Hey everyone,
I've recently come to the conclusion I want to make up an Imperial Special Forces Squadron.
I've already got the FO Tie/SF painted in the imperial colours, but I'm wondering what other Tie fighter varients would be welcome in a 'Special Forces' Squadron?
Lets discuss options and Squadrons, this is going to be a very Thematic deal so lets keep it that way
Look forward to see what comes up
Drukona.
Do you mean the first order unit designated "special forces"? In that case, I guess only the Tie/SF really fits the bill. If you refer to ships flown by any unit that would be considered to be special forces, you would have a lot more options open, for example Royal Guard Interceptors and Black Squadron Tie fighters.
Well, if the Battlefront 2 trailer is anything to go by, you'lll be wanting a Raider-class Corvette.
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Inferno_Squadron
Edited by FTS GeckoYeah sorry if i wasnt clear, im not talking units that are especially designated 'Special Forces'.
Im more looking at units that would be suitable or expected to be in a Special Forces unit aside from the Tie/SF
Well... The other candidate that I think that fits perfectly in this role is the Tie Phantom, it represents perfectly a tie designed to special and infiltration operations.
The Tie Interceptor could be considered due to its role as a ship for the Royal Guard, also the Tie Adv. Prototype (The Special Forces in many films and sci-fi stories the Special Forces carry Weapon Prototypes), and, according to Rogue One, those Black soldiers of Scariff, seems to me a group of imperial special forces, so I put also the Tie Striker in that kind of teams.
Last but not least, an honorable mention to my beloved Tie Hunter in Rebel Strike videogame.
It's quite likely that Special Forces would use anything as required. It depends on what they're likely to be doing!
The TIE/sf is a two-man ship which is longer range and hyperspace capable (those 'cogwheels' are apparently battery packs that are used in place of a reactor on other, heavier ships), which special forces would use for long range reconnaissance, strikes, and so on.
The generic TIE/fo is arguably more capable as a pure dogfighter but it's limited in range and the fact that it can't lug antiship ordnance. If you've got a hyperdrive capable carrier (like a raider) that the TIE/fo can be carried in/clamped on to, and which can take out bigger foes, it's a worthwhile choice, but it's probably more likely to be used by elite 'regulars' than special forces.
If the TIE phantom is still in service, that's quite possible due to its stealth capability.
Other than that, the Upsilon Shuttle - it's a troop carrier that's also lightspeed capable - a 'recon in force' or strike which would otherwise take a star destroyer out of its way to do is a perfectly "special forces" job, and an Upsilon with a pair of TIE/sf as escorts sounds like quite a sensible force.
Fluffwise, if you're talking about a true independent-acting Special Forces unit, you'd probably be looking for ships that can act independently of capital ships. You'd also want them to be shielded (SpecOps forces aren't as expendable as Academy Pilots!) and and have superior capabilities to standard Imperial craft.
So ships with life support and hyperdrive systems would be a good start. The TIE Defender and TIE Phantom are the obvious choices. As would be a Lambda, Upsilon or Decimator.
Aggressor is basically exactly why you're describing (see flavor text)
theoretically, TLTs should play well with the SF's aux arc
Edited by ficklegreendiceI'd say upsilon as a command and control ship (kind of like an awacs in the US military)
Phantom for infiltration/recon, for obvious reasons. There's nothing in the game that can represent drone aircraft, so at least this would represent f-117s and other multipurpose stealth platforms.
A gozanti loaded with bombers (for a heavy directed strike) or interceptors (for anti-fighter operations) could conceivably be part of the team. Kind of a helo bringing fire support to a specops team. One of those bombers could actually be a tie shuttle with additional support personnel (tactician, recon, etc)
Finally, tie aggressor might be an interesting alternate fire support ship, and kylo's tie (likely to be released alongside ep8) would probably bring the bleeding edge technology flavor of special operations.
Edited by takfar
18 hours ago, Drukona said:Hey everyone,
I've recently come to the conclusion I want to make up an Imperial Special Forces Squadron.
I've already got the FO Tie/SF painted in the imperial colours, but I'm wondering what other Tie fighter varients would be welcome in a 'Special Forces' Squadron?
Lets discuss options and Squadrons, this is going to be a very Thematic deal so lets keep it that way
Look forward to see what comes up
Drukona.
If you're not concerned about era, I'd say the Defender is a good bet for a special forces ship. It's durable, has a hyperdrive, and is customizable enough to fit a variety of roles.
I'd also throw out a mention for the Decimator. It fits a similar niche to the Gozanti, but trades the carrier abilities for a smaller size.
20 minutes ago, Punning Pundit said:If you're not concerned about era, I'd say the Defender is a good bet for a special forces ship. It's durable, has a hyperdrive, and is customizable enough to fit a variety of roles.
I'd also throw out a mention for the Decimator. It fits a similar niche to the Gozanti, but trades the carrier abilities for a smaller size.
Yeah i am looking to make an Imperial special forces unit. Ignore the Tie/sf, im going with it was under development at the end of the empire and the First order just picked up the pieces and used the plans for themselves.
My initial thoughts are there would be a single Tie/SF as an experimental craft in the time of the Empire. And then 2 other craft, maybe of the same class and possibly a shuttle that would act as a support ship for any operations been carried out by the unit.
The Defender had crossed my mind but feels to hefty of a fighter for a Special Forces unit.
The Agressor ive considered as it seems to be a versatile craft that may be useful for Special Ops.
As much as I like the Striker i dont think it fits the bill as it's predominantly an atmospheric fighter and its uses in space are not as good as other fighters.
Edited by DrukonaHow about a single Tie Punisher on a tricky and highly classified assault mission escorted by two Tie/Sf's?
Ok so an advancement on the idea !
I was thinking interceptors just look right for the bill but the fact they didnt have hpyerdrives bugged me.
