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*Tarkin:* "I pity TIE pilots due to the sheer poor quality of the fighters." *Also Tarkin:* **Personally pushed for TIE Fighters to not have any deflector shields or hyperdrives.**

I've been fascinated with Tie Fighter Pilots since I was 5 years old in 1981, so thanks for this video!

To be honest I feel half of the deficiencies of the empire can be simply attributed to the idea that the bad guy can neither be good nor smart. It goes against every military doctrine there for fighter forces to be considered expendable. An Air Marshal would much rather lose all his support craft but be able to maintain air superiority with fighters. Sure you can’t bomb the enemy but, they can’t bomb you. I’m sick of seeing brainless imperial tactics published in canon or legends to just make them the stupid evil bad guy. No military can swell to that size and be that frigging incompetent.

High speed, no shields, no armor, no live support, no hyperdrive - git gud or die

It's probably so terrible as they have massively limited view in all TIE variants, the ships have massive targets on both sides, no hyperdrive, no life support, no shields and are made out of the metallic equivalent to paper.

Ties were definitely hazardous to your health, but to those that excelled in this style of combat, they could be terrifying, look at Baron Soontir Fel and the 181 in legends, these ace pilots were lethal. Though I suppose they were the exception, not the rule.

i think that the more star wars "lore" "canon" "legends",etc.etc. expands,the more it contradicts itself in the '90s it was written in books and comics that imperial tie pilots was an elite corps,made of selected people,not only loyal to the empire,but also highly skilled,with a high level of training,respected even by their rebel counterparts these machines sure had their flaws,but it was also said that it was a part of an effective doctrine think about it well,you have a spaceship that is basically a pure fighter plane,meant to destroy other small spaceships,you have nothing but maneuvrability and firepower,no useless stuff like hyperdrive (since you operate from bases and carriers),no missiles or torpedoes (since you're meant to attack singleseat ships) and no shield and little armor (considering that direct hits would seal your fate anyway) sure,not having a pressurized cockpit doesn't make your life comfortable,but at least the ship won't implode at the smallest hull breach all these things,or the lack of,makes the tie fighter a great "defensive fighter",since it makes it fast to be scrambled,and an excellent dogfighter thought that,i'm not saying that x-wing are worse (they are my favourite spaceship of all starwars),however they have different missions and they are so designed properly what i want to say,is that in the last years,especially from 2010s,the star wars franchise is starting to cripple,becoming more and more disfunctional if something like the starfighter corps was so bad,why there would be even some many people applying to become pilots?if both machines and pilots are terrible,why in movies like rogue one we see both sides fighting basically even?why videogames online battles are not one sided?why we even see the ace of resistance enthusiastic of putting his hands inside of these "flying coffins"?do you have any idea of how much is expensive to form a pilot,at least in real life?

Hmm... Here’s where legends and canon really don’t make sense. See, cheap, disposable ships indicate cheap disposable pilots. If you’re going to so easily abandon pilots, you’re not going to train them to do much. Take off, land and how to move in the direction you want. But in Legends and canon, they’re supposed to be the top 10%. Which is ridiculous. Investing that much in a pilot only makes sense if you’re going to keep them alive as much as possible.

The original tie is my favorite fighter. I wish the lore didn't turn it into a disposable garbage badguy ship.

Imagine a movie where you follow an Empire tie-fighter pilot. Would probably be cool.

i can see the appeal of joining the empire just to escape a relative dead end future on a remote planet.

I think it's quite easy to forget that most Imperial pilots would probably never have to face down anything more serious than the odd pirate or smuggler. A the end of the day the TIE fighter was designed to be as cheap and easy to manufacture as possible. The whole reason that the Empire turned down the X-Wing design was due to the cost of each fighter. When you look at things from the POV of the Empire during the early stages of the Rebellion the TIE fighter makes sense. The Rebels are few in number and use hit and fade tactics; as ships can't be tracked in hyperspace the Empire is forced to defend everywhere which demands a lot of snub fighters and the TIE fighter is easily more capable than the older Y-Wing and Z-95 designs. The real turning point is introduction of the X-Wing which is a much more capable machine than anything the Rebels had up to that point and with the B-Wing and A-Wing designs the original TIE fighter was at a real disadvantage. Obviously the Empire invested in more advanced designs like the Interceptor and Defender but they'd run into the same problems that they'd faced with the X-Wing. More expensive fighters that have to protect Imperial ships and installations across the Empire while the Rebels are free to pick and choose their battles.

