X-wing History
The X-wing was originally designed by Incom Corporation for the Empire, but the entire engineering team defected to the Rebel Alliance with the prototypes. It is directly descended from the old Z-95 Headhunter, and shares design features with the Clone Wars era ARC-170, which were both built by Incom and Subpro.
The X-wing has been continually updated throughout its design lifetime. The original T-65AC1 fielded by the Rebel Alliance was a competent strike fighter for its time, but was soon supplanted by the T-65AC2, boasting improved acceleration. The T-65AC3 improved the avionics, shields and sensors; the T-65AC4 was primarily another engine upgrade, which made it nearly the equal of the A-wing in maneuverability. One notable design, the T-65D-A1, replaced the astromech droid with an internal computer core for hyperdrive jump calculations but was considered a failure (partially due to ease of sabotage).
Shortly before the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, the New Republic fielded the "XJ" series of X-wing. A third torpedo bay was added where previously a cargo bay was fitted; this increased proton torpedo payload to nine. Engines, lasers and avionics were also improved. The XJ could also utilize the new model R7 astromech droid, although some modifications to both the starfighter and droid had to be made. The "XJ" was greatly improved in all respects over the earlier designs and was initially issued to starfighter squadrons with Jedi pilots. The final realization of the XJ-series during the war was the XJ3.
Development continued after the war, resulting in the XJ6, as well as several specialized variants. One such variant was the StealthX, a compact model painted matte black and outfitted for stealth operations. Another was the ChaseX; based on the XJ5, it was presumably designed for interception duties. The Jedi owned and operated several StealthX fighters. Many older X-wings were later rebuilt into the T-65BR reconnaissance variant after being replaced by the newer combat models.
It had been intended that the X-wing series would be replaced by the E-wing approximately six years after the Battle of Endor but initial design issues relating to the weapons placement delayed wide-spread introduction into the NRDF. Wide-scale deployment of the E-wing did occur (most notably in Fifth Fleet) but X-wing production continued and may have equipped fighter squadrons not "at the tip of the spear". One notable exception is Rogue Squadron, the Republic's most elite fighter squadron and a squadron known for its almost exclusive use of the X-wing.
By the time of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, the "XJ" series was in fleet service, supplementing the more advanced (and certainly more expensive) Series III E-wing. Some paramilitary groups were also equipped with earlier XJ-series fighters (probably T-65XJ or T-65XJ2); system-defense forces and poorer paramilitary groups may have had X-wings of varying age and capability.
There are two conflicting systems of identification for the X-wing. The basic "T-65" designation is constant, but the modifier is inconsistent. At least two systems were used. One of them uses the suffix "AC1" with the last number incrementing as the fighter is revised. A second system resembles that of the modern United States military in which a letter is appended to the end in increasing value (T-65B, T-65D, T-65J, etc.). These are usually thought of as different names for the same variations.
