Can't make sense of your Star Wars Transformers? Okay, so it isn't official. But it makes weird sense...
The History of the Transformable Starfighter in the Star Wars Universe
A fascinating diversion in the history of Galactic warfare, the AT-TF (All Terrain Transformable Fighter) was a derivation of the technology originally developed by Rothana Heavy Engineering (a subsidiary of Kuat Drive Yards) for the AT-TE walkers used during the first part of the Clone Wars. The AT-TF program was instigated in recognition of the need for a space-to-planetside vehicle to counter the Separatist Forces Droid Fighters which were capable of transforming into a ground-holding walker form after atmospheric entry.
The critical component of the AT-TF program was the development of the repulsorlift coordination field (RCF)—a droid-controlled web of repulsor beams capable of disassembling the components of a standard Republic starfighter and reassembling it into a fully functional mobile ground platform (this is one reason why so-called “transformables” always have outsized R2-styled droid units). The original test platform was built on a Republic Delta-7 Aethersprite starfighter used by the Jedi for scouting missions; this prototype, piloted by Jedi Master Saesee Tiin in the battle for the planet Iktotchon, proved so successful that its basic elements were later incorporated in the Eta-2 Actis Jedi interceptors used by Masters Mace Windu, ObiWan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker (among others).
The development of the AT-SF program did not, however, go unnoticed by the Separatist forces. Although the RCF was a Republican development, the Sith had previously experimented with similar systems both in Darth Maul’s Infiltrator class cruiser and the uprated Firespray patrol ship owned by Mandelorian mercenary Jango Fett. The culmination of this technology was the “wheelbike” commanded by General Grievous in the battle of Genosis; while not air capable, this fusion of tank and droid was an extremely effective weapon against the Republican ground forces in the first part of the Clone Wars.
By the second half of the Clone Wars, however, AT-SF technology was firmly in place throughout the Republic forces. Variants of the ARC-170 starfighter and LV02 Republic Gunship utilized AT-SF technologies, although only in deployment with elite units commanded by Jedi Knights. By the end of the Clone Wars, special Republic operatives were often deployed with their own personal AT-SF units (such as the modified HAVw A6 Juggernaut used by Clone Commander CC-2224 “Cody” in the battle of Utapu).
At the end of the Clone Wars (and the subsequent rise of the Empire), the use of AT-SF systems were suppressed by Imperial directive; except for an experimental AT-AT variant developed after the battle of Hoth in response to the Rebel’s snowspeeders, only one other design was taken into active duty. This was the personal Lambda Class shuttle of Emperor Palpatine, who kept its capabilities secret for most of his reign.
Shortly after the Battle of Hoth, the Rebel Forces, desperate for a counter to the Empire’s AT-AT and AT-ST designs, developed a modified Incom T65 X-wing fighter that incorporated the now relatively unknown AT-SF technologies. This unit, developed for Rebel commander and Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, was derived from Obi Wan Kenobi’s battered Eta-2 Actis Jedi Starfighter which he had stored in the Tatooine desert. A gifted mechanic like his father before him, Skywalker also incorporated this technology into his personal T-47 snowspeeder, although the uncompleted prototype never saw action during the Hoth engagement. He also integrated AT-SF technologies into the Millennium Falcon, a modified YT-1300 Correllian Transport piloted by his friends Han Solo and Chewbacca the Wookie. This redesign was unique in that it actually divided into TWO individual droid units; however, the new Falcon’s speed was so reduced by the modifications that it was eventually restored to its “original” configuration.
Learning of Skywalker’s experiments with his modified T-65, Sith Lord Darth Vader recovered his own modified Eta-2 Actis Jedi interceptor from storage at his castle on the planet Vjun. This unit, painted black and modified with his own improvements, was a more powerful model than his first Eta-2, and had been used during Vader’s quest to eliminate the Jedi after his turn to the Dark Side. However, seventeen years had rendered the Eta-2 design obsolete (for starters, it did not have an internal hyperdrive), and Vader elected to incorporate its AT-SF capacities into his next TIE Advanced starfighter (the original having been damaged during the Battle of Yavin). Over the next few years, Skywalker and Vader used their modified interceptors in many battles, but never actually met in combat.
With the destruction of the Second Death Star, both Skywalkers’ modified AT-SF fighters and the Emperor’s Lambda Class shuttle were destroyed, rendering this interesting experiment in star fighter technology to the dustbin of Galactic history.
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