The alarms blared as an officer came over the intercoms "All pilots prep your ships for battle. Second stage pilots on deck." I climbed up the ladder into the cockpit of the ARC-170. I looked back at my copilot and my rear gunner as they did their pre flight checks before I began to do mine. The ship rumbled as the cockpit doors closed. The ATC came up on the comms, "Ventral hangar is clear for launch. Once departed blast doors will be closed as we move in to engage capital ships. All second stage pilots all checks are green, you are free to launch." I look down as clones start to guide the few squads of fighters. Being at the back of the pack we watched as all the other fighters boosted their engines and screamed out of the hangar doors. I ready the throttle and we shot out of the ventral hangar at high speeds. If we had gone any slower we would have been caught in the turbo laser fire from the incoming ships. The squad lead began to do check ins but was quickly cut off by the swarm of droid star fighters as we broke formation and began to just fly to stay alive. Weaving through the cloud of enemy fighters was nerve racking. It felt as though I never let go of the trigger as the cannons rapidly fired into the swarm of droids, parts flying past from the explosions. I can hear fire from behind as the gunner was getting his work handed to him as he tried to keep them off our tail. The ship shook as alarms started blaring and things began to short circuit. We were hit, meaning no more tail gunner, and another direct hit could end it here and now. I didn't have to wait long till I felt the flames wrap around me from behind as the cockpit bursts and I'm sent hurtling into the vacuum of space, helmet smashed and my breath all but stolen from me as my vision darkens as I see the thousands of ships continuing the battle around me.

Starfighters are one of the largest factors when it comes to naval engagements in Star Wars. These small fast moving craft could get under the heavy fire of capital ships and unleash payloads of high explosive ordinances and rip apart their hulls. The only way to counteract the usefulness of fighters is point defense weaponry and quality star fighters of your own. The Republic, during the time of the Clone Wars, produced an assortment of starfighters that could fill any role needed by the Republic. At the beginning of the war their options were limited to the V-19 Torrent. This fighter features 3 folding wings and a pair of laser cannons as well as proton torpedoes. It was lightly armored and shielded and acted as an interceptor, able to take out incoming enemy fighters with ease. However, majority of these fighters lacked a dedicated hyperdrive so they had to be deployed at the battlefield making for their capital ships to be more vulnerable. A few later models did add in the hyperdrive. However, as the war progressed they saw the need for ships with higher survivability and versatility. Thus the ARC-170 came into service. While requiring more crew than previous fighters, this ship was able to protect one of the key weak points of fighters which was the rear with its rear facing gunner. These ships also were more heavily armed and armored with stronger shields in order to survive the swarm tactics of the CIS. These heavy fighters also acted as light bombers alongside the dedicated Y-Wings bombers. We see through the Clone Wars the use of varying tactics of fighters and bombers that aid in naval engagements as well as ground engagements.

What is your favorite starfighter used by the Republic during the Clone Wars?

Mine is the ARC-170