So I thoughthow could I make them more suited to special forces ? Initially a shield upgrade to represent the extra technology put onto, what would be a normal craft, to help it survive the specialist missions.
And then be it autothrusters or stealth devices for survivability or stealth missions.
And further to that i thought if i modified some larger engines to the back similar to that of the Tie/SF. These would be contain the hypdrive units to allow them to act independently of a carrier craft.
So to wrap up an experimental Tie/SF, two upgraded Interceptors with shields and hyperdrives and a Lambda Shuttle kitted for combat/support.
How does that sound ?
No hyperdrives on an interceptor? There's an easy fix to that: the Gozanti Cruiser. The Empire has always had a thing for specialisation, and as such it doesn't seem likely that they would, like the pseudo-insurgency organisations that the Rebellion and First Order are, use multi-role detached units to serve as both ground and space operatives in any large capacity. However, from what we've seen in Star Wars Rebels the Gozanti Cruiser would be well suited, and seems to be used, as a counter-insurgency and special operations vessel. They are common in the Empire, and as such won't raise an eyebrow about their presence, and could possibly even operate incognito. Their innards are highly customizeable and could easily carry a small complement of troops for ground combat and specialist equipment, such as slicer electronics.
Oh, and also, the Royal Guard ties were upgraded to have hyperdrives to be able to act as independent escorts of the Emperor's personal lambda shuttle, so there is precedent for that.
10 hours ago, Axelius said:No hyperdrives on an interceptor? There's an easy fix to that: the Gozanti Cruiser. The Empire has always had a thing for specialisation, and as such it doesn't seem likely that they would, like the pseudo-insurgency organisations that the Rebellion and First Order are, use multi-role detached units to serve as both ground and space operatives in any large capacity. However, from what we've seen in Star Wars Rebels the Gozanti Cruiser would be well suited, and seems to be used, as a counter-insurgency and special operations vessel. They are common in the Empire, and as such won't raise an eyebrow about their presence, and could possibly even operate incognito. Their innards are highly customizeable and could easily carry a small complement of troops for ground combat and specialist equipment, such as slicer electronics.
Oh, and also, the Royal Guard ties were upgraded to have hyperdrives to be able to act as independent escorts of the Emperor's personal lambda shuttle, so there is precedent for that.
You make a compelling argument there however my imagining is the squadron is to operate with out carrier craft to reduce detectability.
Though you are right that in Rebels the Gozanti is used a lot in all kinds of missions !
I also did not know about the Royal Guard Ties having hpyerdrives! Atleast that makes sense from a fluff point if they were just issued the same models as the Royal Guards...
9 minutes ago, Drukona said:You make a compelling argument there however my imagining is the squadron is to operate with out carrier craft to reduce detectability.
Though you are right that in Rebels the Gozanti is used a lot in all kinds of missions !
I also did not know about the Royal Guard Ties having hpyerdrives! Atleast that makes sense from a fluff point if they were just issued the same models as the Royal Guards...
Well, the Empire's a big place so there's sure to be some kind of such unit at some place.
IMO the most likely craft would be the TIE Advanced and the Aggressor, both have hyperdrives, improved survivablity and capacity to carry ordnance. The TIE/PH and TIE/D are both too expensive and in too high demand by the conventional forces. While the Advanced and the Aggressor didn't see widespread adoption they were still produced in some numbers and could easily be imagined to find its way into the hands of such forces. After all, Darth Vader used an /x1 himself and the Inquisitors used TIE Advanced /v1s.
Pretty much any non-unique with an Elite slot is a special forces pilot of some type.
Well if you want elite then go with the less used models.
TIE Advanced (Darth Vader's personal TIE
TAP (the first one)
TIE Defender (limited numbers means only the best fly)
TIE Aggressor (you have to be good in order to be granted autonomy in the military, especially one as controlling as the Empire)
TIE/SF (It has special forces in the name).
You could also go with Saber Squadron but again that sort of reminds me of the old guard 7thCav type units. Once it goes from highly efficient and effective to famous high competitive elite it seems to devolve into a bureaucratic mess. The focus shifts from mission accomplishment with as little resources to performance evaluation and recruitment attrition, as well as maintaining a robust public relations. So yeah leave the red (and white) stripes out of it (Black 8 doesn't need to be in it either).
Guys! I'm hurt!
I saw this at work earlier today! Couldn't rush home quickly enough to contribute!
NO ONE HAS MENTIONED THE VENERABLE GUNBOAT!
(From the most excellent Assault Gunboat Forum)
This baby ticks all of the Special Forces Boxes!
It can operate outside the usual field commands. Is self-sufficient. Able to conduct quick strikes independently from motherships.
You know what would be SO cool. If Starwars Battlefront II (the new one!) featured Gunboats as their fighter craft, operating out of the Raider.
That would SO make my day/week/month/year/LYFE!
I recently flew a list with this exact fluff goal. Two FO Tie/SF and a generic Decimator. It's a tight squeeze to get them all in the same list. All the ships have hyperdrive, can function in different roles, and have life support. I like to see it as a Decimator operating as the command ship, with the two SFs doing the actual work. Decimator's a good ship, so I could totally see the First Order grandfathering in remaining ships. Or you can see the SFs as prototypes flown by Inferno Squadron.
I usually like fluffy lists more than winning lists. This one has the bonus of being fun to fly.
Before the Phantom nerf, 3x TIE Phantoms did really well in my local meta! Maybe you could update that list with some of the new cards (lightweight frame, for example?)
Just a thought. I mean, triple Defenders is pretty special forces too! And powerful enough to beat some of those scummy meta lists we keep seeing! Go with TIE/D for full Defender awesomeness!
Whatever you decide on, you need the red pegs and bases. 'Cause it's special