who died in the Battle of Yavin) and others joined.

From left to right: Tycho Celchu, Corran Horn, Wedge Antilles
At the same time, Gavin and Corran came up with the squadron emblem (in the title illustration) and introduced their own unique uniform (modeled on Horn’s green Corbez tunic, which he still wore). After the liberation of Coruscant, the Rogues organized a secret operation to rescue Thyferra from Isard, who had escaped from Coruscant, and carried it out brilliantly. After the end of the Galactic Civil War, almost all of the old Rogue team retired (Antilles and Celchu retired, and Horn became a Jedi Master), transferring command to Gavin Darklighter. He commanded a squadron during the Southern Vong War. The Rogues participated in almost all the most important battles, and then, after the Battle of Dubrillion, Jaina Solo joined the squadron. At the end of the war, Gavin Darklighter took command of the fleet and handed Rogue Squadron over to Jaina Solo. She commanded the Rogues until the Second Galactic Civil War. When the Imperial Remnant withdrew from the Galactic Alliance (a state formed during the Southern Vong War and consisted of the remnants of the New Republic, the Imperial Remnant, several small satellite states and the autonomous Jedi Order) and absorbed most of the galaxy (they were now called the Fel Empire and A remnant of the Galactic Alliance, in accordance with their size), the Rogues did not join the Empire, but remained in the service of the Alliance.

Phantom Squadron

The Wraith squadron, also known as the Wraiths, was a New Republic hybrid unit of pilots and commandos created by Wedge Antilles after returning from Thyferra. The original Wraith Squadron consisted of pilots who had been abandoned by all other units, giving the group a number of psychologically and emotionally unstable pilots, albeit experienced soldiers with useful commando skills. The Ghosts were created to carry out the mission-critical missions of traditional fighter squadrons and commando units - a revolutionary concept in New Republic tactics. The Wraiths first acted against Admiral Apvar Trigit, resulting in the destruction of the Star Destroyer Invincible and the death of Trigit after a campaign that began with the Wraiths' capture of the Imperial corvette Night Visitor. After Trigit's death, they carried out a series of covert operations against the warlord Zsinj. During this time, Garik Laurent took over command of Wraith Squadron from Wedge Antilles. They then returned to more normal service in the fleet under the command of Han Solo in the long campaign against Zsinj, which culminated at the Battle of Selaggis. The success of the entire operation was made possible by a double agent from Wraith Squadron, who was aboard Zsinj's flagship, the Iron Fist. Following this, the unit was transferred from the Navy to New Republic Intelligence, conducting missions such as the assassination of Imperial Admiral Kosh Teradoc. Wraith Squadron continued to play a vital, if not unique, role in the military during the Southern Vong War, even infiltrating occupied Coruscant. The Ghosts also participated in the liberation of Coruscant from the South Vong, along with Rogue Squadron. After the Second Galactic Civil War, the Ghosts were disbanded. However, soon the former commander Garik Laurent was asked to investigate the activities of the head of the Galactic Alliance Army, Stuyvin Taal, on suspicion of treason. To achieve this, Laurent unofficially assembled two teams of the Phantom Squadron. Two units discovered evidence of Taal's duplicity, and Laurent himself was able to expose the head of the Galactic Alliance Security Service, Borat Maddeus, as Taal's accomplice. After Thaal and Maddeus were exposed, Laurent was appointed head of Galactic Alliance Security and the officially re-established Wraith Squadron.

Escort frigate Nebulon-B EF76

Weapons: turbolaser batteries (12), laser cannons (12), tractor beam projectors (2).
The Nebulon-B Escort Frigate EF76 was a 300-meter warship designed and built by the Kuat Shipyards Corporation during the Galactic Civil War for use by the Empire's military space forces. The frigate's main duties were to escort Imperial cargo convoys and protect them from attacks by Rebel starfighters. Nebulon-B had an unusual shape for a spacecraft: a long, thin rod body with the main deck hanging in front, and a complex of 7 ion engines hanging behind. A deflector field generator was located above the engine part. In terms of speed characteristics, the frigate was not particularly maneuverable, being a bulky, clumsy and slow structure. Originally intended for defense, the ship had 2 squadrons of 12 TIE fighters in its internal landing bays. The central cylindrical tube was equipped with several devices for docking with other starships. Many Nebulon-Bs carried extremely sensitive sensors and multi-frequency antennas designed to receive and transmit information in deep space, allowing them to carry out reconnaissance missions over significant distances or report battle information to command ships. Although the Nebulon-B frigates were classified as medium-sized warships, the number of weapons they carried on board exceeded that of any other starship of their class, with the exception of the Carrack-class light cruisers. The standard frigate was armed with 12 turbolaser batteries and 12 laser cannons, as well as two traction beam projectors. The frigate's crew ranged from 850 to 920 people. During the Galactic Civil War, the EF76 frigate was actively used by both conflicting sides. The Rebel Alliance took possession of many of these starships after the Battle of Yavin, acquiring them through criminal organizations or conquering them in battle, or even outright theft. These ships became the main striking forces of the Alliance, especially in the early stages of the war against the Empire. In addition to escort missions, the EF76 was often used as a support ship for capital ships such as the Imperial-class Star Destroyer (I and II) or MC80 battleships. It was not uncommon for an undermanned Rebel expeditionary force to use the Nebulon-B as its flagship, with Corellian corvettes and gunboats serving as auxiliary command ships. Despite its slowness and clumsiness, the Rebel Alliance has mastered the art of using the frigate as a base for offensive operations against soft Imperial targets. Often these escort frigates did not even have to enter the combat zone. The Rebels typically fielded two squadrons of small craft on the ship, the first consisting of T-65 X-wings, and the second consisting of BTL Y-wings or RZ-1 A-wings. As the Rebel fleet gained more and more powerful war cruisers, the Rebels began converting Nebulon-B frigates into medical bases, command ships, reconnaissance ships, and search and rescue ships. The most famous Rebel medical frigate was the Atonement, the ship that treated Luke Skywalker after his duel with Darth Vader on Bespin. Medical Nebulon-B had everything necessary to treat over 745 patients. To make room for medical facilities, fighter hangars and ship arsenal had to be sacrificed. Armament was reduced to 6 turbolasers and 8 laser cannons. As a result, almost all of the hangar bay space was occupied by medical equipment and supplies, so the medical frigate did not take a single fighter on board, relying on the protection of other ships. Patients received treatment and care using a full range of medical materials. On board were 80 medical personnel, 30 2-1B series medical droids and 15 bacta tanks.

Scarlet Guard

The Scarlet Guard, also known as the Scarlet Cloaks, were a group of specially trained guards who wore red uniforms. They were chosen from among the Senate Guard and were tasked with protecting Supreme Chancellor Palpatine before and during the Clone Wars. After the abolition of the Republic, the Scarlet Guard reformed into the new Imperial Guard, but their appearance and weapons remained almost unchanged. The Scarlet Guards did not answer to the Senate and reported only to Palpatine. The Scarlet Guard's armor differed from the Senate Guard in many ways. The helmet completely covered the face and had a darkened visor. The change to the helmets made them resemble those of the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders and the Thyrsus Solar Guard. The torso armor consisted of crimson-colored plating of an unknown alloy, covered by loose robes, likely to conceal weapons. The exact number of Scarlet Guards who served the Emperor is unknown; rumors range from less than 50 to tens of thousands. The Scarlet Guard was based at the Imperial Guard Academy on Yinchorra. Candidates for the Academy were recruited from various branches of the Imperial military, underwent rigorous training programs, and were guided by absolute loyalty to the Emperor. The guardsmen were trained in various types of martial arts, including hand-to-hand combat techniques borrowed from the Echani. At the same time, the Guard itself had its own hierarchy, the highest level of which was the layer of elite elites - the Imperial Bodyguards. These fighters, going through the most impassable tests, were trained in all types of martial arts, hand-to-hand combat, the use of any technique, and some also learned to sense the Force and its adepts and use the basics of the Dark Side to fight them. Guardsmen were typically equipped with vibroswords and electrostaffs in addition to heavy blaster pistols and carbines for ranged combat. Sometimes Force-sensitive guardsmen were armed with light lances.

Speeder 74-Z

Weapon: Rapid-fire blaster cannon.
The 74-Z Speeder is a light, single-seat, high-speed transport that was used by many factions in the Galaxy. It was popular mainly among humanoid drivers, whose height and structure made it possible to pilot the car without any problems. It was widely used by field intelligence, and was often found among pirates and smugglers. It is unpretentious to weather conditions, although it was not often used in bad weather due to its open design. Could work for a long time without technical inspection. Compared to analogues and other light repulsor vehicles, the 74-Z had a record for speed. The 74-Z had a top speed of 500 km/h and could rise 25 meters above the ground, being a military version of the civilian 74-Y. The speeders were equipped with communications devices built into the steering wheel, including a comlink and a jammer for enemy comlinks. For combat operations, which were often carried out on the move, the gravity bike was equipped with nose-mounted blaster cannons, which, however, were easily replaced with other weapons, thanks to a convenient mount. The kit included afterburner of the main engines, which made it possible to cover enormous distances in a short period of time. As a rule, it was used on a flat surface when moving in a straight line. The 74-Z speeder became a real salvation for the manufacturer, the Aratek company, since their mass production brought the corporation out of the crisis. This transport was used by the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars along with the earlier BARC speeder. The jet bike was also used by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. During the Galactic Civil War, this transport was used by both the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic, although Aratek primarily supplied them first. On the forested moon of Endor, Imperial stormtroopers discovered Luke Skywalker and Leia Ogran. They decided to get to the base as quickly as possible to raise the alarm, and the rebels were forced to hijack one of the jetbikes to pursue their enemies. The 74-Z proved to be not only fast in this pursuit, but also quite maneuverable, allowing it to overcome rough terrain at phenomenal speed.

Weapons: laser cannons (3), proton torpedo launchers (2), ion cannon.
The B-wing, also known as the razor, is a spacecraft personally designed by Admiral Ackbar. One of the most heavily armed fighters of the Rebellion, the B-wing was essentially one long, flat wing with a rotating cockpit at one end and three cannons at the other. Approximately in the middle of the wing there were two wing flaps, which expanded the combat capabilities of the ship and gave it the shape of a cross. Thanks to an unusual stabilizing gyro system, the flight deck remains stationary while the rest of the ship rotates around it, giving the pilot the ability to target a specific area. Designed to duel and stop large Imperial ships, the B-wing was also used to attack heavily defended Imperial ships and as an escort for X-wings and Y-wings. The B-wing played a key role in the Rebel fleet at the Battle of Endor.

Weapons: laser cannons (3), proton torpedo launcher.
The E-wing Escort was produced by the FreyTech Corporation and was the first fighter to be designed from start to finish with New Republic support. At the outset of development, it was assumed that the E-wing would match or even surpass the X-wing in all respects, and that the new vehicle would eventually completely replace the previous one in the service of the New Republic. But that didn't happen. The operation of the very first fighters that entered combat units revealed their serious shortcomings, associated primarily with the malfunction of laser cannons and new astromech droids of the R7 series, which led to the fact that many pilots chose not to switch to using this new fighter, preferring it modernized versions of the older X-wing. However, despite the problems of the early series of the E-wing fighter, it was widely used by the New Republic, in particular, part of the Fifth Fleet fighter fleet was equipped with this particular machine, and later such fighters were used by the Galactic Alliance. These fighters also played a significant role during the Yuzhan-Vong War and subsequent armed conflicts. And during the Second Galactic Civil War, the E-wing was already considered an excellent fighter, and a number of elite squadrons of the Galactic Alliance were equipped with it. However, fighters of this model have never achieved such popularity and widespread distribution as the X-wing. Despite the fact that the E-wing series fighters required the unique R7 series of astro droids, which were designed specifically for use on this type of fighter, the machine itself was considered an excellent combination of firepower, speed, maneuverability and security. Two aerodynamic wings were attached to the body of the fighter, which served as stabilizers for flights in the atmosphere. The conical nose cone housed a sensor unit, and the astro droid was located in the middle of the fuselage just behind the cockpit. Later models of the E-wing series fighters were modified, and could already use the R2 and R5 series droids. The E-wing was no longer destined to get rid of the reputation of a “problem machine,” especially in light of the fact that the X-wing series fighter, at the time the E-wing was put into operation, still had considerable modernization resources. Having already earned great military fame, the X-wing was constantly being improved, completely unwilling to give up ground to the E-wing, especially since the latter’s advantages over the main rebel fighter, already proven in battle, were doubtful. Appearing almost immediately after the start of the South Vong War, the XJ X-wing modification again canceled the total re-equipment of the New Republic fighter fleet with E-wing series fighters, leaving it only second on the list. However, many elite units of the New Republic space fleet preferred the E-wing. Despite the fact that there was no resounding triumph of the technical thought of the New Republic over the fighters of the Galactic Empire, the E-wing series fighters were put into service, initially occupying some kind of intermediate niche between the multi-role X-wing fighters and A-wing interceptors. The E-wing never reached the popularity and mass popularity of the T-65 X-wing, and the reason for this was a combination of many factors. There was absolutely nothing revolutionary about the E-wing fighter, it was just a fighter that was supposed to incorporate the best qualities of the X-wing and A-wing, but FreyTek Corporation engineers were unable to do this right away.