That tie pilot in star wars squadron was so lucky to live and not only that amde it back to his ship. Also yeah I can see that people would be bored on their planets.

5:52 seconds of utter rebel propaganda.

Being an imperial in any form seemed dangerous. If you didn’t die in a war, it would be against a dangerous creature, accident, or by one of your superiors.

There's also the Shadow Droid starfighter in Legends, where if you're a dead TIE fighter ace they lobotomized your brain and put it in a cybernetic starfighter body to be used against the Empire's enemies.

I feel like it's worth mentioning that I got an Air Force recruitment ad on this video

I have to wonder how many Tie Pilots were picked up by the rebel alliance?

Tie Fighter for PC was one my favorite games as a kid. It gave the Empire a face and character you could relate to. I love these videos Lore Guy, and I am a subscriber... but at 1:59 you mention the TIE series were produced by KDY when actually they are manufactured by Sienar Fleet Systems. KDY produces the ISDs and other capital variants. I recall seeing it a lot in the Tie Fighter briefings and weapons loadout screen :P If any star wars fan here hasn't played the old X-Wing/Tie Fighter series I suggest you try it. If you can. (These tend to be buggy and you need a joystick even with the Gog release). But I can't wait to jump into an interceptor again with SW: Squadrons.

No shields all guts. BUT as far as i remember: The TIE series was produced by SIENAR Fleet Systems, not KDY. KDY was the producer of imperial capital ships like the ISDs.

Imagine in a hundred years, and near systems where battles were it's just common to see floating tie fighters, corpses still inside orbiting a moon or something

seems to me going around after a battle and rescuing pilots of damaged TIE fighters would be a good source of pilots for the rebellion. "they left you. we didn't. we can drop you off or you can work for us."

There is a 99% chance that you will die. Seriously why are tie fighters so weak?

Who's watching this now and looking back to the trailer for squadrons, and how the TIE actually survived multiple shots, and was flying with two holes in it! And the Empire came back for the pilot. That was such a badass moment, for the Empire!

Is it me or does the Empire suffer from budget cuts on a constant basis?

The TIE Fighters (and their Pilots) could be compared to the WWII Mitsubishi AM6 (Zero). It too had no armor and the early models were covered in canvas. However it could out maneuver and out climb any other fighter of its time until very late in the war and the pilots had to have HUGE sacks to go up against later developed superior aircraft. Being an actual US Navy Vet in Aviation (Air Warfare Specialist) one of the things I am disappointed with Imperial Navy Flight Tactics is that they do not even indicate that they use them at all which is surprising since ALL Air Forces develop attack and defensive tactics and strategies. The Imperial Navy would have the same resources, such as veteran pilots and Aces. With their superior numbers compared as to Rebel Squadron resources they should have "owned the skies" making any Rebel flight assault impossible regardless of the TIE's lack of shields or torpedoes. In real life areal combat speed and maneuverability is life. In many of the game sims though actual space conditions are not utilized the fighters (of both side) do not need to make sweeping turns as would be needed in an atmosphere. A pilot would simply spin his craft around without changing speed or direction and fire on the craft behind or to the side of him/her as g-forces are not applicable.

Real life comparison to TIE and X-Wing. Is the Zero and the wildcat.

Geez, I’d rather be assigned to an oberth-class....at least exploding is a quicker death 🤣

No wonder there were so many deserters/defectors to the Rebels from the TIE pilots.

