TIE/ae
Craft: Sienar Fleet Systems TIE/ae
Type: Aerospace superiority fighter
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 9.8m
Skill: Starfighter piloting: TIE
Crew: 1
Cargo: 25 kg
Consumables: 1 day
Manueverability: 2D (3D in an atmosphere)
Space: 9
Atmosphere: mach 3 (don't know offhand how fast in kmh)
Hull: 2D
Sensors: 20/0D; 40/1D; 60/2D; 3/3D
Weapons:
Two Laser Cannons (fire linked)
              fire arc: f
              fire control: 2D
              space range: 1-3/12/25
              atmosphere range: 100-300/1.2/2.5km
              damage: 5D
Two Concussion Rocket Launchers (each holds 30 rockets)
              fire arc: f
              fire control: 2D+1
              space range: 1/3/7
              atmosphere range: 50-500/1/5km
              damage: 3D+1
Pylons: none
Capsule: The TIE/ae was designed in order to outperform other starfighters, and even dedicated high-performance atmospheric fighters in "the soup" (fighter pilot lingo for a planetary atmosphere). The TIE/ae uses many of the same components as other TIE models for ease of training and maintenance, but in appearance it is much more streamlined, and the classic TIE solar panels have been replaced with horizontal wing-shaped versions of the panels. This fighter has only ever seen a limited production run for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is extraordinarily expensive (for the price of one TIE/ae, the Empire could manufatcure 5 and a half TIE/ln fighters), and requires an incredible amount of costly maintenance. Second the Navy never really liked the concept of a TIE fighter whose native environment wasn't space, they felt that this would give the army too much sway with regards to fighter deployment. Third, one of the primary mission profiles of the TIE/ae was planetary assault, and it was felt that the fighter's relatively poor performance in space could allow the expensive craft to be easily destroyed before it ever reached the atmosphere. Despite these drawbacks, those TIE/ae fighters which are in Imperial service have distinguished themselves time and again in aerospace combat. These fighters are usually permanently assigned to ground support wings of TIEs attached to army units, and the pilots, who only rarely need to leave the atmosphere, swear by them.
For another version of the TIE/ae designed by Kevin Dole based upon my concept, go to Kevin's home page: Pegasus Base
I use both versions of the fighter in my campain, with Kevin's version as a second model type built to adress the cost concerns raised by my version.