181st Fighter Group

The 181st Fighter Group went down in history as one of the finest Imperial air units, rising from the very bottom to the very top. Every child of the Empire dreamed of becoming the same as the pilots of the 181st and every cadet wanted to serve under the command of the commander of the 181st. The 181st became one of the symbols of the Empire, as well as the face of its fleet for many years. Initially, it existed as one of the standard units of this class as part of a standard garrison. The commander of the 181st at that time was Colonel Evir Derricot, an officer with an academic education, a serious tactical genius, but who preferred to direct his efforts to studying his favorite biology (after all, in the division barracks there was a large winter garden, which the colonel looked after with great love). Seeing the commander’s openly disregardful attitude towards his unit, the command sent the worst pilots to the 181st. Thus, the fighters of the division were those who had disciplinary sanctions, disagreements with the powers that be, as well as simply dubious personalities. There was no talk of any discipline in the formation, as a result of which the division received the name “181st worst.” Derricot's squadrons were sent to the most hopeless missions, from which return was not expected, or to those from which heavy losses were expected. This continued until Soontir Fel was transferred to the 181st. The first-born son of Corellian farmers, Soontir Fel and his family worked in an agricultural plant. Young Soontir learned to fly a skyhopper, flying around fields, delivering supplies and parts. Shortly after turning eighteen, Soontir Fel applied to the Imperial Military Academy of Carida. Fel proved to be an exceptional cadet and competed with Han Solo for the title of best in the training simulators. Although Solo was also a Corellian, he had no intention of associating with an uncouth hillbilly farmer. In the end, Solo graduated from the Academy with honors, and Soontir received his diploma with honors. After a year of service, he rose to the rank of captain and then commanded the dreadnought Pride of the Senate for two years; He fought under the command of Admiral Grilanks at the Battle of Nar Shaddaa. The failure of this operation left a black mark on Fel's personal file. To make amends, Fel was sent as a teacher to the Fleet Academy on Prefsbelt IV. He taught cadets for about two years, but did not suspect that one of the issues in which he would invest so much mental and physical strength would include such rebel supporters as Biggs Darklighter and Hobby Klivian. Biggs and Hobby's kidnapping of the freighter and their escape to the rebels ended Soontir's career at the academy. All of Fel's dreams were in vain. Transferred to the 181st, Soontir Fel cruelly took revenge on the rebels for the humiliation he suffered. In an astonishingly short period of time, he transformed the 181st's second squadron into something resembling a fighting force. The Empire eventually sent them to fight in the Second Battle of Ord-Binyir. Thanks to the efforts of Fel's pilots, the Empire won the Battle of Ord Biniir on the day the first Death Star was destroyed. Recognizing the merits of Major Fel and his pilots, the command transferred the elite detachment to Coruscant. The Empire gave twenty-eight-year-old Fel a hero's welcome on Coruscant. The 181st squadron gained experience by participating in all the major battles with the rebels. Fel's pilots proved their superiority over the enemy at the battles of Derra IV and Hoth, where they completely defeated the Alliance. For Derra IV, Suuntir Fel received the title of baron and the rank of colonel. From now on, it was Fel who led the group (now also officially). A little later, he took his family from the farm and moved it to his new baronial possessions on Corellia. After Hoth, the 181st's pilots switched to the newly released TIE interceptors. Their distinctive feature was the color of their interceptors: they painted red stripes on the fuselage and solar panels of the interceptors (each stripe indicated 10 downed enemy ships) or painted entire batteries red, and downed enemies were marked with special marks on the hull. The same system appeared in the pilots’ uniform; the standard overalls were now equipped not only with rank bars, but also with stripes indicating the number of “bandits” shot down. In the Battle of Endor, which became fatal for the Empire, the 181st fought to the very end. Having destroyed more than a hundred enemy ships, Fel's squadrons retreated only after Captain Pelaeon ordered a general retreat. He soon realized that he could not ignore the corruption and mismanagement in Ysanna Isard's Empire. Six months after Endor, she ordered the 181st to defend Brentaal IV - which was impossible. The rebel "sneaks" shot down Fel's interceptor and took him prisoner. Fel renounced the Empire and joined Rogue Squadron. With The Weasels, Fel searched for his missing wife (Sial Antilles, Wedge Antilles' sister) for nearly seven months, and the family was eventually reunited. A few months later, Fel helped the rebels win a key battle against Isard. But, approximately a year and a half after Endor, Isard captured Fel and sent him to Grand Admiral Thrawn's secret base on Nirauan. There, Thrawn revealed to him a terrible secret discovered during exploration of the Unknown Regions (the threat of the South Vong), and explained the need for the presence of quality pilots there. Fel agreed to join his forces, and Thrawn brought his entire family there. When Thrawn returned to lead the Empire, General Fel remained at the Nirauan base as commandant. Later, during the New Republic and Empire campaign against the warlord Zsinj, Rogue Squadron encountered fighters bearing the designations of the 181st. In fact, it was a trap of the warlord: some of the fighters turned out to be booby-trapped by killer droids, while others were Zsinj’s personal pilots, among whom was even his own Soontir Fel, whose role was played by actor Tetran Koval. The real 181st remained under the command of the Imperial Navy and flew as part of Admiral Rogriss's squadron. Turr Fenir took the place of the missing Fel. The 181st was saved from collapse and participated in the South Vong War on the side of the Imperial Remnant. The reorganized 181st was one of the best military units in the Fel Empire.

TIE advanced X1

Weapons: rapid-fire laser cannons (2), cluster missile launcher.
The TIE Advanced X1 or TIE Super was Darth Vader's personal fighter. Wanting to erase all ties to his Jedi past, Darth Vader offered Raith Synar a set of specifications for his new starfighter (he had previously flown a modified Eta-2 Actis-class Jedi interceptor, painted black).

Sinar and his team rose to the occasion and eventually presented Vader with the TIE Advanced X1. Vader himself was clearly pleased with the design and was often seen flying the TIE Advanced. The most important innovation of the TIE Advanced X1 was the use of a curved wing, which was equipped with TIE bombers. The advantage of this design, compared to the hexagonal wing panels of a standard TIE fighter, was the increased surface area of ​​the wing, which increased maneuverability while reducing the visibility of the ship. Unlike a regular TIE fighter, the TIE Advanced X1 was equipped with experimental deflector shields. The stabilizing field was emitted by projectors at the rear of the cabin, and energy was supplied to the deflector through the front and side pairs of emitters. The shields often required fine tuning to operate optimally. Despite being equipped with a more powerful engine and power plant, the speed of the improved TIE, compared to the TIE fighter, increased slightly, and maneuverability decreased altogether, due to the increased weight of the ship and the additional energy consumption for deflectors. Although the TIE Advanced X1 was equipped with shields and a hyperdrive, it did not have the same life support system as the TIE Fighter. The targeting system was even more sophisticated than that of the TIE Fighter, and could overcome the extremely powerful electronic jamming generated by the ships to evade target acquisition. To operate optimally, the guidance system required frequent adjustments in combat. A little later, Sinar introduced his TIE Advanced X1 to the Imperial Navy for mass use. The Empire, however, decided not to order it in large quantities, citing their prohibitive price. Privately, some Imperial Navy strategists admitted that the Navy was reluctant to buy a hyperdrive starfighter for fear of giving bureaucrats an excuse to cut orders for new ships in the main class. Some also feared that the hyperdrive-equipped fighter would encourage desertion. In the end, only a few elite squadrons were equipped with the TIE Advanced X1. The Empire opted for the TIE Interceptor, which contained the TIE Advanced X1 drive systems in a more compact package. Although the TIE Interceptor lacked a hyperdrive and shields, it was extremely fast, incredibly maneuverable, and significantly cheaper than the TIE Advanced. By the Battle of Endor, a significant expansion in TIE Interceptor production meant the end of TIE Advanced X1 production. By the start of the South Vong War, enough of these ships had reached production that they ended up in the hands of private individuals such as Lando Calrissian, who used modified TIE Advanced X1s for recreational purposes in the asteroid belt on Dubrillion. At the Battle of Dubrillion, Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin Solo fought in three of these starfighters against the South Vong coralskippers.

TIE Defender

Weapons: laser cannons (4), ion cannons (2), launchers (2, could be loaded with shock missiles or proton torpedoes), could also be equipped with proton missiles, proton bombs or magnetic pulse torpedoes.
The TIE Defender was a highly capable TIE series starfighter developed by Sinar Fleet Systems for the Imperial Navy shortly before the Battle of Endor. Incredible speed and maneuverability coupled with high firepower made it the most advanced fighter of its time. The TIE Defender was equipped with a hyperdrive, which significantly expanded the tactical capabilities of the vehicle. The hyperdrive's navigation computer could store up to 10 sets of hyperspace coordinates, the same as an X-wing astro droid. It is also worth noting that the hyperdrive was installed without compromising the main (according to the Imperials) characteristics of the fighter - speed and maneuverability. The vehicle also acquired relatively powerful deflectors, which allowed it to withstand several direct hits from even heavy laser cannons. The power of the protective field created by the deflector was twice that of the shields of the already mentioned X-wing. While on the T-65 the size of the deflector generator occupied a large space in the rear of the vehicle, Imperial engineers managed to make it in the form of a small, flat “box” that fit perfectly into the small dimensions of the fighter. Like all TIEs, the TIE Defender did not have life support systems, which made it possible to further reduce the fighter's size. To give the fighter high maneuverability, small maneuvering engines controlled by an on-board computer were installed at the ends of all planes, which gave the TIE defender unprecedented maneuverability. Initially, they planned to equip elite squadrons consisting of pilots most loyal to the Emperor with these fighters. Candidates selected for retraining as a TIE Defender must have had at least 20 successful combat missions under their belt and excellent flying skills. However, before Zaarin's infamous mutiny, only a few hundred pilots were able to be retrained for the new machine. After Zaarin's betrayal, the factories that produced TIE Defenders fell into the hands of the rebellious Grand Admiral. And although they were quickly captured by forces loyal to the legitimate government, in the ensuing suppression of the rebellion, TIE defenders often fought each other, finding themselves on both sides of the barricades. The TIE Defender had virtually no vulnerabilities. However, the rebels still managed to find one of them. They could not include a shield protecting against non-energy weapons in the small-sized protective field generator. Namely: high-explosive and high-explosive fragmentation missiles and torpedoes. These weapons were rarely used in space combat and therefore, specifically to counter TIE Defenders, the Rebels of Rogue Squadron had to upgrade their X-wings. Acting from an ambush, under the cover of a raider disguised as a passenger liner, the rebels quickly attacked the unsuspecting enemy. In this battle, they managed to shoot down 11 TIE defenders, losing only two X-wings. Over time, the Imperial Remnant managed to establish small-scale production of TIE defenders, which were supplied to elite units. TIE Defenders fought in the South Vong War and were widely used by the Fel Empire.

Noghri Assassins

The Noghri are a race of intelligent short humanoids from the planet Honoghr. Their skin had a steel-gray or blue tint. The race became widely known throughout the galaxy for its warriors known as Noghri Assassins. These wild, but by no means stupid, creatures had excellent skills in camouflage and reconnaissance without any popular special equipment (like an invisibility generator or sensors), hand-to-hand combat skills, knife throwing, silent killings and other sabotage activities, as well as hunting as their main form. obtaining food. The indigenous inhabitants of Khonogr unmistakably recognized friends and enemies, as well as their closest relatives, by their smell. The structure of Noghri society was clan-based. The centers of secular and spiritual power of each clan - dukkhas - were consolidated around the Supreme Council, which included representatives from different clans, known as dynasts. A considerable part of the male population was specially trained from an early age as killers and instilled in a special code of honor, which required serving those to whom they were obliged, and even their descendants, and this duty, in turn, passed from generation to generation. The Noghri were fierce in battle and skilled hunters. Their small stature was compensated by their strong physique and natural weapons of attack - strong, sharp teeth and claws. The Noghri were also very resourceful, inventive, and quick to learn and master new skills. The Noghri's sense of smell was a separate natural phenomenon - not so much a keen sense of smell, but the ability to calculate their ancestry (at least parents) from the smell of some living creatures. This unique mechanism was developed during evolution so that members of different clans could distinguish each other by smell. The Noghri did not lose their vigilance even in their apparently relaxed state, for example, when they allowed themselves to joke. They preferred melee and throwing weapons, did not like popular energy-based melee weapons, and most often fought with simple metal blades or without weapons at all. During the imperial occupation of Khonogr, the indigenous people quickly learned to use small arms. For field operations, the Noghri assassins were given high-precision short-barreled blasters, from which they fired from long distances with virtually no miss - each easily killed an enemy infantryman with one precise shot. The main trump card of the Noghri fighters was camouflage, the skills of which they honed throughout the history of their race, hunting especially sensitive and cautious animals. Therefore, their main tactics were sudden rapid attacks, if possible in the enemy rear, as well as sabotage work. Each mission was something of a blood feud for these death squads: each warrior knew no peace until he met a glorious death or the task was completed. For their unique skills, the Noghri were highly sought after as special agents on missions of high importance and high risk. For a long time, the Noghri did not leave their home world until they were affected by the Clone Wars. During a major orbital battle between the Galactic Republic and the CIS, a Separatist Baryshnik-class battleship was successfully shot down. A major victory for the Republic turned into a tragedy for all life on the planet, since the destruction of a large CIS ship caused a huge release of a dangerous toxin into the atmosphere, known as trihexalophine 1138, destroying the vast majority of vegetation on the surface. Diplomatic relations with Honogr were established only after the end of the Clone Wars and the founding of the Galactic Empire. Darth Vader, who visited the planet, was impressed by the skill of natural-born local saboteurs, who managed to deal with elite stormtroopers with negligible losses on their part. After the battle, Vader began negotiations, offering to help the Empire restore the ecology in exchange for loyalty. The proposal turned out to be very opportune, since the people lived mainly on subsistence farming, and disruption of the biosphere destroyed their livelihood. In return, Vader demanded that Noghri assassins be regularly sent to his service. The unit formed from these fighters became known as the deadly commandos or Noghri assassins, answering only to Palpatine and Vader. The commandos were staffed exclusively by young males of suitable age who had undergone combat training in special training camps on their home planet. Excellent killers and hunters, the Noghri performed their assigned tasks flawlessly. The first thing Palpatine did was remove all records of Honoghre and its inhabitants from public sources. Subsequently, he often resorted to the help of his secret army to eliminate all kinds of political opponents, dissidents and other undesirables, where it was necessary to act without unnecessary publicity. While the Noghri served conscientiously, the imperials were in no hurry to fulfill their part of the deal, since it was unprofitable for them. Imperial personnel assigned to Khonogr were given instructions to create the appearance of cleaning up the environment, while in fact deliberately maintaining it in an extremely deplorable state. The deadlines were delayed so that the Noghri continued to perform military service as long as possible. During Thrawn's campaign, Princess Leia was able to reveal to the Noghrian leaders the truth about the Empire's failure to fulfill their previous treaty, which imposed enslaving obligations on the race and, in fact, was invalid all these years. Since then, the people have broken all ties with the Empire. Considered in the culture of the Mal "Ari" Ush people who swore allegiance to her (a direct descendant of the one who was given an unfulfilled or indefinite oath), Leia became the new commander-in-chief of all units of Noghri assassins, thus bringing the best warriors of the Galaxy to the New Republic. She helped spread the Noghri to other planets, including Weyland, to give Honoghr's biosphere time to recover on its own. Friends, allies and relatives of Leia, when in trouble, could always count on the help of highly qualified agents of the specified race, who called their new leader “Lady Vader”. Subsequently, during the war with the Southern Vong, Noghri commando units were often used in sabotage operations.

