A-9 Vigilance
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The A-9 Interceptor, commonly known as the "Vigilance", is a fictional starfighter in the Star Wars Expanded universe used by the Galactic Empire.
Designed by Kuat Drive Yards (KDY), famous for its Imperial Star Destroyers, the A-9 was an attempt to enter the very profitable Imperial Starfighter market. Dominated at that time by Sienar Fleet Systems, makers of the TIE Fighter series of snubfighters, the Imperial starfighter corps was in desperate need of a faster, more manuverable fighter to deal with the New Republic A-Wing starfighter. Released almost six years after the Battle of Endor, shortly after the defeat of Grand Admiral Thrawn during the Imperial Mutiny, the vessel the Empire received did not meet these requirements. The A-9 was KDY's first new starfighter design since selling the Delta-7 and Eta-2 lines to Sienar following the Great Jedi Purge.
In true Imperial fashion, the craft has no shields or hyperdrive, requiring the craft to operate from a fixed base or starship. While faster than the TIE Interceptor, the craft suffers from a very weak hull and no provisions for a pilot to eject. Due to independent power generators, the weapons system is quite powerful for a ship of its size. Main armaments for the A-9 are two laser cannons, mounted on the bottom of the craft, which can fire together or independently. While the base model allows for fire-linked forward-firing of the cannon, several modifications exist which allow the gun to pivot 90 degrees down to perform strafing runs, as well as allowing the cannons to be independently targeted.
Further hampering the effectiveness of the A-9 was the fact that the ship fell into the hands of the New Republic around the same time that the vessel entered service. After a KDY factory world rebelled and successfully removed the government, several A-9 prototypes were given to New Republic forces. This proved to be a crushing blow to the A-9 program, as the New Republic carefully analyzed the design and was ready for the fighter when the Empire attacked the ocean world of Mon Calamari.
While generally considered a failure, the A-9 continues to show up in Imperial Remnant fleets, as well as in New Republic/Galactic Alliance squadrons. It has been rumored for some time that KDY is in the process of developing an improved A-9 that addresses the problems with the first release.
References
- Dark Empire, trade paperback, 1993. Tom Veitch, ISBN 1-569-71073-2
- Dark Empire II, trade paperback, 1st edition, 1995. Tom Veitch, ISBN 1-56971-119-4
- The Dark Empire sourcebook, Wizards of the Coast, 1st edition, 1993. Horne, Michael, ISBN 0-87431-194-2
- The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels (Star Wars), 1st printing, 1996. Bill Smith, ISBN 0-590-02361-6
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