Wouldn't want to be a TIE fighter pilot being a stormtroopers is safer

1) Imperial pilots had some of the best training in the galaxy, which isn’t cheap. They were not fodder. 2) TIEs had some of the best engineered parts and minimal moving pieces, making them relatively tough in terms of hull strength 3) The suit saves the pilot from explosive decompression and gives the pilot an opportunity to be rescued. 4) In the event of a recovery, an empire win means recovery asserts may pick you up. A rebel win means they may take you prisoner. 5) The lack of hyperdrive was not an issue for how TIEs were employed with capital ships. Not every ship could, nor should, be multi-role. 6) The design simplicity facilitated both a low cost for mass production and low mass for superior handling and acceleration. 7) Shields are consistently inconsistent, even with capital ships. But that’s more of a Star Wars problem. 8) The rebel plot armor is thick. Rogue One confirmed that the will of the force plays a significant role in outcomes.

In Legends, there used to be a policy of institutional Darwinism in the Imperial Navy among its fighter pilots. Basically, you graduate flight school and spend a one year tour of duty flying the basic TIE fighter. If you survived your initial tour you would be assessed and based on your skills, be assigned to a more specialized TIE like a bomber or interceptor. Survive your second tour, you were assessed again and moved on to something like a Gunboat or TIE Avenger. Survive your third tour and you got moved up to the elite ships like the TIE Defender and Scimitar Assault Bomber. In this way, only the very best of the best pilots flew the best of the best ships, because they were the only ones left alive by then.

TIE: "Fast, maneuverable, expendable" WW2 Aviation Buff: "Hey, I've seen this one before!"

"TIE Interceptor, ready for battle."

I was addicted to the TIE Fighter computer game back in the day. The take away from that was that the basic TIE fighter really only excelled at swarm attacks. If pilots survived long enough to get promoted, they would be given the opportunity to take on special assignments flying the TIE variants (like the Advanced or Defender), which do have shields and hyperdrive capabilities, as well as more powerful armaments. In the game, if your TIE was destroyed, you would eject automatically and be rescued (some missions actually involved you protecting rescue shuttles and stranded pilots from enemy attack).

Yhea that’s why they’re called coffin junkies

Tie Fighters: The Japanese Zero of space

It seems like in "A New Hope" Tie fighters and pilots could hold their own but after there was a big drop off.

Here's a related idea for a rethink: What if the Empire had chosen the TIE Defender program over the Death Star?

That's where the Tie defender came in it had shields and superior fire power, but they decided that super weapons were more important than their navy, Palpatine was an idiot..

Yeah, but I hear they have sick sound systems to listen to Techno Union Wub Wubs.

If my TIE fighter was damaged there would be no floating through space for me waiting to die. I'm opening the door and just getting sucked out into space quick death in under 10 seconds

As a 501st TIE-Pilot myself, our motto is „No shields, all guts!“ Rebel pilots often call us coffin jockeys,. But, only because they fear us, and know we fear nothing!

I equate a tie to ww2 Japanese plane the zero.. massively agile but one hit and done.

If you were one of the lucky/skilled few to survive up the ranks to become an Ace then life was pretty sweet for you since on top of better everything, you also got to pilot ships that gave you a better chance of survival. In the early days that was the Gunboat which...though essentially the Empire's version of the Y-wing...had shields, torps/missiles and a hyperdrive in case things got dicey. Later on you got the Tie Advance/Avenger which was a massive step up on even Rebel ship.

1:32 made me wonder why Ralph Fiennes has never been cast as an Imperial officer - not a comms officer, but someone high-ranking - in a Star Wars movie. He'd be perfect.

Have you thought of the scenario where Maul is the leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems? How will Maul lead the Separatists in the Clones Wars against the Republic? And will he eventually betray Sidious or not?

