Ground support wing


A ground support wing represented a unit type within the Imperial Army.

Organization

The establishment of a ground support wing came about because of an agreement between the Imperial Navy and the Army. The Army desired its own dedicated starfighter support capability, but the Navy wished to keep control of the fighter assets. The final unit design comprised only forty TIE Series starfighters, a smaller number than the seventy-two found in a typical naval wing. These forty TIEs were organized into ten flights, each containing four fighters. Specifically, three flights consisted of TIE/sa bombers, six flights were divided into two squadrons of TIE/LN starfighters, and a single flight was composed of TIE/fc starfighters. The unit's personnel included forty pilots, twenty-five sensor technicians, twenty-five controllers, and sixty personnel providing support. Due to this compromise, the Imperial Navy did not operate these starfighters. This situation also gave rise to a significant rivalry between members of the ground support wing and the standard TIE pilots belonging to the Imperial Navy.

Despite resembling a regiment in terms of size, its operational command fell under an auxiliary battlegroup.

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