PLX-1

The PLX-1, also known as the PLEX rocket launcher or simply Plex, was a missile launcher used during the Galactic Civil War by the Galactic Empire and Alliance to Restore the Republic, later the New Republic. The Plex was designed to bypass deflector shields. It was used by Rebel Vanguards and rocket stormtroopers alike. The Alliance's 61st Mobile Infantry used PLX-1s on the planet Sullust in 3 ABY and at the planet Troithe around 5 ABY, where it was feared that Plex armed stormtroopers may counter New Republic starfighters.

Description

The PLX-1,^[1] also referred to as the PLEX rocket launcher,^[4] or Plex, was a missile launcher^[1] designed to bypass shields and destroy targets from a distance.^[4] Considered bulky and cumbersome by the Rebel Alliance^[1] and New Republic^[2] Captain Hazram Namir, the launcher possessed control labels and settings could be adjusted to confirm the PLX-1s payload. The launcher was half as tall as a human male.^[1]

The PLEX rocket launcher was used by the Rebel Alliance,^[1] which later became the New Republic, and the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War,^[2] notably by Rebel Vanguards, who were specialized in targeting hidden enemy starfighter traps with their PLX-1s,^[4] and stormtroopers.^[2]

History

During the early rebellion against the Galactic Empire, rocket stormtroopers made use of PLX-1s against the Spectres.^[3] Multiple PLEX rocket launchers were used by the Alliance's 61st Mobile Infantry.^[1] In 3 ABY,^[5] Captain Hazram Namir used one against an Imperial airspeeder during the capture of the Inyusu Tor mineral processing facility on the planet Sullust and Plex-armed anti-air gunners were later positioned to fend off more airspeeders during the Empire's counterattack just two days later.^[1]

Around 5 ABY,^[6] Plex missiles were used on the planet Troithe. It was feared during one scout mission that a Plex-armed stormtrooper may fire upon New Republic starfighters and one New Republic ground team was later limited to having one Plex when fending off TIE/ln space superiority starfighters of the Empire's 204th Imperial Fighter Wing at Troithe's Thannerhouse District.^[2]

Behind the scenes

The PLX-1 was first mentioned in the 2014 Disney Interactive mobile game Star Wars: Commander, where it was referred to as a PLEX rocket launcher. The missile launcher served as the weapon of the rebel vanguard, an unlockable breacher unit whose abilities included an area splash damage, firing through shields, and favoring hidden starfighter traps within an enemy base.^[4] The PLX-1 was later identified in the 2015 novel Battlefront: Twilight Company, written be Alexander Freed.^[1] Freed's 2020 novel Shadow Fall: An Alphabet Squadron Novel referred to the launcher as the Plex rocket and Plex missile.^[2] However, Commander depicts the PLX-1 in a design lifted from the E-60R missile launcher from the 2004 Star Wars Legends game Star Wars: Battlefront.^[7] Indeed, while Star Wars: Commander shows the launcher to stand higher than the carrier,^[4] Battlefront: Twilight Company stated that it stood half as tall as a man.^[1] The E-60R has since been canonized with the design used initially in Commander for the PLX-1.^[8] The proper PLX-1 design was used within the 2015 video game Star Wars Rebels: Recon Missions, which also served as the weapon's real first appearance.^[3]

In Legends continuity, the PLX-1 portable missile launcher first appeared in the short story A Glimmer of Hope, written by Charlene Newcomb and released as part of the West End Games roleplaying magazine Star Wars Adventure Journal 1 in February 1994.^[9]

Appearances

• Star Wars Rebels: Recon Missions (First appearance)
• Star Wars: Commander (First mentioned) (appears as a misidentified E-60R)
• Battlefront: Twilight Company (and audiobook) (First identified as PLX-1)
• Shadow Fall: An Alphabet Squadron Novel (and audiobook) (Mentioned only) (as Plex rocket and Plex missile)

Notes and references