The process of joining the Imperial Flying corps was a long and arduous one, and the detailed pilot training usually lasted for two and half years, meaning they were treated as valuable asset, not as cheap cannon fodder. As a result of such harsh training, all the Imperial pilots were being able to operate several types of flying platforms. Approximately 10 percent of cadets managed to graduate the entire course, while the majority ended up being assigned to the various "lesser branches" of the Imperial Navy, and thus became artillerymen, patrol troopers, system and equipment maintainers, signalmen, military logistic personnel, et cetera. As for the rescuing protocols, Imperial Navy formations usually picked their wrecked pilots after the battles (if they were at the winning side, off course), because that way they've compensated the instant losses, and were being able to throw the remaining fighter/bomber personnel in the further circulation. Keep in mind that the Navy combat units were being replaced, reinforced or reequipped only at some stages of campaigns, or even after these whole operations had ended in a series of successive clashes (of different frequency and intensity), making the rescuer parties a logical necessity all the time. Rescuer procedures were usually coordinated by the Imperial Flight Officers. On the other hand, if you got bogged in a damaged basic type TIE fighter or TIE bomber (while your Imperial Navy fleet ended up at the loosing side), you had even more potential solutions - you could always perform the instant kamikaze effort of ramming the closest opponent and thus perish like a real hero, you could kill yourself with your blaster pistol, try landing at the closest colonial planet (Captain Varko Grey, commanding pilot of the Titan Squadron in Star Wars: Squadrons had taken such action), or you could even send the distress signals and thus hope of being picked as a prisoner of the Rebel Alliance. Some of the Imperial pilots switched their sides that way, though it hadn't happened at the regular basis. There were even some cases of the Imperial pilots that affiliated with the Rebel Alliance, only to desert their forces as well or run away from captivity at the very first chance. These renegades later joined the ranks of pirates, mercenaries, private armies of some magnates, or even the bounty hunters. Switching identity was the key action in such occasions. You should also remember that all Imperial pilots got their basic infantry and survival training, and such additional skills made them useful multi-tasking servicemen/servicewomen in extraordinary situations. Besides, some advanced TIE fighter versions (for example TIE Advanced/x1, TIE/D Defender and TIE/ph phantom) had been equipped with the various hyperdrive engines, making them able to reach the nearest Imperial Relay Outposts if their pilots survived the enemy onslaught. Mostly all TIE fighter and TIE bomber lines got the ejector seats, useful option of saving pilots in the course of sky battles - during the period of the First Galactic Empire and the New Republic sky and space battles were being fought in 1:3 ratio.

When I was an imperial pilot, there were no toilets in the cabin. I once got extreme diarrhea flying over Naboo. When I returned to the fleet, my flight suit looked like it was stuffed with flat tires.

The TIE fighter was based on the Japanese "Zero" fighter, and shared many of the weaknesses. While incredibly agile and maneuverable, that required a skilled pilot to be able to take advantage of those traits, and the total lack of armor (or, on the TIE, shields) meant that one slip or one lucky enemy shot would be fatal. The predecessor to the TIE, the Eta-2 Actis interceptor, was able to largely get away with this - they were mostly piloted by Jedi, who could rely on the Force to predict enemy shots and exploit their movements with the Eta-2's mobility advantage, and who were already crucially important to pick up if they became incapacitated (hence the lack of hyperdrive). But after the Empire killed all the Jedi, the Eta-2 was replaced with something cheaper to make in bulk and given to pilots that couldn't make use of it with Jedi talents. When normal people were thrown in the cockpit, they couldn't afford to make a single mistake; an ace would eventually slip just from fatigue or stress or bad luck, while a newbie didn't even have a chance to learn what they were doing. Rebel ships like X-wings had shields, greater armor, and always tried to rescue their pilots; a newbie in an X-wing cockpit could survive making a mistake if they didn't get vaped outright, and could take a few close misses or light hits without just exploding, while an ace might not be able to match a TIE's speed but could take just a few more hits before their wingman came in to save the day. As to why command didn't take note of this...well, numerically speaking, the TIE was superior to the X-wing. Faster, more agile, good firepower, strength in numbers, and all for relatively little money. Seriously, very little money - a standard TIE was less than half the price of a T-65 X-wing, didn't require proton torpedo reloads, didn't need an astromech, didn't have added life support costs, and so on. Bureaucracy went with the lowest bidder and superiority on paper, and nobody was willing to stick their necks out far enough to tell a superior officer "the ships may be superior on paper but they suck ass without expert pilots."