Yuzhan Vong warrior

The Southern Vong race that invaded the New Republic 20 years after the Battle of Endor came from another galaxy. Their homeland, the planet Yuzhan'tar, was destroyed thousands of standard years before their invasion. A significant part of their home galaxy lay in ruins and the Southern Vong began a long journey to another galaxy in search of a new home. For centuries they roamed the Intergalactic Void on massive craft worlds. They were in many ways similar to humans, but taller, more massive, stronger and more resilient. The Southern Vong have a sloping forehead, which, combined with the ritual tattooing and scars that representatives of the lower strata of this race inflict on themselves, gives them a barbaric appearance. Those who belong to the upper strata of society have even more distorted, disfigured and grotesque facial features. The Southern Vong culture is based on the idea of ​​domination over inferior races. They considered few worthy, and even then their respect was manifested only in giving the defeated enemy an easy death. The rest, in their opinion, are worthy only of a share of slaves. Everything that the Southern Vong did was aimed at glorifying their gods, including the conquest and enslavement of ever new galactic territories, which the Southern Vong, like their own appearance, transformed into glory and in the image and likeness of their gods. On their victorious path, they carried out executions and sacrifices everywhere, because, according to the myths of the Southern Vong, their creator, the landmark god Yun-Yuzhan, sacrificed parts of his body, endured unbearable pain and eventually died - all in order to ascend to new heights. This is how the legend says, he created from his body the lesser gods, who, in turn, created the people of the Southern Vong, collecting and mixing parts of the bodies of other creatures. Therefore, sacrifices are obligatory and are a sacred act. The Southern Vong were religious fanatics who considered mechanical technology of any kind to be blasphemous. They had a special hatred for droids, since, from their point of view, droids are a blasphemous imitation of life, not worthy of existing in the world. Their “technical devices” (and even furniture, utensils, musical instruments, etc.) were specially bred or tamed living organisms. In addition, the Southern Vong deeply respected pain, bordering on masochism, and sought to improve their physical capabilities through organ transplants (for example, replacing one arm with the paw of some dangerous predator to make it more convenient to fight). Such a transplant was a status symbol in Southern Vong society. Those who failed the transformation ceremony and ended up crippled became Disgraced and moved to the lowest caste in the hierarchy of Southern Vong society. The Southern Vong were known to be unable to be sensed through the Force and were not affected by Force abilities (with the exception of Lightning). The warrior caste was one of the most numerous castes. Warriors were trained from an early age until they died in battle. The warrior caste was divided into warmasters, high commanders, commanders, subalterns and warriors. The warriors worshiped Yun-Yammuka, the Killer, the God of War. He was depicted as a multi-legged, multi-armed creature that served as a form for the combat coordinator - the yammosk. It was Yun-Yammuka that made the most numerous sacrifices of prisoners. Unlike the “disposable” Southern Vong troops (specially bred reptilians (khazrak) and the most powerful and resilient captives with implanted bio-implants of subordination), the warriors were well trained and usually fought in the hottest spots of the battle. Their main weapon was the amphistaff, a snake-like creature that could harden its entire body or one part of it, becoming as strong as stone or flexible as a whip. Its head and tail muscles can contract in such a way that they can cut like a razor or pierce like a spear. The rod can also serve as a long-range weapon, as its head is capable of spewing jets of poison, shooting them up to ten meters away. The poison instantly blinds the victim, but death comes slowly and painfully. To the Jedi's horror, the amphibiant could also deflect lightsaber blades; its tough skin can be broken only by delivering several blows to one point. The only known way to destroy an amphistaff is to cut off its head. Khazrak slave units were allowed to carry the kufi, a rigid form of amphibiant designed specifically to suit the meager skills of these soldiers. Also, some warriors used specially implanted claws, spikes and even horns in close combat. A bullet beetle or razor beetle was used as an additional weapon. The bullet beetle is a type of insectoid that was specially grown in bio-laboratories of molders and served as weapons. These fist-sized insects had a razor-sharp exoskeleton capable of cutting through flesh. When thrown at an opponent, they spread their wings, which served as a primitive orientation system and allowed them to return to their owner's hand if they missed their target or attack the enemy again if they managed to dodge. For protection, the Southern Vong bred numerous breeds of wonduun crabs, which served as armor. The layered plates of the wonduun crab's reinforced shell moved in accordance with the movement of the wearer's muscles, adjusting to his every movement. Sharp spikes protruded from the knees, elbows, wrists and neck - and they lengthened every year. The armor often came with a detachable helmet, which provided additional protection. The armor was vulnerable to repeated hits from a blaster or a sharp blow from a lightsaber. The only vulnerable area of ​​such armor was the soft leathery tissue covering the joints of the wonduun crab.

The first meeting with the South Vong warrior took place at the VneGal-4 station on Belkadan (illustrated), where a group of scientists was searching for life outside the known galaxy. This warrior was the South Vong infiltrator Yomin Karr. Infiltrated into the station's personnel, he sabotaged the project, killed off the remaining employees one by one, and waited for the South Vong invasion fleet to arrive in the galaxy at a point known as Vector Prime at a predetermined time. Jedi Masters Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker arrived on the planet shortly after receiving a distress call. While inspecting the station, they had to split up, and Yomin, seeing RD-D2 with them, attacked him and the droid called Maru for help. The Yuzhan Vong threw several bullet beetles at them, but R2 dodged and Mara knocked down several of them with blaster shots and repelled the rest with her lightsaber
Weapon: yaret-kor.
Coral Skipper or Yorick-et is a fighter of the South Vong during their invasion of the galaxy. Just as the Southern Vong despised and abhorred all mechanical technologies, the Yorik-et is a bioengineered starship, obtained, or rather grown, like all their other machines, from a biological substance - the so-called Yorik coral. For this reason, all jumper corals look different, but they have a certain set of common features - an aerodynamic shell and a tapering nose. They are shaped like a rough cone and more like an asteroid. The cabin material is more like natural darkened mica than transparisteel. The coraljumper pilot could communicate with the machine through a special mask in the cockpit called a cognition hood. Instead of the well-known blaster and laser cannons, a small appendage extends from the front of the coral jumper, similar to a miniature volcano (yaret-kor), from which a volley of fire and a block of molten stone erupts at high speed, capable of seriously damaging an enemy starship. The yaret-kor's plasma rounds were powerful enough to melt the hull of a New Republic fighter, and the impact could easily throw the fighter off its flight path or stun an enemy pilot. This weapon was difficult to counter even with a deflector shield. As an organic weapon, the yaret-kor had many other advantages over conventional laser-based weapons. Yaret-kor could heal over time and did not require a power source. To replenish ammunition, repair or re-equip, the Yorik-et could absorb small asteroids and other space debris directly in space. But, like any other items of equipment and weapons of the Southern Vong, the Yorik-et consisted of biomaterial, and also aged and died over time. At the bottom of each yorik-eta was a heart-shaped creature called a dovin tyagun. Adult dovins, balls with a diameter of three meters, had the unique ability to selectively capture the gravitational field of any object, even millions of kilometers away, ignoring the attraction of all others. Thus, a perpetual motion machine for the spacecraft was obtained. The more the dovin focused the capture field, the higher the speed became. The coralskipper only had one dovin, but the larger ships had many more. The field was also used to destroy the protective shields of enemy ships and at the same time acted as the coral leaper's own protective shield - a micro-singularity that absorbed laser blasts, proton torpedoes and other enemy projectiles. The entire Southern Vong space fleet used Dovin Tyaguns for transportation. New Republic pilots eventually discovered that by increasing the sphere of the inertial compensator, they could prevent Dovin from destroying the protective field of their fighters. Shooting a dovin-equipped coralskipper with weak but numerous laser blasts caused it to release a lot of energy, creating black hole fields, thereby reducing its maneuverability and security. The coral jumper was intended only for space flights and then over short distances; it flew poorly in the atmosphere, which also benefited the pilots of the New Republic. For long-distance travel, the fighter relied on carrier ships. Presumably, the Mandalorians encountered Yorik-eta for the first time in history approximately 4,000 years before the Yuzhan Vong invasion. During the Mandalorian Wars, Canderous Ordo and his squad encountered an asteroid-like ship that had arrived from the Unknown Regions. It could have been a ship of this type. It is possible that Canderous then encountered one of the Southern Vong scouts. The first documented cases of the use of Yorik-eth in battles were in the initial stages of the Southern Vong invasion, which was led by a kind of “expeditionary force” - the Praetorite Vong, who transported thousands of such fighters on board their world ships to the first base of the Southern Vong - ice planet Helska IV. Kip's Dozen Squadron encountered them for the first time, but the New Republic pilots suffered a devastating situation - when the Dovins stripped their fighters of their shields, they found themselves completely defenseless against enemy fire and were instantly killed by the South Vong pilots. As a result, of the entire squadron, only its commander, Jedi Master Kyp Durron, survived. The Yorik-et were later used in a raid on the planet Dubrillion (illustrated by Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin Solo at the Battle of Dubrillion), although it was repulsed by the planet's defenders.

Flying world

The craftworld, or flying world (koros-strona), was a huge organically created vessel that housed communities of the Southern Vong, providing them with food and shelter. Due to the fact that in their home galaxy almost all the planets suitable for their habitation were devastated (partly by themselves), their entire race lived on board these flying worlds. Like all other Yuzhan Vong vessels, the flying worlds were made of yorik coral. Yorick coral also formed symbiotic relationships with countless other organic materials to support weapons, engines, and defensive capabilities. The craftworld had more in common with a planet than with a ship and, like other South Vong bioengineered vessels, hardly resembled a ship in the usual sense of the word. Its main organ was a disc-shaped body that was studded with hundreds of weapons and other protrusions. At the edges of the craftworld were several large spiral arms (membrane tendrils). Hundreds of coral jumpers were attached to each tendril, helping to unfurl the membranes. Once deployed, the tendrils served as space sails. A ship's Dovin thrusters could be used to propel a Craftworld by creating gravity wells to propel Yuuzhan Vong ships through the interstellar void. When these organisms concentrated the energy of the wells, they could throw a space station or moon out of orbit and onto a planet. Dovin tyaguns could also be used to strip enemy ships of their deflector shields. The flying world's own defenses also relied on the Dovin Thaguns' ability to use gravity wells to intercept incoming torpedoes and other weapons. Flying worlds could generate artificial gravity by rotation, with the help of the same dovin tyaguns. The Craftworld was defended by hundreds of Yaret Kor gun emplacements, which spewed molten slag at enemy ships. These magma cannons ranged from small vents, with blaster cannon capabilities, to large sources that could fire flaming rocks the size of small ships over long distances. In addition to civilians, the craftworld could transport a small Yuuzhan Vong army (more than 5,000 warriors along with coralskippers and planetary vehicles). The Yuzhan Vong flying world lived on average 500 years. However, they could live twice as long, as the example of Baanu Miir proves.

