The Essential Guide to Force Exile/Shoto starfighter

Shoto starfighter

Description
The small, delta-shaped Shoto was the first indigenous fighter designed and built by Kraechar Arms, and was intended to be a high-speed, agile interceptor. The first squadron of Shotos rolled off the assembly line in 11 BBY. While lightly armed and relatively unarmored, the Shoto boasted a powerful set of deflector shields and had similar space performance characteristics as a TIE fighter. The fighters were fairly inexpensive and could be easily produced, though they were quite small.

In designing the Shoto, Kraechar Arms incorporated design elements from Eta-2 Actis interceptor used by the Republic during the Clone Wars. However, concerns about pilot survivability led Kraechar to increase the size of the craft in order to meet the power requirements for adding deflector shields to the starfighter design. Also, in order to provide as many options for using Shotos as possible, it was designed with a centerline ventral weapons bay that could be easily switched out between a concussion missile rack and four missiles or a light ion cannon. Shotos armed with the missile package were referred to as Shoto-Ms, while Shotos armed with ion cannon were known as Shoto-Is.

The Shoto served the Yanibar Guard well in its early years, but its lack of firepower-particularly in the form of its laser cannons, which had a relatively low rate of fire compared to craft common in the Galactic Civil War and its fairly mediocre sensors limited its role. The craft worked best operating off of Niman-class cruiser-carrier or around Yanibar, where the squadrons could be fed sensor data.

History and use
The first squadron of Shotos became operational in 11BY, and over the years, hundreds were deployed with the Yanibar Guard as the primary front-line fighter. The craft were employed to patrol the space around Yanibar. After Valkyrie starbombers were introduced in 9 BBY, Shotos were also assigned to escort the bombers in the case of a full-scale fleet assault. Due to their lack of hyperdrive and the fact that they could not be carried by Wan-Shen-class transports, Shotos did not see much use offworld until the introduction of the Niman-class cruiser-carrier, a sizable warship class which originally boasted two squadrons of Shotos on each vessel. However, by the time multiple Niman-class cruiser-carriers became available, Shotos were nearing obsolescence. Against early model V-wings, tri-fighters, and ARC-170s from the Clone Wars days, the craft compared quite favorably. Against TIE fighters and Z-95s, Shotos were still comparable craft. However, in simulated battles against TIE interceptors, X-wings, or A-wings, the Shoto was outclassed. Shortly thereafter, the Yanibar Guard made the decision to switch over a large portion of its fighter corps to the newer, larger Sabre starfighter. Shotos continued to see service and upgrades improved their performance in combat, but they were usually relegated to a secondary point-defense or escort role rather than being employed directly against other starfighters.

Behind the scenes
The Shoto starfighter was envisioned as a light fighter meant to bridge the gap technologically between the Eta-2 interceptors of the Clone Wars and the R-22 and A-wing craft developed during the Galactic Civil War. The basic design philosophy was to skimp on weaponry while creating a swift yet sturdy interceptor in order to minimize the casualties among the small Yanibar Guard. The fighter's model underwent numerous design change revisions in the concept art stage, until creator Atarumaster88 decided upon a wedge-shaped design that incorporated elements of both the A-wing and the Eta-2. In-universe, the fact that Force Exile protagonist Selu Kraen had flown Eta-2 craft and incorporated a pair of customized light starfighters on the freighter Hawk-bat was supposed to have influenced the Shoto.

The model for the Shoto starfighter was first started in July of 2008 and a basic 3-D model created in SolidWorks. However, it lacked detailing and texturing, and Atarumaster88 delayed work on it until April 2009. At that time, his proficiency with SolidWorks had improved and he was able to detail and texture the image easily and with greater complexity than his previous designs. The final picture was finished in early June 2009 after it was tweaked by Solus.

Appearances

 * Yanibar Guard Sourcebook
 * Force Exile IV: Guardian