No life support and full space suite also means the pilot is able to leave the cockpit and perform minor repairs. Cheap builds commonly equal simple designs thereby increasing the chance of being able to perform a good enough repair to limp to an atmospheric environment or at least broadcast a distress call. This is why the multi tool was the number one birthday present every Imperial pilot wanted (the second being a good supply of adult diapers).

They do have some awesome uniforms !

even in works of goofy fiction like Star Wars, there's no way the scale of economy can be so massive that its cheaper to let a trained pilot die in a garbage aircraft and replace them than to make some effort to reacquire those kinds of assets. Like, even the Soviet Union valued skilled personnel and the protection thereof.

You've never played TIE Fighter, have you?

You'd think they would have stuck with droids.

In the grim darkness of the far future You will not be missed

Tie fighters have some advanced computer systems such as navigation and accurate targeting computers, Rebel ships require astromech droids to guide Rebel pilots, Tie fighters can also be modified

Let's have a moment of silence for the three TIE pilots from Andor who thought they could just watch the eye in peace

Sienar actually created the Imperial TIE Fighters and other Imperial TIE Variants,KDY was the manufacturer of the ISD's and other class of Star Destroyers

I love tie pilots cuz they who survived were ace they learned to become apex pilots. And then after reaching so many kills they were offered more advanced ties. But a true ace learned not to relay on tech Soontia fel one of the best and I love the interceptor

Shoutout to the First Order for improving their Tie designs to be more than pure cannon fodder.

The TIE fighter was like the Mitsubishi Zero fighter. Nimble, fast, lethal - but no armor, no self-sealing gas tanks, so if they took a hit that a Hellcat might survive, they caught fire, or the pilot died.

They keep saying rebel ships had an advantage with their shielding, but in all the movies, x-wings and y-wings get destroyed after one or two hits. What’s the deal, man?

From the sounds of it a modern jet which would probably be considered primitive tech in Star Wars could take down a tie fighter with ease due to how the empire where cheap skates in their production.

It was Sienar fleet systems that made the Ties though, Kuat drive yards made the capital ships and cygnus did the shuttles and the assault gunboat (hence the similairities between those two ship designs) . Just a minor detail of correcton on an awesome video. Keep it up 👍 !

Empire or First Order...recruit me now!! Kilo - Ren

It really sucks to be cannon folder in any war.

I wonder if a defender was any better than an interceptor or if it was just considered a tie!

It makes it worse when you're fighting against a bloody space wizard

There pilot suits are sooooo cool and rad lookin that panel on these chest is epic!!

What's the game looping in the background? Looks fun! Interesting video by the way! ♥

Notice that Tie helmets are like a rebel helmet with a stormtrooper face plate. Same with the ATAT driver.

Takes longer to train a pilot than to built a ship. Best chance of survival as a pilot is serving under Admiral Thrawn.

Wait til squadron when will get the closter phobic feeling of a tight space and only a frontal view with no sight to check your rear

the only real weakness in your argument would be the expense and time needed to train an Imperial Pilot. Even if there were a lot of people asking to fly it does not mean you would have the talents and ability to fly else they would just use drones which I imagine would be even easier to produce no food, sleep, quarters, or salaries needed. losing too many pilots would be a problem

They were also used in kamikaze-style attacks later in the war. Imagine being one of those unlucky souls sent on a one way mission.

My own head cannon is that the TIE was knowingly bad and that's part of why it was accepted. Before the rebellion really got going Palpatine's Empire needed casualties in a small but constant stream to keep it united and to get the people back home entrenched in the Empire ideology as more and more people go "My son/daughter/mom/dad died for the Empire, I'm not gonna stand by and let it fall/ let you dishonor his memory" and the constant casualties justify the military spending "your son could have lived if only we had a bigger budget". With TIE's around even smugglers and pirates could blow up one or two before being subdued. The same is also part of the reason for the Star Destroyers needing such large crews, to get a lot of people involved with the Empire's military machine and also to involve as many ppl into their atrocities "Sure your captain ordered the planetary bombardment but you were on the ship and did nothing".

