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Starfighter_Series :: Starfighter
 

This article is about the class of fictional vehicles. For other uses see Starfighter (disambiguation)

"Starfighter" is a science fiction term used to describe relatively small, maneuverable manned spacecraft designed for military combat (cf starship). Strictly speaking, the term "starfighter" only applies to those that can independently perform intersystem travel; "spacefighter" would be a more appropriate title for those that cannot. In the Star Wars Universe, a Starfighter is a blanket term for all small combat space craft, regardless of Shields, Hyperspace capability, Weaponry (Unless it carries none), Armour, Maneuverability and Crew. "Snubfighter", though no concise definition has been given, refers to a fighter carrying Shielding, secondary weapons systems such as Proton Torpedoes or Concussion Missiles, and being hyperspace capable.

The appearance and use of fictional starfighters is often modeled on fighter aircraft, with little regard for the actual physics of space travel. The starfuries in the television series Babylon 5 and vipers in the re-make of Battlestar Galactica are notable exceptions in at least the attempt to make a more realistic fighter for space combat.

Starfighters are popular as the subjects of flight simulator-like space combat video games, such as the "Wing Commander" and "X-Wing" series. This connection is made explicitly in the 1984 film The Last Starfighter in which a video game on Earth is used as a recruiting device for an alien civilization whose starfighters require the same skills as the video game.

Examples of Starfighters

The following are some examples of starfighters from various media franchises:

Babylon 5

Battlestar Galactica

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

  • The Earth Defense Directorate
    • Star Fighter (2-person capacity in tandem configuration, four person capacity in side-by-side configuration)
    • Star Fighter mk II (a tandem-seated Star Fighter with two extra stabilizer fins, used in the second season)
  • The Draconian Empire
    • Draconian Marauder

Macross

Robotech

Above and Beyond

StarCraft

Stargate

Star Wars

Other Properties

See also

Fictional spacecraft

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Starfighter".

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