Scimitar schematics.
The Scimitar assault bomber had a single elongated body, and the pilot and gunner sat in a forward, shaped module which could eject from the craft and serve as an escape pod. The fuselage was supported by two large elongated array wings on either side. Interlocked repulsorlift thrusters provided it with additional maneuverability.
In space, the Scimitar assault bomber was faster than any TIE Bomber, and, in planetary atmospheres, it could travel at 1,150 km per hour, with its dive-bombing speed an additional 100 km per hour faster.
It was 13.8 meters long, and thus longer than the standard TIE/LN starfighter. Its weapons included two laser cannons, concussion missile launchers, and chutes for thermal detonators and proton grenades. However, instead of two ion engines, it only had one, thus the lack of the prefix TIE. It was designed to bomb planets into submission.
A Scimitar cockpit module escape pod.
The Scimitar was originally conceived as an upgrade to the TIE bomber per Captain Tomax Bren's specifications as the TIE Bomber Mark 2 but this upgrade wasn't approved. When Grand Admiral Thrawn rose to power, he approved a modified version of Bren's design and had it put into production.
During Thrawn's campaign to retake the Core Worlds from the New Republic, the Scimitar assault bombers were developed as a new generation of TIE/sa bombers. Before this, some Imperial generals employed a TIE bomber type very similar to the Scimitar.
Kir Kanos used a Scimitar to destroy Emperor's Revenge above Yinchorr. He programmed an APA-5 mess hall droid to self-destruct the bomber in the Star Destroyer's hangar bay, killing everyone aboard the warship.
The ships were also used during the Yuuzhan Vong War. A full squadron was considered one of the elite Galactic Alliance squadrons by the time of the war's final battle over Coruscant.
A Scimitar assault bomber.
- Dark Force Rising Sourcebook
- Wanted by Cracken
- Star Wars Gamemaster Screen, Revised
- The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
- The Thrawn Trilogy Sourcebook
- "Special Military Unit Intelligence Update" — Star Wars Adventure Journal 15
- Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Starships of the Galaxy
- The Official Star Wars Fact File86
- Starships of the Galaxy, Saga Edition
- Star Wars: The Official Starships & Vehicles Collection 3
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Star Wars: The Official Starships & Vehicles Collection 13