Tie fighter pilots have laser pistols.... So I don't think they would die a slow and painful death if they have the guts to do it themselves

In the grim darkness of the Imperial Navy your life is Boredom and a short painful career.

Great video and I agree with pretty much everything you said. I agree that they were built to be destroyed but I do feel they may have been worth fixing if it wasn't a major repair.

Great take never really thought about them

Questions that need to be answered: What is the average payment for TIE-pilots ? How many days off they get,payed or unpayed ? What are the working times and what is the reference system ? (You see,working one year on Earth is slightly different than a year on Pluto !! ) If,for example,you get into a fight with Han Solo and you miss him with your lasers and Han is able to escape,will this reduce your payment significant ?

"Quantity has a quality of its own." -Lenin

The huge problem with the tie fighters had no shields which means they could be shot down easily.

I dropped out of the Carida Imperial Academy because they wanted to commission me as a TIE Fighter pilot. I only found out at the end of my third year when my grade point average placed me at 9th of my class out of 1,500. Fuck that. I'd rather be a Sand Trooper.

TIE Fighters have an ejection system and the Empire does have an equivalent to SAR, as seen in the TIE Fighter video game and some comics.

Wait...if mortality rates for a tie fighter pilot was high, that must mean the craft was very easy to fly (little training necessary) and a vast supply of candidates was available. In war, the problem usually isn't availability of equipment but rather men if death tolls get too high. It takes two weeks to build an aircraft but 18 years to "build" a new pilot.

Sienar Fleet Systems is a rival of Kuat Drive Yards. They would hate the fact that Kuat is producing the signature TIE series. Other than that this was a good video.

Grand Admiral Thrawn was smart enough to put shields and hyperdrive on TIE Defenders. It's a shame they never saw much service due to their high price tag and the expert level training required.

The Siener Fleet Systems Twin Ion Engine Fighter was the most advanced fighter when it first came out.

I see they've adopted the Stalin tactic of throwing people at the enemy until you win

Pretty entertaining video. Good job.

You pick your battles and learn long-range marksmanship in a TIE Standard. Making allies in command and taking with you 'friends' that serve as wingmen also helps. You advance in rank with these allies and that gets you access to better ships like a Starwing or hopefully the rare TIE Defender. Having a bit of the Force on your side is also very handy. Just a touch . . . not enough to attract Hands, Inquisitors, or Vader . . . unless the Dark Lord takes a shine to you. But then you might be ordered to cover him and get blown out of the sky by a Smuggler in a rust bucket.

Here is the thing about the tie fighter pilot. They know they are more than likely going to die in battle,some one who thinks like that is really dangerous because they are capable of anything and people like that will take you with them when they die.

Realistically, any pilot left in space would likely be taken by rebels. They either get a prisoner to interrogate, or they get another defector pilot to add to their own forces.

Two days rations sounds pretty good till you consider the fact that to eat those rations you have to remove the pressurized helmet keeping you alive.

I know Rebel fighters are said to have shields in dialogue and in the lore, but they don't really take much more punishment than a TIE on screen. I think Luke & Wedge survive being shot (and considering Wedge's engine was damaged, he wouldn't have lasted any longer had they tried to pursue him) and that's it. All the rest are blown up just as easily as a TIE.

Almost 6 minutes of content...... give this guy a platinum youtube plaque stat!

I think another thing that needs to be brought up is that the empire had to buy supply and maintain all this equipment across the Galaxy one part of the Star wars lore was that tie fighters not only being cheap where nearly maintenance free supposedly the laser cannons and the engines were probably the most efficient designs ever created in the starwars universe Look at how small they were on the models and that they had nearly the same fire power as most starfighters built back then also the TIE interceptor was supposed to become the new backbone of the imperial Navy it just didn't happen before they were defeated that fighter was more maneuverable and faster than almost anything else out there and it could carry some limited amounts of torpedoes still didn't have shields though Also through the movies it didn't seem the X-Wing Shields really did much anyway