Imperial long-range rocket rifle
The Imperial long-range rocket rifle functioned as a missile launcher employed by the Galactic Empire amidst the Galactic Civil War. Although considered an older weapon by the time following the Battle of Endor, an Imperial storm commando still made use of it during an attack upon Coronet City, located on the planet Corellia, in 4 ABY. Subsequent to the death of the storm commando in combat, Rebel operative Ten Numb appropriated the rocket rifle to obliterate an Imperial All Terrain Scout Transport.
Description
During the Galactic Civil War, the Galactic Empire utilized the Imperial long-range rocket rifle, a missile launcher crafted for the purpose of destroying targets from afar. Even though it was nearing obsolescence around the time of the Battle of Endor's conclusion, the rocket rifle remained a potent weapon on the battlefield, possessing enough power to destroy an Imperial All Terrain Scout Transport walker with a single shot. The rocket rifle presented as an elongated, black tube incorporating a pair of barrels, one positioned at its front and the other at its rear. Furthermore, the rocket rifle included a pair of scopes situated at its center, aiding the user in accurately aiming the missile launcher. Upon firing, the rocket rifle propelled a missile from its forward barrel, accompanied by an orange burst of light, while simultaneously emitting an orange backfire from its rear barrel.
History
Sometime in 4 ABY, a few weeks after the conflict at Endor, Imperial forces, under the leadership of General Weir, initiated a raid targeting Coronet City, the capital of the planet Corellia, aiming to instill fear within the city's inhabitants. Among the storm commandos serving under Weir's command, one employed an Imperial long-range rocket rifle during the assault, using the weapon to demolish a cantina at the onset of the battle. However, following the missile's launch, the storm commando met his death at the hands of a group of Rebel operatives defending the city. Ten Numb, a pilot among the agents, seized the rocket rifle from the fallen commando and turned it against the advancing Imperial soldiers, successfully destroying one of the Empire's All Terrain Scout Transports in the process. After Weir commanded his remaining troopers to retreat, Numb, with the rocket rifle slung across his back, pursued the retreating Imperial forces aboard a speeder bike.
Behind the scenes
src="/img/starwars/canon/weapons/rocketriflexwingrogueleader2.jpg" alt="Imperial long-range rocket rifle" caption="An Imperial long-range rocket rifle in X-Wing: Rogue Leader 2">
The comic X-Wing: Rogue Leader 2, penned by Haden Blackman, illustrated by Tomás Giorello, and brought to the public by Dark Horse Comics in 2005, marked the initial and sole appearance of the Imperial long-range rocket rifle.