Weapons: poisonous whip-like tail, acid saliva, acoustic scream, paws (8).
Voxin is a creature genetically created by the Southern Vong by crossing Vornskr and Fero Xin, intended to hunt Jedi. Voxins had 8 legs versus 4 for Vornskrs and looked like dragons. From Vornsk they still have sensitivity to the Force, and from Feroxine they have high intelligence, large size and his fighting qualities. They overtook their victims either with an acoustic shock or by spitting poisonous saliva. The average voxin was more than a meter at the withers and more than four meters in length. He was clad in durable black-green leather, capable of absorbing even infantry blaster bolts. A row of sensory bristles was stretched along the entire back, starting from the head and ending with the tail. All bristles contained a potent neurotoxin. Voxins have a special mucous layer on their paws that contains hundreds of retroviruses that make contact with voxins' claws fatal. Voxins were also able to spray their poisonous acid saliva over a six meter radius. One of the most terrifying features of voxins was their ability to cause sonic shock shocks that would rupture eardrums. Each voxin was cloned from a voxin queen (the very first hybrid) aboard the floating world Baanu Rass, orbiting Myrkr. Voxins required a special nutrient, which was only found on Myrkr, as their organisms were destroyed due to rapid growth and imperfect cloning technology (outside Myrkr they could only exist for a few months). Because of this, molders were constantly creating new clones to replace those that died. In a short time, the voxins destroyed many Jedi. When the New Jedi Order managed to figure out the location of their cloning, Anakin Solo developed a plan to destroy the queen and led a strike team. It included 16 more Jedi (his brother Jacen Solo, his sister Jaina Solo, Tahiri Veila, Tenel Ka Dyo, Alima Rar, Gunner Rhysod, Lowbacca (nephew of the deceased Chewbacca), Zekk and others) and several heavily armed YUV (Yuzhan Vong Hunter) battle droids. After the birth of his son Ben, Luke Skywalker was more determined than ever to push back the Southern Vong and reluctantly agreed to their plan. But the plan failed almost at the very beginning: the Southern Vong prevented them from blowing up the cloning laboratory from orbit using baradium charges. The strike team had to covertly land on the surface and penetrate inside. When the squad reached the cloning laboratory, Anakin, who was seriously wounded, ordered the remaining surviving members of the squad to go after the escaped queen, while he remained to cover their retreat. Using a lightsaber and Force lightning, he defeated several dozen South Vong warriors and destroyed a cloning laboratory before he himself died (I remember when I was a child I even shed tears at this place) (this was one of George Lucas' disastrous interventions in RV, and it all eventually came down to the sale of the brand to Disney and its complete dissolution). Meanwhile, Jacen Solo was able to catch up and kill the voxyn queen (and he himself was captured, but that’s a completely different story). The remaining 9 Jedi from the strike force (Jaina, Tahiri, Tenel Ka, Alima, Gunner, Lowbacca, Zekk, etc.) were able to escape on a captured South Vong ship. The tragedy in orbit of Myrkr occurred simultaneously with the fall of Coruscant and the end of the New Republic. Later, one of the Galactic Alliance Star Destroyers was named after Anakin Solo.

Katarn Commando

The Katarn Commandos are a special forces combat unit of the New Republic. The unit was formed after a group of guerrillas fighting for the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War was assigned to Major Bren Derlin. After Derlin's promotion, Lieutenant Judder Page took command. At this time, the unit received the name "Katarn Commando" - in honor of the secretive predatory animal from the planet Kashyyyk. Its reputation subsequently grew and it became known as Page's Commando. Officially, the unit was subordinate to the head of state of the New Republic, but in reality the fighters acted independently for several weeks or months. The Katarn Commandos functioned as a single group, but were sometimes broken up into smaller units to operate in any environment. Each fighter, although he had developed skills in many areas, had his own military specialty. The most significant operation of the Katarn Commandos was the Liberation of Coruscant during the war with the Southern Vong. After breaking through the orbital defenses of the South Vong, Katarn commando assault forces equipped with jetpacks, along with the battle droids of the OJV and a squad of Jedi (including Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker, Kent Hamner, Tahiri Veila, Jacen and Jaina Solo) were the first to land on the surface planets and cleared landing zones for the rest of the Galactic Alliance troops.

Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer

Weapons: heavy turbolaser batteries (50), medium turbolaser batteries (50), ion cannon batteries (40), tractor beam projectors (20), proton torpedo launchers (50), gravity projector.
Named after Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon (one of the most famous leaders of the Empire, who was a student of Grand Admiral Thrawn himself), the Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer was one of the largest and most powerful ships in the Imperial Navy. Adopted a hundred years after the Battle of Endor, it was used in the Fel Empire's fleet. The Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer was an excellent combination of firepower and performance, incorporating the best features of the Imperial Star Destroyer and the Executioner-class Super Destroyer. The Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer replicated the appearance of previous Star Destroyers. More powerful armor and shields than the Imperial class increased the ship's survivability in battle. The main purpose of the ship is as a command or flagship ship. The modern technical equipment of the time made the ship not only incredibly powerful, but also an excellent command starship, allowing the Pellaeon to quickly form the core of a battle group or fleet. Unrivaled in technology and firepower, the Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer was the ultimate machine for the Empire's brilliant tactical minds. Boasting an impressive arsenal and carrying several squadrons of starfighters, the Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer was recognized as the most powerful ship of its time. The side panels of the hull protected the ship's vulnerable areas and also optimized the operation of the energy shield. The main guns were located on the sloping bow of the ship, which had excellent viewing and firing ranges, which gave an advantage over previous types of Star Destroyers, where the guns were located on the same level. In terms of the number of guns, the Pellaeon-class destroyers outnumbered the Imperial-class destroyers. In addition, powerful gravitational projectors were installed on the Pellaeons to “catch” ships from hyperspace. The hangar was located on the lower deck, continuing the tradition of previous Imperial Star Destroyers. The hangar had special docking bridges for 48 Predator-class fighters, as well as landing docks for 6 transport shuttles. The fighters were located in special racks in narrow passages throughout the hangar area. Traffic control centers were located on both sides of the main entrance. Although the slanted profile makes the ship smaller than an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, the ship's hangars were very spacious, and the total amount of equipment that could fit in the docks of the two types of Destroyers was approximately equal. The crew size was six times smaller than that of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer and amounted to 8,450 members, but the number of troops transported also decreased.

Imperial Knights

The Imperial Knights were a group of Force-sensitive warriors who served the Fel Empire and were personally loyal to the Emperor. Unlike previous similar New Order organizations whose members could use the Force, the Knights of the Empire did not use the Dark Side. Despite this, the New Jedi Order considered the Knights to be gray Jedi, as they all pledged to carry out only the will of the Emperor in accordance with the dictates of the Force. At the same time, the remaining Sith considered the Imperial Knights to be Jedi. Nothing is known about the creation of this organization, but the decision to form this elite group was probably facilitated by the close connection with the Force of the Fel family, whose members led the Empire for many years. It is possible that for some time the Jedi Order trained knights who were going to further devote their lives to serving the Empire, and they had to break away from the Order, since the council of masters demanded that the Jedi serve the Force. And then the Empire decided to train knights on its own. However, how everything really was is still unknown. The Imperial Knights were trained as Jedi, but remained loyal to the Empire. The emperor himself and his family members were fully trained knights. Imperial Knights primarily served as bodyguards for high-ranking imperial officials, military personnel, and the emperor himself. It is believed that the number of imperial knights was small - approximately a dozen. And most of them had additional skills in areas such as piloting. The Imperial Knights were proficient in many Force techniques, characteristic of both the Jedi and the Sith, for example: Force Suffocation, Influence on the Mind, etc. All Imperial Knights wore a standard uniform - red armor (the same color was the armor of Palpatine's Scarlet Guard) and identical lightsabers with silver blades. This symbolized their unity and that the individual was nothing compared to the Empire they served. The emperor also wore armor, which differed from the ammunition of the imperial knights with luxurious decorations and an imperial cape. On the left shoulder was the emblem of the Empire. Some of the protective armor was made of black material, which was used in the protective suit of Darth Vader himself more than a hundred years ago. The equipment of the Imperial Knights included bracers made of cortosis, a metal capable of resisting the destructive effects of a lightsaber.

Created as much for elegant combat as for ceremonies, the lightsaber was a special weapon, the very image of which was inextricably linked with the world of the Jedi.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: “This is the weapon of the Jedi. Not as crude and cluttered as a blaster, but an elegant weapon for a more civilized era."

It was a blade of pure energy (or more accurately, plasma) emitted from the hilt, most often created by the owner of the weapon himself based on his own needs, requirements and style. Due to the unique balance of the sword - the concentration of all its weight in the hilt - it was extremely difficult to handle without special training. In the hands of masters of the Force, such as the Jedi or their dark brethren, the lightsaber inspired great respect and even fear. Mastering a lightsaber meant having incredible skill and focus, masterful dexterity, and generally being in tune with the Force.

Over millennia of use, the lightsaber has become an iconic attribute of the Jedi and their quest to maintain peace and bring justice to the entire galaxy. This perception persisted despite many early conflicts with the Dark Jedi, who also wielded this weapon, often popularly called a laser sword. In particular, this is what Anakin Skywalker called the lightsaber when he first saw it with Qui-Gon Jinn.

Tionna Solusar: "As stated in the holocrons, the earliest swords were crude devices that used experimental "frozen blaster" technology to create a focused beam of energy of a specific length."

The power sword created by the Rakata was the predecessor to the modern lightsaber. In this device, the energy of the dark side of the Force, passing through a laboratory-grown crystal, was transformed into a glowing energy blade. The technology of power swords was the basis for the creation of lightsabers. Perhaps the very first functional lightsaber was the First Blade, created on Tython by an unknown weapon master. Even then, the ancient Je'daii Order, whose members used ordinary forged swords, “froze” the blade of the future lightsaber, learning to combine the advanced technologies of other planets with their forging ritual. With the transformation into the Jedi Order after the Force Wars, the Jedi knights continued to use edged weapons , which remained a tradition for thousands of years, lightsabers were not established for large-scale use due to their general ineffectiveness and many disadvantages.

By 15,500 BBY, their research was successful. The Jedi developed a method for producing a focused beam of energy, which led to the creation of the first lightsabers. They were still unstable and inefficient: they used up huge amounts of energy, so they only worked for a short period of time. As a result of these shortcomings, the first lightsabers were little more than objects of worship. They were rarely worn, much less used.

Early mentions

Tionna Solusar: "...these archaic lightsabers were portable, so their use required a flexible cable that connected on one side to the lightsaber's handle, and on the other to the power supply on the Jedi's belt."

The extreme weapon instability that the Jedi encountered in early designs faded over time. Also, cumbersome and rarely used weapons gave way to elegant and much more often used proto-swords. However, although these archaic lightsabers were much more durable than their predecessors, they still suffered from power consumption problems, requiring the same power pack on the belt. The powerful cable constrained the owner's movements and did not allow him to use the Sword Throw. However, despite the shortcomings, the high stability of the blade provided a clear advantage in the fight against heavily armored enemies.

Developments and designs of sieves

Komok-Da: “Although swords are excellent weapons, there is still nothing as satisfying as the feeling of the warm splash of blood when someone is cut down with a real sword.”

It was the Dark Lords of the Sith Empire who improved lightsabers by placing the power supply and energy cell in the hilt. A superconductor was introduced into the design, which transformed the cyclically returning energy from the negatively charged emitter back into the internal battery. With this modification, the battery only drained energy when the energy loop was broken, such as when cutting something with a lightsaber. Thus, the food problem was solved. Using the Tedrin Holocron, the Sith also created the blueprint for the first light staff. Karness Muur was also one of the owners of modern lightsabers. The Dark Jedi initially wielded an archaic lightsaber, but later switched to a modern one with a curved hilt.

Adoption of lightsabers by the Jedi

During Naga Sadow's invasion of the Republic in 5000 BBY and the subsequent outbreak of the Great Hyperspace War, the technological innovations of the Sith Empire reached the Jedi. However, while the Sith army used lightsabers, the Jedi continued to fight with proto-sabers, as they did not have time to fully learn the new technology. With the defeat of the Sith, modern lightsabers were fully adopted by the Jedi Order. By 4800 BBY, lightsabers became an integral part of any Jedi.

During the Great Sith War, the renegade Jedi who flocked to Exar Kun continued to use their Jedi lightsabers, ignoring the traditions adopted by the Sith Empire. Other innovations entered the ranks of the newly minted Sith. So, Exar Kun created a light staff for himself using circuits from the Sith holocron. By the time Exar Kun's rebellion was ultimately defeated, the idea of ​​a light staff had been adopted by the Jedi. This type of lightsaber found widespread use in the early years of the Jedi Civil War.

Mechanism and technical characteristics

Luke Skywalker: “Ideally, a Jedi needs many months to create the perfect weapon, which he will keep and use until the end of his days. Once created by you, the lightsaber will become your constant companion, your tool and ready means of defense."

The ritual of creating one's own lightsaber was an integral part of the Jedi's training, its completion, and included a test not only of technical skill, but also of harmony with the Force. During the days of the Old Republic, the ice caves of Ilum were used as a ceremonial site where Padawans would come to craft their first lightsaber. Here and in places like this, such as the caves near the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine, the Jedi selected the most appropriate focusing crystals through meditation and connection with the Force and then completed the assembly of the sword.

Traditionally, creating a lightsaber took about a month. It involved assembling the pieces both by hand and with the Force, as well as meditation to saturate the crystals. The assembly itself also required constant connection and harmony with the Force, since in order to achieve the best result, excluding accidental breakdowns and failures during future use, extreme precision of movements and the closest fit of parts were necessary. However, if absolutely necessary, the creation of a sword could be greatly accelerated. Corran Horne's first lightsaber, a dual-phase lightsaber created during his undercover work as an Invid ("Disturber") pirate, was made using this technique.

