A Proposed Solution to the "X-Wing Problem"
Hey, this x-wing's got TIE fighter engines ...
I've been writing the sequel to the Avalon's Dawn - the Avalon's Dusk - and I've been trying to justify the cinematics and the logistics of the Rebellion.
Or, as I call it, "the X-Wing problem". Basically - how does the Rebellion have so many x-wings, and always seem to be able to replace their losses? Given the canon background of the INCOM T-65 and the difficulties of logistics, it should be almost impossible to replace them now.
Here is my solution - what do you think?
[And yes, I know that it's because they look great on film. I'm trying to create a diegetic solution here!]
>X-wings explode regularly. It is a sad fact of the galactic civil war that while one, heroically well-piloted x-wing might daringly weave its way through a hail of imperial laser fire, in the background there will be Red 3, Grey 9, Purple 12 or whichever unlucky sod is in that x-wing exploding spectacularly into fragments and debris behind.
>And yet, the Rebellion still seems able to re-equip, rebuild and restore its fighter groups so they can fly back into battle - and explode. Such a loss rate is only manageable because most x-wings have effectively been built in a garage.
>Let me explain - INCOM, the company who defected to the Rebellion, does not build the majority of x-wings. To have a central factory when you are an insurgent navy is to offer your enemy a *perfect* target. Hit it with enough firepower [and it's the Empire, so they would] and you're done. The Rebellion would have to start flying stolen TIE fighters instead.
>So, INCOM, the company that gave the galaxy the T-65 x-wing, did not try to build very many of their own fighters. What they do now, through holding companies and front factories, is build the avionics, hydraulics, and other key proprietary parts. While the x-wing is a fine and wonderful space fighter, it is also by design overbuilt, massively customisable, and honestly quite unsophisticated in places. It’s deliberately crude enough to allow any sheet metal worker or spaceship repair shop to buy an INCOM parts kit, and then with OEM parts, simple metal fabrication equipment, and whatever the hell they have lying around, build an x-wing and sell it to the Alliance for a significant profit.
>This process is amazing for the Alliance quartermasters because it means that they always get a constant flow of new x-wings from all over the galaxy [and their Space Transport Auxiliary pilots are the best travelled people in the galaxy bar none].
>It also means that every x-wing not built by INCOM is a patchwork of whatever works. These planes fly, but sometimes it's not entirely clear how. Some have different engines - because why use official INCOM engines when you have some old clone war engines lying around gathering dust? The hull plating could be made of a slightly different material. The wiring isn't identical. The seats are different. The targeting computer plays a jingle. The R-type droid is permanently wired in and really unhappy about it.
>From official sub-contractors such as small Corellian shipbuilders or the Mon Calamari shipyards, they may even change the style slightly. An aquatic curve to the ‘wings’, say, or overbuilt nose sections with a sharp point. These are more reliable and might even come with paperwork saying what has changed and how to maintain it. Even if that is 'almost everything'. The Force knows that the good idea fairy can be found in star-fighter manufacturers just like everyone else.
>So while the dispersed production model is great for the Alliance as a whole, it does bring their mechanics and technicians almost to the point of suicide. Because, for the most part, they are dealing with individual bespoke machines, made slightly differently in enough ways to make a star-fighter fitter weep and end up with a three day psychological medical hold.
>As a result, the rebellion has four official classes of x-wing fighter.
>1. The T65A, the classic model of early production fighter and mostly destroyed at the battle of Eadu, Scarif, and Yavin. The ones that remain are treasured relics of the most elite squadrons.
>2. The T65b, the most prized fighters for pilots as these are the official ones rolling off the factory line of whatever planet INCOM are currently hiding on. There are only perhaps a hundred of these built each year to the highest standard.
>3. The T65sc, which is built by subcontractors in Corellia and Mon Calamari. These are the unique looking ones, with the curves or the sharp needle point nose. Generally reliable, well-liked, and produced at about three hundred a year.
>4. The T65g - the garage models and by far the widest variance of the type. This is the whatever works model, and while they all look like x-wings [well, most of them], underneath they are very … unique. They could outperform an A type x-wing, or they could explode on takeoff. The Alliance receives about a thousand of these each year. Most combat x-wings were built in a barn with love, enthusiasm and hope for a brighter future - but possibly not the highest standard of engineering.
>This also means is that x-wings are disposable. It's the pilot that truly counts, and there are a lot of garages and barns which will quickly replace the loss of the airframe. Imperfectly, 'creatively' and at great risk to the on-going sanity of their ground staff.
>And it's also why they generally look like shit.