Sith fighter (Sakaros)

The following are starfighter craft used by the ancient Sith Empire, and remodeled by the Dark Lord of the Sith Khrado Ragnos. Ragnos's expertise was in large-scale warfare, so many of the more intricate modifications (and all of them made after 18 BBY) were actually engineered by Ragnos's apprentice, Tak Sakaros.

It was Sakaros who invented the concept of a "sub-engine", a lower-powered engine insufficient to drive a fighter by itself, but useful for maneuvering. While the main engines were often located or concentrated on the cockpit of a starfighter, the sub-engines were more often placed on the wings to afford a greater dispersal of thrust, as well as aiding complicated fighter maneuvers.

Teskarak
Teskarak Fighter

The Teskarak Assault Fighter was something between an overly powerful fighter and a bomber. Its maximum speed was slightly slow for a ship its size, due to its heavy armament. Rarely deployed without more dogfighting-oriented fighters, Teskaraks were most often used as cover craft for bombing runs. Ghralaz bombers would be sent on a capital ship attack run, escorted by a squad of Teskaraks; the latter would engage any defense fighters, and any that made it to the target could join the bombers on their attack.

The Teskarak was designed with a ovaloid cockpit and four protruding, lance-like wings in an "X" shape off the cockpit. The lower wings were long and jutted far forward, and carried lasers, ion cannons, and proton torpedo launchers. The higher wings cocked back, and then forward in a number "7" shape and carried only laser cannons. As a result, the ship was very bottom-heavy, compensated for only by the fact that two of the three main engines were located on the back of the lower wings. Two of the sub-engines were located above the cockpit's main engine, with one each above the engines on the wings.

Shavig
Shavig Fighter

The modern variant of the Shavig Superiority Fighter was the brainchild of Tak Sakaros, who made repeated modifications to the ship's design until it became faster than most fighters of the day. After the advent of the A-Wing, the Sith Lord redesigned the craft again until it was fast enough to keep up.

The Shavig was designed with a egg-shaped cockpit and three branch-off wings, reminiscent of a combination of the tri-fighter and the TIE Defender. A laser cannon was mounted on the tip of each wing, and a proton torpedo launcher was mounted under the cockpit. All six engines were mounted on the reach of the cockpit in a hexagon shape.

Ghralaz
Ghralaz Bomber

The Sith Ghralaz Bomber was a bulky and unwieldy fighter that carried an enormous payload of weapons and explosives. It was almost exclusively used in combination with other fighters for escort, due to its slow speed and relatively lack of maneuverability.

Unique among Sith fighters, the Ghralaz was designed as a double-ovaloid shape, with one "egg" sitting atop and to the rear of the other. The fore pod housed the pilot, who controlled two of the laser cannons and the ion cannons, as well as the ship as a whole. The rear pod housed the gunner, who controlled the missile payload and a single laser cannon which could be used as a last-ditch counterattack against a fighter attack from the front. The missiles and torpedos were mounted on wings that curved off the joint connecting the two pods. The Ghralaz could be flown by a single pilot and the ordinance linked to his controls, but this drastically decreased targeting capabilities and effectiveness. As a last-ditch attack, using the Ghralaz as a suicide attack could create a massive explosion, often more effective than the fighter by itself could be.

Hadrago
Hadrago Fighter

The Hadrago Heavy Fighter was a powerful Sith fighter with a multitude of uses. Its primary responsibility was dogfighting and attacking weaker capital ships, but in desperate circumstances its proton torpedo payload could allow its use as a bomber.

The Hadrago was designed, like most Sith fighters, with an ovaloid cockpit, with all three main engines mounted on the back of the cockpit. A wing curved up, out, and down on each side. The proton torpedo launchers were mounted at the wing-cockpit joint on each side, and the laser and ion cannons at the end of the wings. The two sub-engines were mounted on the back of the wingtips.

Tak Sakaros used a modified Hadrago as his personal starfighter until the Battle of Khar Delba. Given his precognitive Force abilities, he adapted the engines to allow the craft to fly much faster than the standard, as well as adjusting the targeting system to suit his instincts instead of the computer's projections.

Ziltik
Ziltik Fighter

The Ziltik Fighter was designed with only one purpose in mind: speed. It could reach speeds greater than those of the Republic A-Wing, but its armament was light and, alone among Sith fighters, it had no hyperdrive. In addition, the shields were somewhat more unreliable than other craft, and it was for these reasons that Tak Sakaros favored the slower Hadrago.

The ovaloid cockpit of the Ziltik was mounted on long wings similar to the low-wings of the Teskarak, but the cockpit was more centered, giving the ship the look of a bobsled on runners. Three of the engines were mounted on the back of the cockpit, with the remaining two one the backs of the wings. The ship's lasers were mounted at the wingtips, with the torpedo launchers above the wing joint.