Mechanism

At the base of the sword's hilt was a metal cylinder, usually 25-30 centimeters in length; however, the design and dimensions of the handle varied greatly depending on the preferences and physiological characteristics of each creator. The hilt shell contained complex components that created the blade and gave it its unique shape. A high-power energy flow, passing through a system of positively charged focusing lenses and activators, formed an energy flow that was drawn out from the base for about a meter, and then, forming a peripheral arc, returned to the negatively charged ring-shaped depression encircling the emitter; in this case, a complex configuration of energy fields and an arc-shaped plasma cord was formed, taking the shape of a blade.

The superconductor completed the energy loop, feeding the converted energy back to the internal battery, where the cycle began again. With the addition of one to three focusing crystals with different properties, the length of the blade and the power output could be changed using control mechanisms built into the handle. The two crystals created a branching pulse of cyclic ignition, which, combined with hermetically sealed insulation, allowed the sword to be used underwater.

All lightsabers contained some basic components:

Handle;
Activation button/panel;
Fuse;
Emitter matrix;
Lens system;
Power unit;
Energy source;
Charging connector;
One to three focusing crystals.

Many lightsabers, such as the one carried by Zane Carrick in 3964 BBY, had a pressure sensor in the hilt that deactivated the blade when released. It is worth noting that Darth Maul's double-bladed sword was not equipped with such a mechanism. Other swords were made either without a pressure sensor or, alternatively, with a locking mechanism that caused the blade to remain activated if the sword was thrown or dropped.

Traditionally, the crystal was the last component added. It represented the very essence of the weapon and gave it both color and strength. A lot of effort and time went into choosing this most important component of the lightsaber.

Much knowledge about the design of lightsabers was lost during the destruction of the Jedi, but Luke Skywalker discovered the records and materials needed to create his first sword in Obi-Wan Kenobi's hut on Tatooine.

Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber cut

Cutting ability

Exar Kun: “Incredible! I thought a lightsaber could cut anything. There is only a scratch on the wall. The only thing that can resist a lightsaber is... Mandalorian iron!"

The lightsaber blade did not emit any heat or energy until it came into contact with something. The power of the energy blade was so great that it could cut through almost anything, although the speed of the blade through the material was highly dependent on its density. Cutting through flesh, for example, occurred completely unhindered, while breaking through an explosion-proof door could take quite a long time. It is important to note that lightsaber wounds never bled, even when a limb was severed. The energy blade, inflicting a wound, immediately cauterized it, as a result of which, even with severe wounds, there was practically no bleeding.

Qui-Gon Jinn breaks through a blast door

Types of lightsabers

It should be noted separately:

Lightsaber with curved hilt

A standard design during the heyday of the second form of lightsaber fencing. The curved hilt allowed for more precise movements and more freedom in lightsaber versus lightsaber combat.

Guards shoto

A tonfa sword with a handle perpendicular to the axis of the sword was used by bodyguard Shinya from Black Sun during her fight with Darth Maul. The Guard Shoto was also used by Maris Brood, a student of Jedi Master Shaak Ti.

Blade types

Dual-phase lightsaber. This rare type of sword used a specific combination of focusing crystals to form a blade capable of becoming twice as long as a normal one. This lightsaber was carried by Gantoris, Corran Horn and Darth Vader.

Large lightsaber or light mace. Special focusing crystals and energy systems allowed this rare type of lightsaber to generate a blade up to 3 meters in length. These large swords were only used by creatures of enormous stature. Gork, a mutated Gamorrean Dark Jedi, used such a weapon.

Short lightsaber. Shorter than regular swords, the blade was useful in combat for smaller Jedi such as Jedi Master Yoda, Yaddle, and Tsui Choi. In addition, the short lightsaber was sometimes used in the Niman (Jar'Kai) style of fencing, which was used, for example, by the ancient Jedi Master Kavar.

Training lightsabers. Used by younglings to practice the art of lightsaber swordsmanship. Although not life-threatening, contact with their blade could leave a bruise or even a slight burn.

Light saber. A rare type of lightsaber. It created a powerful, slightly curved blade of black and gold color. Used by some noble Mandalorians as a means of personal protection. The wounds from the saber could not be cured even by the Force.

Lightsaber colors

Oli Starstone: “...Jedi, as a rule, do not use scarlet blades. And largely because this color is associated with the Sith."

The color of a lightsaber blade was determined by the type of focusing crystal used to create it. The Jedi mined crystals of various types and shades from natural deposits, while the Sith used man-made synthetic crystals that emitted shades of red.

Before the final battle of Ruusan, the ancient Jedi wielded swords of all colors and shades, the most common colors being orange, yellow, light blue, indigo, green, purple, silver and gold. Some Jedi of the time, such as Silvar, even used red-colored blades, despite the Order generally avoiding colors that might associate them with the Sith.

During the Jedi Civil War, the color of a Jedi's blade usually symbolized his path and the responsibilities he took on while in the Order. The green blade was the sign of the Jedi consulars - scientists, diplomats and orators. The blue color of the sword was associated with Jedi Defenders - physically strong and determined defenders of the galaxy. The third color, yellow, was reserved for the Jedi Guardians - Jedi whose skills were balanced between physical strength and learning the ways of the Force. Regarding the strength of the swords, these crystals were exactly the same - the color was the only difference.

Lightsaber combat

The lightsaber is a highly versatile weapon, possessing a unique lightness and the ability to cut in any direction. It can easily be wielded with one hand, but Jedi have always been trained to wield the sword with both hands and with each hand separately, in order to be prepared for any situation. In the early years of the weapon's history, when the Sith were numerous, the art of lightsaber dueling flourished. In later periods, the Jedi extremely rarely encountered an enemy who possessed a weapon capable of repelling a lightsaber strike. Self-defense against blasters and other energy weapons was taught to them early in their training. While a skilled Jedi could use his sword to deflect a blaster shot back at his opponent, non-energy projectiles (bullets, for example) were simply completely disintegrated by the blade.

Jedi were trained to use the Force as a link between a fighter and his weapon. Thanks to this connection with the Force, the blade became an extension of their nature; he moved instinctively, as if he were part of their body. The Jedi's harmony with the Force resulted in almost superhuman agility and reaction, manifested in the use of a lightsaber.

Since the invention of the lightsaber, the Jedi have developed a variety of styles, or forms of lightsaber combat, to suit the unique characteristics of the sword and its connection to its wielder.

Since the only way to disarm a Jedi and keep him alive is to cut the blade or sever a limb, the most common injury was to the hand or forearm. It was common to see Jedi or Sith with cybernetic limbs.

So. Almost everyone knows that “behind” almost all blasters in the “STAR WARS” universe are completely “earthly” prototypes - firearms of the early-mid 20th century. This is often written and talked about; it is not difficult for a “specialist” to immediately understand that the Solo blaster is just a “tuned” Mauser. But some types of SW weapons are either forgotten, or not known, or not paid attention to. And sometimes they make a mistake when they say that the E-11 attack aircraft is an English “sten”. Let’s try to correct this injustice, without, of course, ignoring things already known.

Let’s “go through” the weapons of episodes 4-5-6 in the order of their appearance in the film, if possible, in case we get something mixed up, and the prototypes too.

The guards on Leia Organa's ship were armed with the popular and convenient DH-17 pistols. It was with them that they unsuccessfully tried to repel the attack of the stormtroopers. The DH-17 blaster pistol is the standard sidearm used by both the Imperial Navy and Rebel soldiers. Thanks to its rugged and reliable design, it remained a popular weapon among members of the New Republic. The DH-17 is designed for close combat with an optimal range of 30 meters and a maximum engagement range of 120 meters. His blow penetrates the stormtroopers' armor and penetrates the low-frequency force field. Such a blaster is an excellent weapon for starship crew members, and when set to “stun” mode, it can render a person unconscious for up to 10 minutes. The blaster gas ammunition in the pistol is designed for more than 500 shots, and the power supply provides energy for 100 shots. A dead unit can be recharged using a generator within 15 minutes. Like most sidearms, the DH-17 is semi-automatic, firing one shot each time the trigger is pulled. The weapon can be modified to fire fully automatically, although this mode drains the power supply in less than 20 seconds and overheating can cause the blaster's internal components to melt or cause an explosive overload.

The prototype of the DH-17 was a modification of the British Sterling submachine gun - Sterling MkIII - with a very short barrel and without a stock. More details about “sterling” in the paragraph about the E-11 blaster. But since the Sterling MkIII needed to be turned into a pistol, a receiver was placed in place of the barrel, a very short magazine was left, and optics were added.

Accordingly, the imperial stormtroopers who broke into Princess Leia's ship were armed with the E-11 light gun - a little more bulky, but convenient, practical and reliable. The E-11 has a lightweight, well-balanced design that allows for accurate one-handed fire, allowing soldiers to move freely and use the weapon in close quarters combat with almost the same ease as a pistol. This gun is distinguished by high accuracy of fire at long distances due to the presence of a sliding hollow butt. The E-11 blaster gun has a maximum firing range of 300 meters and an optimal kill range of 100 meters, which is almost three times the range of a blaster pistol. Such a high firing range is achieved due to the fact that the barrel has a length almost equal to the length of the weapon, generating an extremely focused and very powerful beam of elementary particles. To prevent dangerous overheating, the E-11 cooling winding forces the liquid refrigerant Friol under pressure through a complex capillary system that removes heat from vital components into a direct vented condenser. The power supply located on the side provides enough energy for 100 shots. The E-11 shotgun can be set to various power levels, from "stunning" to full blast. The E-11 at full power has significant killing power. While both Imperial and Republic soldiers typically use semi-automatic fire mode to conserve ammunition and ensure sufficient cooling, the weapon can function in full-automatic and pulse-fire modes. Although the E-11 was exclusively supplied to Imperial forces, during the Galactic Civil War the Rebel Alliance managed to acquire thousands of these weapons through black market operations or outright theft.

The prototype of the E-11 was the Sterling L2A3 submachine gun, developed by the English engineer Patchett, an employee of the SterlingIng eneering Co., around 1942. In 1953, a modified Sterling-Patchett submachine gun was adopted by the British Army under the designation L2A1. Subsequently, it underwent a number of minor modifications, designated L2A2, L2A3, and was in service until the early 1990s. Sterling guns were very popular among the troops for their simplicity, high reliability and good shooting accuracy. The Sterling submachine gun is an automatic weapon built on the basis of automatic blowback action. The receiver and barrel casing are made of rolled steel pipes, the bolt is milled, with a fixed firing pin. On the outer surface of the bolt there are special spiral ribs designed to collect dirt from the receiver and bring it out through special windows. Fire is carried out from an open bolt, the choice of fire mode (single shots / burst) is carried out using a leverm translator-safety, made on the left side of the pistol grip. The magazine is inserted on the left, spent cartridges are extracted to the right. The stock is made of stamped steel parts and folds down under the barrel. Sights include a front sight in the muzzle and a flip-up rear sight with range settings of 100 and 200 yards. The Sterling L2A3 was made a little more massive, the magazine was greatly shortened, the bolt and barrel housing holes were removed, optics were added and we got the E-11.

Leia Organa herself tried to defend herself, even killing one stormtrooper, with a simple sports pistol of the “Defender” type. True, the power of this blaster is quite enough to hit targets. By the way, Leia “doesn’t change this pistol” at the end of the movie saga. Among the smallest and lowest-powered blasters, sporting blasters are close-range weapons typically used for hunting small game and as a means of self-defense. Sporting blasters are sold to civilians and, due to their low power, are often legal to carry. Possessing virtually no lethal force, sports blasters became the favorite weapon of archaic “honor duels”, which are still common in a number of cultures. The Defender has a relatively simple design, using a minimal amount of blaster gas, while the main load is carried by a small power pack that supplies the energy for each shot. A blaster discharge produces a very small amount of destructive energy, and only a direct hit can cause death. The simple front sight replaces the high-tech electronic sights found on most larger blasters. The Defender's dependence on the power supply entails a number of design limitations. The optimal firing range is 30 meters, with a maximum range of 60 meters. Despite all these limitations, Defender has a number of advantages. The power supply can be quickly replaced, and the built-in computer automatically corrects minor problems. The design of the weapon makes it easy to hide, and many nobles order their clothes with special pockets that hide their blasters from prying eyes. To achieve even greater stealth, a three-digit code can be entered into the access panel (located above the trigger), releasing the connecting clips and magnetic latches and separating the weapon into three parts: the handle (with the power supply), the body (with the main blaster components) and the barrel. The Defender can be reassembled within seconds.

The Defender blaster is a Soviet Margolin pistol. The Margolin pistol is a Soviet self-loading small-caliber pistol for sport shooting at a round target at a distance of 25 meters. The pistol is distinguished by good shooting qualities, low price, simplicity and durability of the design. Developed by Mikhail Vladimirovich Margolin. The abbreviation MC means “Model TsKIB”. Used in international competitions from 1954 to 1974. It is still used for shooting training today. The automatic operation of the pistol is based on the recoil principle of the free shutter. The trigger mechanism is hammer-type, with an open trigger arrangement. The trigger mechanism allows you to adjust the free play of the trigger. The return spring with a rod is located under the barrel. A single-stack magazine for 10, 5 or 6 rounds of .22LR caliber is located in the handle. The pistol's micrometric sight is adjusted by moving the rear sight horizontally and the front sight vertically, ensuring accurate and stable zeroing. The pistol can be equipped with a muzzle compensator, additional weights to change the balance and an orthopedic device for the handle. To make the “Margolin” a blaster, they only added a muzzle attachment and changed the sights.

