R2-A3

"R2-A3, can you link up with the Senator's R2 unit?"

―Wedge Antilles^[2]

R2-A3 was an R2 series astromech droid used aboard Wedge Antilles' X-wing starfighter during his time stationed at the Massassi Base on Yavin 4,^[1] and aboard the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser Home One.^[2]

Biography

Approximately two months after the Battle of Yavin,^[4] R2-A3 joined Wedge Antilles in his X-wing starfighter during a demonstration exercise for the Rebel Alliance's Gray Flight, locking the Rebel pilot's S-foils into attack position, and confirming that the craft's weapons were in training mode.^[5]

Later, R2-A3 accompanied Antilles^[3] on a covert scouting mission to Pybus,^[6] during which Gray Flight was ambushed by Imperial forces led by Kell Bircher.^[3] Princess Leia Organa was rendered unconcious in the engagement, leading Antilles to command R2-A3 to link with Organa's onboard astromech droid, slaving her nav computer to his own as he made the jump to hyperspace.^[2]

Behind the scenes

Although Wedge Antilles can be seen flying with partially visible red- and white-domed astromech droids in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, neither droid matches R2-A3, despite the droid being designed by Hasbro from film reference images.^[7] The astromech appeared, unnamed, as an action figure packed with Wedge Antilles' X-wing starfighter in 2009. The name R2-A3 was revealed by Hasbro after learning it from Lucasfilm in 2010.^[8]