TIE scout

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Size:
  24 meters long

• Weapon:
  Laser cannon

• Affiliation:
  Galactic Empire

• Type:
  Scout vessel

• Manufacturer:
  Sienar Fleet Systems

• 

From the Expanded Universe

A limited production light reconnaissance starfighter developed by Sienar Fleet Systems, the TIE/sr was more commonly known as the TIE scout. The familiar TIE fuselage almost disappears in its outsize frame; its extended mission profile requires larger fuel and consumables storage that causes its hull to bulge outward unlike any other TIE model. To supply the craft's power needs, elongated bent-wing panels constantly gather stellar energy while in space. The scout required a single pilot, and had room for three passengers.

Another great difference between the TIE/sr and its sister vessels is that it was equipped with an extremely reliable Class Two hyperdrive. Its extended mission in the poorly charted reaches of the Outer Rim Territories required the TIE scout to operate independently of a launch ship or base. The TIE scouts saw service in the Imperial Navy, where they were assigned to surreptitiously scan ahead for reconnaissance, spot and survey mine fields and other potential ambushes prior to fleet arrival. Such dangerous tasks saw the costly destruction of many TIE scouts. The TIE/sr proved to be too expensive for the Empire to push into more widespread service.

Unlike other vessels in the TIE series, Santhe/Sienar Technologies negotiated an option to sell a stripped-down variant of the craft on the civilian market. The so-called Lone Scout-A (LSA) uses the same framework as the TIE/sr, but its scanning systems were not as sensitive as the Imperial military issue. The Imperial Survey Corps used the LSA and LSA-2 TIE scout variants, as did the New Republic Scout Service that followed.