Han Solo and his DL-44 pistol look quite charismatic. True, Solo is not a “priority” in using this model - the DL-44 also became part of Luke Skywalker’s standard kit in the service of the Alliance. The DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol has the punching power of a powerful rifle packed into a small handheld weapon only slightly larger than a standard pistol. Popular among militants and smugglers, it forces even the bravest warriors to seek refuge when caught in its crosshairs. Designed for close combat, this portable blaster was often carried by Rebel soldiers with significant lethality, as it reliably penetrated stormtrooper armor. A weapon that favors brute force over precision, capable of causing massive damage, yet small enough to be fired with one hand, the DL-44 has an average range of 25 meters with a maximum range of 50 meters. The DL-44 consumes four times the energy of a blaster pistol, so the power supply is drained after just 25 shots. Therefore, the shooter should aim carefully. Because of this energy consumption, the DL-44 grip is equipped with a vibrating “alarm pulser” that silently warns the shooter that there are no more than five shots left in the battery. The high-speed trigger mechanism and convenient location of the battery - directly in front of the trigger - allows you to very quickly replace dead batteries. Soldiers who carry heavy blaster pistols into battle typically carry at least a dozen spare batteries.

Everyone recognizes the DL-44 as a Mauser pistol; it is believed that the Mauser C96, although it could be any of the models of the famous pistol with its characteristic shapes. The pistol was developed by Mauser employees - the brothers Fidel, Friedrich and Joseph Federle. Fidel Federle was in charge of the experimental workshop of the Mauser arms factory (Waffenfabrik Mauser), and the new pistol was initially called the P-7.63 or Federle pistol. In 1896, production began and continued until 1939. During this time, more than a million C96 pistols were produced. One of the reasons why the Mauser pistol became popular was its enormous, for those times, power. The pistol was positioned as a light carbine, which, in essence, it was: a wooden holster was used as a butt, and the destructive power of the bullet was declared at a range of up to 1000 m (however, the horizontal spread of bullets for a stationary pistol could be several meters, so targeted shooting at such a range was out of the question). The second reason is that the considerable cost of such weapons gave the owner greater weight both in self-esteem and in society. The price of the pistol at the beginning of production was about 5 thousand German marks (for comparison, an Opel car then cost about 3,500 marks). Later the price dropped significantly. The layout of the pistol is “revolving”, the box magazine is shifted forward and is located in front of the trigger guard. The pistol is one of the most powerful examples of automatic pistols, the automatic operation of which is based on the use of recoil energy from the barrel during its short stroke. The advantages of the pistol include accuracy and range, a powerful cartridge and good survivability of the weapon in combat conditions. The disadvantages are the difficulty of reloading, large weight and dimensions. The Mauser's butt was a holster made of walnut, on the front edge of which there was a steel insert with a protrusion and a locking mechanism for connecting the butt to the handle of the pistol, while the hinged cover of the holster rested against the shooter's shoulder. The holster was worn on a belt over the shoulder, could be lined with leather on the outside and have pockets for placing a spare clip and tools for disassembling and cleaning the weapon. The length of the butt holster was 35.5 cm, the front width was 4.5 cm, and the rear width was 10.5 cm. The effective firing range with an attached butt holster was up to 100 m. Also, the butt holster made it possible to increase the efficiency of burst fire from a modification of the pistol developed in 1931 (the so-called “model 712” or “Mauser” model 1932), on which a fire mode translator was additionally installed to select the type of shooting: single shots or bursts. To transform the Mauser into the DL-44, they added some protrusions on the sides, shortened the barrel - attached a nozzle attachment, gave it an optical sight, but did not change the characteristic shape of the handle and magazine.

The funny Jawas of Tatooine use almost no weapons, with the exception of ionizing blasters, which can disable, obviously temporarily, the electronics of vehicles and, of course, droids. The home-made ionization blaster is designed in a typical Jawa manner and is a wild mixture of components haphazardly put together, and they are used for purposes that completely ignore the intentions of the developers. When fired from an ionization blaster, the power supply activates the droid or speeder's internal limit control, which emits an ion stream programmed to transmit a "stop" command. Under normal circumstances, such a command simply causes the droid to abort the operation it is performing; however, in an ionization blaster, the ion flow is multiplied by passing through the accelerator battery. The resulting high-energy ion pulse sends a powerful charge of electrical energy to the body of the droid or speeder, overloading its electrical networks, bringing the vehicle to a complete stop. The reliability of these makeshift blasters is no different from that of most other Jawas-assembled devices: when they are in working order, they are quite effective. However, those mechanisms that turn out to be inoperative tend to explode quite spectacularly, causing serious trouble to everyone in the immediate vicinity. The optimal firing range of the blaster is 8 meters, with a maximum range of 12 meters, but hitting the target is quite easy since the ion flow is widely dispersed. The ion discharge completely deactivates the droid for 20 minutes, without causing any irreparable damage to it. If the target is organic, the ion discharge does not harm it, but causes a sharp stinging pain in cases where the shot is fired at close range.

The Jawa ionization blaster is a Lee-Enfield SMLE Mk III rifle, more precisely, its sawn-off shotgun - the stock is cut off right next to the magazine, half of the butt is cut off, and a short barrel with a cylindrical bell is added. The first Lee-Enfield model, or SMLE, appeared in 1895. It was created on the basis of the Lee-Metford rifle of the 1888 model. The abbreviation SMLE stands for as follows: S - short (“short”), M — magazine (“ magazine"), L - Lee (the name of the inventor James Paris Lee, who proposed a successful design of a box magazine and rifle bolt group) and E - Enfield (that is, Enfield is the name of the city in which The Royal Small Arms Factory, which produced the rifle, was located small arms factory"). In 1903, the British Army adopted the new SMLE Mk I rifle. In 1907, the SMLE Mk III rifle was adopted, the main difference of which is the ability to load using a clip. Earlier Lee-Enfield models were similarly modified. In 1926, the name of this rifle, which had proven excellent during the First World War, was changed to SMLE No. 1 Mk III in accordance with the new designation system for weapons in the British Army. The Lee-Enfield rifle has a longitudinally sliding bolt; it is a universal model of the shortened type. The rifle has five rifling on the barrel, the stroke is left, the pitch is 240 mm. The bolt is built like a Lee-Metford rifle: it is locked not in the front, but in the middle part of the bolt with two lugs; the handle is down. The hammer is cocked into the firing position when the bolt is closed. The fuse has the form of a rotary lever, mounted on the left of the receiver. Insertable (detachable) clip for ten rounds (Lee system). On the right side of the receiver against the window there is a magazine lock, which serves to lock the cartridges in the magazine for firing, loading one cartridge at a time. The stock is made of two separate parts: the stock and the forend. The neck is pistol-shaped, the butt is without a toe. There are three slots inside the butt: one is for small accessories, and two are for lightening. The butt is connected to the receiver with a longitudinal bolt. The butt plate is made of brass. There is no ramrod. The barrel lining consists of three parts. There are four sling swivels for the belt.

For more massive and powerful fire in open space and large rooms, Empire stormtroopers use the T-21 heavy rifle. Considerably more powerful than a conventional blaster rifle, the T-21 Light Automatic Blaster has the highest stopping power of any Imperial blaster carried and used by a single soldier. The T-21 has achieved status as the standard support weapon for troops and assault troops. Imperial artillery crews typically include at least one soldier armed with a T-21, providing cover for the rest of the team while mounting guns and heavy autoblasters. While medium and heavy auto blasters provide significantly more firepower than the T-21, they are also bulkier and require a crew of two or three soldiers. Unlike heavy blasters, the T-21's layout is designed for use on the move. The weapon itself, a belt-worn tripod and a twenty-kilogram backpack generator can be installed and brought into combat readiness in less than 30 seconds. Although the blaster can be fired two-handed while on the move, the lightweight tripod allows for greater accuracy, with a maximum firing range of 300 meters. Although the standard power supply provides enough energy for only 25 shots, the attached power generator with constant replenishment makes the weapon's fire potential practically indefinite, but the generator's low cooling power, in turn, limits the rate of fire to one shot per second. The T-21 is capable of inflicting enormous damage on infantry personnel, providing enough power for a shot to easily penetrate personal protective vests and penetrate force fields. The T-21 is also capable of penetrating the armor panels used on many types of light combat vehicles, such as armored ground speeders. In the hands of an experienced fighter, the T-21 can destroy an entire enemy unit in a matter of seconds.

The prototype for the T-21 was the legendary Lewis machine gun. American Isaac Lewis developed his light machine gun around 1910, based on an earlier machine gun design by Dr. Samuel McLean. The machine gun was proposed by the designer for arming the American army, but the response was a harsh refusal. As a result, Lewis sent his steps to Europe, to Belgium, where in 1912 he founded the company Armes Automatiques Lewis SA to sell his brainchild. Since the company did not have its own production facilities, the order for the production of the first experimental batch of Lewis machine guns was placed with the English company Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) in 1913. Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, Lewis machine guns were adopted by the Belgian army, and after the outbreak of war they began to enter service with the British army and the Royal Air Force. In addition, these machine guns were widely exported, including to Tsarist Russia. The Lewis light machine gun uses gas-operated automatics with a long-stroke gas piston located under the barrel. The barrel is locked by turning the bolt onto four lugs located radially at the rear of the bolt. Shooting is carried out from an open bolt, with automatic fire only. Features of the machine gun include a spiral return spring acting on the gas piston rod through a gear and gear train, as well as an aluminum radiator on the barrel, enclosed in a thin-walled metal casing. The radiator casing protrudes forward in front of the muzzle, so that when firing, an air draft is formed through the casing along the radiator, from the breech of the barrel to the muzzle. The cartridges were fed from disk magazines attached to the top with a multi-layer (2 or 4 rows, capacity 47 and 97 rounds, respectively) cartridges arranged radially, with bullets to the axis of the disk. At the same time, the magazine did not have a feed spring - its rotation to feed the next cartridge to the chambering line was carried out using a special lever located on the machine gun and driven by the bolt. In the infantry version, the machine gun was equipped with a wooden butt and a removable bipod; sometimes a handle for carrying the weapon was placed on the barrel casing. Lewis was almost unchanged to transform into the T-21; the magazine-disc and bipod were removed, and the shape of the barrel radiator was changed.

Attack aircraft also use the DLT-19 rifle when they need to combine range and power. More elegant and lighter than the T-21, the “nineteen” ensured the destruction of targets in semi-automatic mode at distances of more than a kilometer. A powerful rifle that was used as a sniper rifle by elite infantry units of the Imperial forces. It had a removable gas magazine capable of firing five long-frequency shots. The effective firing range was 8000 meters. The bolt is semi-automatic, ammunition is Tibanna gas capsules. After the shot, the used capsule was removed from the bolt in the manner of a spent cartridge case. The barrel system had a cooling system, protecting the barrel from overheating. But the low rate of fire, small ammunition, a very powerful salvo and a bright, prominent arrow, flash with it, did not allow the DLT-19 to become very widespread.

The DLT-19 prototype is the well-known German Mg-34 machine gun. The MG-34 machine gun was developed by the German company Rheinmetall-Borsig for the German army. The machine gun was officially adopted by the Wehrmacht in 1934 and until 1942 it was officially the main machine gun not only of the infantry, but also of the German tank forces. In 1942, the MG-42 machine gun was adopted instead of the MG-34, but production of the MG-34 did not stop until the end of World War II. The MG-34 machine gun is built on an automatic basis with a short barrel stroke. The barrel is locked by a bolt with a rotating combat cylinder, on which combat stops are made in the form of screw thread segments. To increase the reliability of the automatic operation, the machine gun has a muzzle recoil amplifier, which uses the pressure of powder gases on the muzzle of the barrel to give it additional acceleration during recoil. This same muzzle amplifier also serves as a flash suppressor. The barrel casing is cylindrical, with round ventilation holes. The receiver is cylindrical in shape, milled, connected to the barrel casing with a longitudinal axis on the right side and a latch on the left. The receiver can tilt up and to the right relative to the barrel casing, opening the breech of the barrel. Thus, changing the barrel can be done in a matter of seconds. The MG-34 fired from an open bolt; it was possible to fire both single shots and bursts. To select the fire mode, a double trigger was used - pressing its upper part caused single shots, and pressing the lower part caused automatic fire. The safety locking the sear is located on the right side of the pistol grip. The machine gun could be powered by a belt fed from the right or left. The direction of movement of the tape was selected by rearranging the feed fingers of the tape drive mechanism, as well as by changing the shaped lever that actuates the mechanism and is located under the hinged cover of the tape drive. The standard metal belt was made in sections of 50 rounds. In the light machine gun version, one such section was placed in a tin box in the form of a truncated cone, attached to the receiver. In the heavy machine gun version, the belt was assembled from 5 sections with a total capacity of 250 rounds and was placed in a separate box. If necessary, the receiver cover with the tape drive lever could be replaced with a special cover with an adapter for powering from 75-round magazines from an MG-15 aircraft machine gun. The magazines were made of tin and had the shape of a double drum, with alternate supply of cartridges from the right and left halves. In general, the MG-34 was a very worthy weapon, but its disadvantages primarily include increased sensitivity to contamination of mechanisms. In addition, it was too labor-intensive to produce and required too many resources, which was unacceptable for wartime conditions. The Mg-34 was practically unchanged to transform into the DLT-19, they even left the folding bipod, but there is no belt, magazine or box.

In the Mos Esli cantina on Tatooine, Luke is “run into” by a certain Cornelius Evazan, also known as the “doctor of death”, sentenced to death on several worlds there. In his hands is a SE-14C pistol. In design, somewhat similar to the DL-44 Solo. Perhaps this is Evazan’s personal modification of some serial pistol, because this “gun” is not found anywhere else.

The prototype of the SE-14C was the Rexim Favor Mk5 submachine gun, developed in the early 1950s in Switzerland by the private company Rexim SA, but some sources mention that in fact the documentation for this submachine gun was stolen from the French state arsenal MAT. The production of new submachine guns, called Rexim Favor, was located at the Spanish arms factory La Coruna, where about 5 thousand of these submachine guns were produced in 1955-57. Due to the overly complex and insufficiently reliable design, there were no buyers for the Rexim Favor submachine guns, and soon the Rexim company, which financed their production and was involved in sales, went bankrupt. Already in the 1960s, a number of these submachine guns somehow found their way into Turkey, where Rexim Favor submachine guns were used by some army units. This type of SMG is fired from a closed bolt, in single shots or in bursts. A distinctive feature of this design is quick-change barrels attached to the receiver with a union nut, while initially the customer was offered a number of configuration options with different barrel lengths, with or without a casing. The Rexim Favor submachine gun had a rear sight adjustable for firing range with settings from 50 to 500 meters. It could also be equipped with a metal side-folding or wooden fixed stock. Under the barrel casing there was a needle bayonet, which in the stowed position was carried with the tip rearward, and, if necessary, removed from the mount and rearranged into the firing position, with the tip forward. To convert to the SE-14C, the Rexim Favor's stock was removed, the magazine was removed, the barrel was cut off near the cap nut, and an optical sight was added.

The rebels also could not do without more powerful and long-range weapons for open spaces. For them it became the A280 or A295 rifle. The A280 blaster rifle was considered to be one of the best armor-piercing blaster rifles produced during the Galactic Civil War. Although much heavier than the Imperial E-11, the A280 was a powerful weapon and was believed to be capable of killing a fully armored stormtrooper at medium range. This weapon, along with its predecessor, was marketed as a "long blaster". The A280 differed in that the field-forming coils were grouped near the focusing crystal. This gave the A280 greater reliability in a wider variety of environmental conditions. The technology for these rifles was stolen by Jens for the Alliance shortly before the Battle of Hoth. The A280 or A295 was widely used by the Alliance as a sniper.

For the A280 and A295 rifles, the prototype was the world's first assault rifle - the German Sturmgewehr 44. The development of hand-held automatic weapons chambered for a cartridge intermediate in power between pistol and rifle cartridges began in Germany even before the start of World War II, in the mid-thirties. The 7.92x33 mm intermediate cartridge was chosen as a new ammunition in 1939. Two samples were created, initially classified as automatic carbines - (MaschinenKarabiner, MKb). Due to Hitler's reluctance to begin production of a new class of weapons, development was carried out under the designation MP 43 (MaschinenPistole = submachine gun). The first samples of MP 43 were successfully tested on the Eastern Front against Soviet troops, and in 1944 more or less mass production of a new type of weapon began under the name MP 44. After the results of successful front-line tests were presented to Hitler and approved by him, the nomenclature of weapons There was again treason, and the model received the final designation StG.44 (SturmGewehr 44, “assault rifle”). The total production of the Sturmgever for 1943-45 amounted to more than 400 thousand units, and in the post-war period its production was not resumed. But Stg.44s were used in limited quantities in the early post-war period in the GDR and Czechoslovakia, and in Yugoslavia they remained in service with the airborne troops until the 1970s. Automatic Stg. (Sturmgever) 44 was a weapon built on the basis of automation with a gas engine with a long stroke of a gas piston located above the barrel. The barrel was locked by tilting the bolt downwards, behind the liner in the receiver. The receiver is stamped from a steel sheet, and the stamped trigger block together with the pistol grip is hinged to the receiver and folds forward and down for disassembly. The butt is wooden, attached to the receiver with a transverse pin and removed during disassembly; a return spring is located inside the butt (thereby excluding the possibility of simply creating a variant with a folding butt). The sight is sectorial, the safety and fire mode selector are independent (the safety lever is on the left above the pistol grip and the transverse button for selecting the fire mode is located above it), the bolt handle is located on the left and moves with the bolt frame when firing. The muzzle of the barrel has a thread for attaching a rifle grenade launcher, usually covered with a protective sleeve. The Sturmgewehr 44 was heavily redesigned: the stock and body were changed, the magazine was removed, the barrel and front sight were almost untouched. They added optics, which made the A280 even more similar to the Sturmgewehr 44 - in Germany, some Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifles were equipped with night optical sights. However, in the 6th episode, it seems that they already used a converted M16. Or some mixture of Sturmgewehr 44 and M16.

Also “one-off” is the pistol, or rather the carbine, used by Boba Fett. The EE-3 is a powerful pistol, with an optical sight and buttstock, the presence of which allows it to be used at long distances. The pistol is very powerful and fires quickly. It is possible that the EE-3 is Boba’s personal modification of some of the Empire’s serial weapons, and perhaps it is some kind of weapon of the Mandalorian guard. After all, it is Mandalorian equipment that Boba uses.

EE-3 Beans has an interesting prototype - the Webley and Scott #1 Mark 1 Flare Gun rocket launcher.A 37 mm rocket launcher created at the beginning of the 20th century by Webley and Scott. Widely used in the British Navy in both World Wars I and II. For convenience, she was given a butt. To make it into an EE-3 carbine, the rocket launcher only had its stock changed, a ribbed barrel housing and a thin optical sight were added.

I think you understand that all this is “from the woods” from a variety of sources. Fans of "ZV" may like it.

P.S.

Part 1-2-3 of the film saga was different in that the weapons were mostly drawn using computers. Droid pistols, clone pistols and rifles no longer had prototypes in the real world. Padme's gun too. The only weapon that was "made" from a real one was the palace guard's pistol on the planet Naboo. The prototype was a sports pneumatic pistol with a balloon cylinder under the barrel.

So why blasters?

Reading debates about the Star Wars universe, sooner or later you are sure to come across epic experts who assure that a blaster is complete garbage compared to a shotgun or a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Such statements made me think, so what exactly could be the reasons that forced weapons science to take this path? I’ll say right away, since books, games and other encyclopedias are constantly declared non-canonical, the analysis will be carried out mainly on films, plus a little on TV series.

Blaster as it is.

So, weapons in the world of Star Wars are mainly energy weapons. Most often it shoots small bolts of energy, but there are variations with a long beam that has the ability to burn and cut. But the latter was found only in the field of heavy weapons. An ordinary hand-held blaster has a moderate rate of fire, at the level of a self-loading rifle, although, again, there were also very fast examples. Also among the built-in options is paralysis. Let's look back at Episodes Four and Five.

Capture of Princess Leia.

Of the striking shortcomings, it is the unmasking ray that immediately catches the eye. Indeed, with such a weapon, there can be no question of any shooting from an ambush. The damaging factor is also not fully understood. On the one hand, when it meets metal or earth, it produces a violent explosion of energy, causing considerable destruction. But on the other hand, when it enters the human body, we see only a sheaf of sparks. That is, the damage is caused exclusively local. Moreover, the only recorded injury (Princess Leia in Episode Six) showed that the overall power was low. The heroine received a beam in her hand, but continued to fight, and a few hours later she danced quite cheerfully at the Ewok festival. So the damaging factor remains in question, but, apparently, there is a thermal penetrating wound.

Princess Leia is wounded.

Is there any blaster protection? Complex issue. Force fields are available, but they usually cover either stationary objects or combat vehicles. Even on battle droids they are extremely rare. Pay attention to the Trade Federation droidekas. They turn on the force field only in exceptional cases, which indicates a considerable expenditure of energy. As for individual shields, such were recorded among the Gungans, where they were crossed in a rather clever way with the same blaster. True, the latter apparently lost a fair amount of power. This is demonstrated in the shootout scene with the droid army. The footage clearly shows that they suffered the main damage from energy grenades rather than from fairly dense fire, which was fired at a relatively short distance.

Force shields and Gungan tactics.

The Jedi are also very good at using a blaster beam, but we will talk about them below. Well, and of course, the armor of an imperial stormtrooper provides some protection. At this point, readers may object, remembering the dozens of stormtroopers shot by the main characters and killed by Ewoks with spears and arrows. Kodak, I can argue: yes, we saw stormtroopers being hit and falling, but we didn’t see the corpses! If a soldier in a bulletproof vest is hit by a bullet from a machine gun, he may fall simply under the influence of kinetic energy. And here it’s not just a bullet, but a shot of pure energy that can knock you down. Want facts? Please!

The attack aircraft grabbed the discharge and is about to fall beautifully into the pit.

Take Episode Four and the capture of Tantive IV. Everyone remembers well the moment when attack aircraft break down the door, and the ship’s defenders take positions in a narrow corridor and hold it at gunpoint. In theory, they have a winning position. Only one person can pass through the narrow door at a time, and the fire of a dozen experienced shooters is able to hold off attackers for a long time. However, it takes only twenty seconds for the stormtroopers to break through the defenders' positions, despite heavy fire. I repeat, the narrow corridor and the door are at gunpoint, but at the same time the defenders suffer heavy losses, and the attack aircraft only have a couple killed. And you still believe that the Imperials have bad armor?

Results of the battle for the gateway. Only two killed.

Indirect confirmation of this theory is their combat tactics. In general, they do not hide much, preferring to attack the enemy in a group, suppressing it with heavy fire. That is, the damage caused, even if it is possible in such cases, is considered to be relatively acceptable. I understand that now they will again prove to me that Solo, Leia and Luke sent batches of these soldiers to the next world. But they are the main characters, endowed with exceptional abilities, so it is better to evaluate the extras, that is, ordinary rebels or droids, who cannot boast of successful results.

Stormtroopers are not used to bending under enemy fire.

Now as for the Ewoks. Apparently, the armor protects stormtroopers from energy impacts, but is not designed for collision with stone. An indirect confirmation of this can be seen in the AT-ST, flattened by logs. Can you imagine an armored personnel carrier, or even an army jeep, crushed by logs? At most, there will be a dent. And here it was as if I was under pressure.

AT-ST flattened by logs.

Before moving on to the next point, let's look at the question of the presence of other types of weapons in this universe. Oddly enough, it exists and is quite actively used. But... Let's start with the Fourth Episode. The Rebels blow up the Death Star with homing torpedoes. True, their targeting is so-so, and the reaction of the pilots to the fact that instead of a blaster they should rely on something more material, suggests that this weapon is very specific. In the Fifth Episode, harpoons and mines appear, in the Sixth, catapults and Ewok bows, but in general the old trilogy does not indulge in variety. Prequels are a different matter.

Severe Ewoks.

Already in the First Episode we are shown the Gungan prodigies used to exterminate the droid army. A catapult with an energy ball against self-propelled vehicles with beam weapons. And in general it was difficult to understand who was stronger. It also turns out that the blasters are equipped with harpoons with lifts, and if we recall the experience of Luke Skywalker, we can agree that this is quite similar to a weapon. The Federation is also trying to use gas against the Jedi, although unsuccessfully.

Anti-tank artillery of the future.

The second episode pleases with the variety of weapons. For example, Jango Fett’s armor with a dart thrower, a flamethrower, a rocket launcher and other not shown, but, I think, no less interesting devices. And the glorious mercenary's ship is equipped with homing missiles, although it is slightly annoying that he used them only after he had slightly fried Obi Wan's ship with his ray guns. In the Battle of Geonosis, we are again shown missiles on attack boats and missile chariots of the Trade Federation.

Trade Federation Rocket Prodigy.

There is again not enough variety in Episode Three. The only thing that attracts attention is the homing missiles that fire a horde of minidroids at the enemy ship, capable of dismantling it into pieces or seizing control. It is strange that this idea did not spread further. But okay, everything has its time.

High-tech filling for future rockets.

What conclusions can be drawn after the above episodes? Yes, there are other weapons besides blasters. There are rockets, harpoons, mines. But excuse me, why such a small choice? Where are the mortars? Where is the long-range artillery capable of firing at closed positions? Where are the hand grenades? Where did all this go? Why did it all come down to ray weapons? Why is all of the above non-standard used only against enemy equipment, and not against mass gatherings? I have four theories to answer this question.

1. Economic.

I have already described the disadvantages of blasters above, and now I will try to highlight their advantages. We will start with the most obvious thing, namely the firing range. In films, combat is most often shown at close range, but there are a few interesting moments. The Wookiees on Kashyyyk and the rebels on Hoth open fire as soon as they see the enemy on the horizon. Even if we take into account water vapor and a snow curtain as a limitation on visibility, the distance is still serious: two to three kilometers at a minimum. And if you take into account the fact that the beam flies faster than a bullet and is not affected by gravity and wind, then it turns out that the accuracy of shooting from hand-held weapons should be simply amazing.

AT-AT attacks.

Let's move on to the number of charges. We're never shown a stormtrooper or rebel reloading their weapon, and all battles feature mass shooting, suggesting that energy consumption is clearly not taken into account by shooters. Stormtroopers generally prefer to lay down a dense fire curtain, under the cover of which they reach the target. From this we conclude that one single blaster can fire several hundred shots without reloading. Now let’s calculate how many rounds of ammunition a shooter from an assault rifle should carry?

Stormtroopers suppress fire.

As for efficiency, there’s nothing to even argue about. Even desert savages have energy vintari, more reminiscent of a self-propelled gun riveted on the knee. But even if we assume that these are just old copies sold on the cheap, you still get the feeling that at cost one blaster is not much more expensive than an ordinary gun.

Tusken Raider outfit.

From this we can draw the following conclusion: when the first energy guns were created in ancient times, they clearly occupied a narrow niche. However, it quickly became clear that in terms of range and accuracy they were significantly superior to the old gunpowder models. And then new copies began to be intensively adopted, because from now on one shooter with a blaster could hold at a distance a small squad armed with standard machine guns. Of course, in this case, too, it all came down to tactics, but it seems that many people loved the toy and soon became the main one among the troops. As for the unmasking beam, well, what can you do, the question again moved into the realm of tactical decisions. At one time, when machine guns/aviation/ballistic missiles appeared, some people also said that with such weapons all wars became meaningless. But we now see that this is not so.

Suppressive fire.

But where has everything else gone? Here, I think, the answer lies in the policies of the Old Republic. There are no mass wars, but there are small local conflicts, more reminiscent of police operations. This is very clearly seen in the example of Naboo. Not the most backward planet was able to field only a few hundred soldiers and three dozen fighters for defense. The stern Gungans sent into battle an impressive army of... well, at first glance it can be estimated at only five thousand. I think there were a little more droids, and this, if you think about it, is the majority of the army of defenders of the capital. Several thousand soldiers and two dozen self-propelled guns - don’t you think this is not enough for a full-fledged invasion army?

Federation strike forces.

And the solution is simple. The military is accustomed to thinking in terms of police operations. Large forces are not needed; a few dozen fighters will be enough. Heavy weapons? But you don’t need it in close combat, because for a shootout a blaster is enough to blow up a wall or door, and there’s no talk of multi-day combat operations given the difficult terrain. Therefore, it is not surprising that by the beginning of the clonic wars, both sides in technical terms could not please us with anything interesting. What can I say, even if the Death Star was originally a peaceful means of combating asteroids.

The embodiment of horror and a masterpiece of engineering.

After a couple of years of war, interesting technical discoveries began to appear, like missiles with droids. There may have been other new items, unfortunately not shown to us. But in general, the parties preferred to develop a topic that was more familiar to them. And then the glorious days of the Empire came, and there was no time for scientific and technological progress. The rebels preferred the tactics of raids, for which the available weapons were sufficient for them, and the Empire poured all its resources into the tactics of total intimidation, betting on the development of a fleet of giant ships and planet destroyers.

The fleet dominates.

And overall the tactic worked. What's the point of investing in ground troops if a fleet of Star Destroyers hanging in orbit can cool even the warmest hearts. Well, some developments were still carried out against those who were particularly stubborn. Thus, at Hoth, the rebels clearly did not expect to meet the AT-AT. Indeed, their line of defense was designed for a battle with a maneuverable enemy and certainly not for a clash with heavy walking prodigies. And although the rebels knew about the AT-AT, in the end Luke still had to improvise.

Weapons are useless.

It should be noted that some of the blame lies with other areas of scientific and technological progress. Thus, force fields render all long-range artillery useless. An enemy covered with a force field can ignore projectiles fired at him for a long time, thereby reviving the good old traditions of close combat. Therefore, it is not surprising that energy weapons began to dominate, while kinetic weapons became secondary and began to be used as auxiliary weapons and only against armored targets.

Even energy weapons are useless.

To summarize: Blasters turned out to be beneficial as multifunctional weapons with a wide range of applications. Its clear superiority over other types of weapons in many areas, as well as the development of force fields, made it the main weapon on the battlefield. And the absence of major wars and, accordingly, stagnation in the field of weapons development led to the absence of other alternatives.

Rationale: Demonstrated tactics and strategy.

2. Humanistic

I already wrote above that blasters include the option to paralyze an object. But what if we assume that this option was previously the main one? Overall, the chain turns out to be interesting. Currently, as we know, non-lethal weapons are being developed. What if such a stunner became part of this program? Indeed, it turns out humanely, allowing wars to be waged with a minimum of casualties. It can be assumed that at one time a convention was adopted that limited weapons only to the energy part. Well, the missile weapons were left exclusively for combating equipment, and even then probably with certain prohibitions, since the X-wing pilots were unhappy with what they had to fight with.

Gigantic guns, but designed exclusively against ships.

But progress does not stand still, and it is likely that someone noticed that an increase in power turns a peaceful paralyzer into a combat blaster. This method has become a means of circumventing the convention without violating it. But at first they gave up on this, especially since the weapon remained relatively humane. Instead of large-scale destruction of internal organs by bullets or shrapnel, a burn occurred at the site of the injury, preventing heavy bleeding. Moreover, there were no major wars, and a limited number of victims is not yet a reason to revise the convention. But then the clonic wars began. The number of victims ran into the millions, but nothing could be done. Those who made the decisions were themselves interested in having weapons in their hands that could resist the enemy.

Serious power.

And then everything went according to plan. The soldiers were accustomed to these weapons, so there was no need to invent new ones. Experimental developments may have been carried out, but the tactics of the Empire did not allow them to be fully applied. Therefore, for a long time, it was energy weapons that continued to dominate the battlefield.

A mish-mash of space combat.

And a small lyrical digression that indirectly confirms this theory. As we remember in the prequels, they preferred to use droids as the main combat force. What is this if not a symbol of the fact that they tried to protect people from the horrors of war? But as always happens, good intentions led a little in the wrong direction.

Ordinary soldiers of a distant Galaxy.

To summarize: A failed attempt to create a humanistic weapon.

Rationale: A number of functions of blasters, as well as the active use of mechanisms.

3. Conspiracy I

Let's think about which of the heroes of this universe is best protected from energy weapons? Maybe droids? But force fields are only installed on droidekas, and even those don’t turn them on very often. Maybe Gungans? There are few of them, and it’s not like their power shields were particularly helpful. Maybe stormtroopers? But they appeared not so long ago, and again it is difficult to call their protection effective. Therefore, we are left with only one group of warriors, reliably protected from blaster fire. Moreover, this type of weapon is simply optimally adjusted to their fighting technique. I'm talking about the Jedi.

Bearers of goodness who inspire terror.

Shooting a Jedi with a blaster is the same as committing suicide by kindly giving your weapon into the hands of the enemy. Nimble warriors are able to easily mirror the flow of energy in the opposite direction, or, at worst, repel it to the side. But what happens if they encounter other types of weapons?

Surrounded, but not broken.

No, if you go out with a Kalash or a shotgun against a Jedi, you shouldn’t count on your advantage. The Force allows the Jedi to determine the direction of a threat and respond accordingly. Another thing is that under these conditions it is no longer possible to attack remotely, deflecting charges back. You will have to either close the distance or use the Force to launch something at the shooter, try to snatch the weapon from him (Darth Vader style) or, at worst, use mind control. However, all this takes time and greatly complicates the work.

Master Yoda is able to accelerate with just a flick of his finger.

But energy weapons in such a situation became a kind of help. From now on, it was possible not to run and look for ways to neutralize the enemy, but elegantly, with a slight movement of the light blade, send him a return gift. So I would not be surprised if the Jedi, having received the opportunity to influence the policy of the Republic, hastened to take action and introduce restrictions on the types of weapons.

A small team that determines big policy.

Well, then we return again to the previous points. The military tried to get around all sorts of restrictions and created many varieties of energy guns. The Jedi, however, looked at this carelessly, since they were able to reflect back even significant charges. Well, as for missiles, by transferring them into the spectrum of anti-tank weapons, they significantly protected themselves from fragmentation damage. As a result, by the beginning of the Clone Wars, the armies of the entire Galaxy Far, Far Away had an extremely limited range of means of warfare. And a thousand-year gap is difficult to overcome even in twenty to thirty years.

The clones go on the attack.

To summarize: It was beneficial for the Jedi to have a blaster as their main weapon, since only they had a full range of protection against it.

Rationale: Jedi tactics, plus their influence on the government.

4. Conspiracy II

Back to the prequels. As we remember, by that time there were practically no human armies left. There were small self-defense units that were more like police officers with expanded functions. But there were armies of droids. Remembering the plant on Geonosis, we can conclude that a horde of combat vehicles was quite profitable in economic terms, and an unlimited number of them could be produced. The only question that remained was regarding weapons.

The production of soldiers has been put on stream.

If you release robots against people, then ordinary machine guns will suffice. But what if the enemy also has droids? Even light armor made droids difficult to attack by small arms fire, and mounting heavy weapons greatly reduced power and maneuverability. A way out was needed, and it turned out to be an energy weapon. And indeed, as we remember, when working on biological objects, the latter received only burns, albeit severe ones, while when the droid was hit, its mechanism most often fell into pieces. We remember what happened to C3PO in Episode Five or what was left of many droids after the battle with the Gungans.

The consequences of a fierce battle.

This leads to the following: for the robot, the blaster shot turned out to be fatal. Moreover, the dimensions of the new weapon allowed it to be used even by relatively small models. The cheapness of droids and the ability to quickly make up for losses led to the fact that the issue of protection was practically not raised. Of course, heavy versions were also developed, but they were intended more for special operations.

Anti-Jedi droids.

Due to the widespread use of droids and blasters, people also had to switch to energy weapons. The resistance of robots to bullets and shrapnel practically eliminated most small arms, leaving only high-precision projectiles against heavy equipment. This could not but lead to stagnation in the field of new developments, and we see what the result was in the films.

Lots of beautiful rays.

To summarize: The blaster was the main weapon of droids and people to fight droids. Its use against people was only a consequence of the lack of other alternatives.

Rationale: Active use of droids, as well as a clear demonstration of the difference in damage received from blaster fire between ordinary people and mechanical servants.

This is where I end my analysis, knowing full well that there are many logical holes and inconsistencies in it. But, in my opinion, it makes it clear that the exclusive use of blasters in the Star Wars world is due to important reasons and can be explained by one of the above theories.

How effective are the weapons presented by the filmmakers in Star Wars from an engineer's point of view?
The Popular Mechanics portal tried to destroy the myth about the power of this weapon.

1. BTV - armored transport all-terrain vehicle, one of the most famous vehicles of the Empire. But the certainly spectacular appearance does not justify the extremely dubious effectiveness of this monster in battle. Armored vehicles are too massive, clumsy, clearly visible from a distance and, despite the armor, can be easily defeated - which has happened many times in films.

2.RTV - reconnaissance transport all-terrain vehicle, another canonical imperial combat walker. Despite good maneuverability in any territory and an impressive appearance, weak skin and vulnerable legs practically signed the death sentence for any RTV pilot. They were even destroyed with the help of logs and rams - where is this good?

3. The Hailfire droid tank introduced to audiences in The Clone Wars finally moved on wheels rather than questionable legs. Only the size of these wheels was obviously too much, as was the angle at which they were located. For a real vehicle, such tricks are completely unnecessary.

4. STAU - self-propelled heavy artillery unit. Of course, on my feet again, and on a whole bunch. Why not put tracks or wheels in their place? The dish on the gun for focusing the beam also looks pointless. Actual prototypes of saucer weapons exist, but they emit painful microwaves rather than a bright laser.

5. VOP - an all-terrain defensive platform, the idea of ​​a “robot chicken” in the most absurd execution possible. Walkers, in principle, give the feeling that they were invented for beautiful falls and explosions, but this example goes beyond any reasonable limits. This is a device for defense, not reconnaissance, so why is it so fragile?!

6. The OG-9 homing spider droid is another creation of The Clone Wars. This droid can move across any terrain thanks to its four legs, but is too slow. In a real fight, mobility is the key to victory. A robot that carefully chooses where to place its foot will not live long.

7. V-OP - all-terrain vehicle - fire support, combat vehicle, performing the functions of both transport and a full-fledged tank. Of course, he suffers from the typical walker fear of damaging a limb. To control the V-OP, a team of as many as seven trained people is required, despite the fact that it is easy to destroy both from the air and with one precise missile hit.

8. The NR-N99 Persuader-type droid tank is one of the few tracked tanks in the Star Wars universe. And everything would be fine if it weren’t for the huge moving caterpillar in the center, the destruction of which entails a complete loss of the combat vehicle’s performance.

9. Fromm's tower droid did not appear in the main films, but appeared in comics and games. It even has very realistic wheels! But that's where the advantages end. A high and extremely vulnerable flamethrower turret, clumsiness and weak protection - the shortcomings of this “tank” are visible at one glance at it.

10. Seismic tank - an insane repulsor-powered platform that causes earthquakes with the help of a hefty piston. The list of disadvantages of this miracle of technology can be endless - low speed, huge weight, vulnerability to attacks from the ground and air... Even by the standards of Star Wars, this thing turned out to be a failure.

However, this will not affect the tendency of filmmakers, game makers and comic book artists to create unrealistic tanks. After all, the main thing is a spectacular picture.