The combat maneuver known as the Needle, or Snapper's Needle (a name given by New Republic pilots), was employed by TIE fighter pilots serving in the Galactic Empire's 204th Imperial Fighter Wing during the Galactic Civil War. It involved a flight of TIEs trapping an enemy starfighter, leaving it with no escape route before its ultimate destruction.
Garl Lykan, a pilot from the 204th, frequently used the Needle maneuver. Notably, he, along with two TIE fighter squadrons, pursued the New Republic EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate Hellion's Dare in a series of engagements during 4 ABY. It was during these conflicts that the New Republic pilots coined the nickname for the Needle and referred to Lykan as "Snapper." Lykan deployed the Needle on another occasion to eliminate the New Republic airspeeder pilot Ubellikos in a battle on the planet Troithe in 5 ABY. Following Lykan's demise in the Ghonoath system, a memorial service was conducted in his honor. At this service, Lieutenant Darita of the 204th illustrated the Needle, via a sketch, to the fighter wing's newest members.
The Needle maneuver, alternatively known as Snapper's Needle by pilots of the New Republic, was an aggressive strategy where a flight of starfighters cornered their target, leaving it with no avenue of escape prior to its destruction.
During 4 ABY, the TIE fighter pilots belonging to the Galactic Empire's 204th Imperial Fighter Wing utilized the Needle tactic while they were hunting the New Republic EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate Hellion's Dare, together with its escort squadrons, Riot Squadron and Hound Squadron, within the Oridol Cluster. Garl Lykan, one of the 204th's pilots, particularly favored this maneuver and employed it to eliminate Rawn, a pilot from Hound Squadron, during one of the assaults on the Dare.
The pilots of Riot and Hound Squadrons assigned nicknames to the 204th pilots along with their combat tactics, referring to Lykan as "Snapper." The New Republic pilots also came up with the Needle's moniker, knowing it as "Snapper's favorite." In the attack right before the destruction of the Hellion's Dare, Lykan tried to execute a variation of the Needle, but Sata Neek, callsign Riot Five, intervened to disrupt his attack. By the end of the subsequent engagement, the Dare and nearly all of its escorting fighters had been destroyed. Wyl Lark and Chass na Chadic, the only survivors from Riot and Hound Squadrons, respectively, transmitted their knowledge of "Snapper's Needle" to their new Alphabet Squadron, which was commanded by Yrica Quell, a former pilot of the 204th.
During 5 ABY, the 204th engaged in combat with a New Republic strike force led by Wyl Lark at the Core Nine mining megafacility located on the planet Troithe. Lykan once again utilized the Needle, resulting in the death of the New Republic airspeeder pilot Ubellikos. This battle culminated in the 204th's eventual withdrawal from Troithe.
Later that year, Lykan was killed during a skirmish with New Republic forces within the Ghonoath system. At Lykan's subsequent funeral, Lieutenant Darita illustrated various maneuvers, including the Needle, onto the floor for several of the 204th's newer recruits. Quell, who had secretly rejoined the 204th as a New Republic saboteur, recognized Snapper's Needle from the information shared by Lark and Chadic.
The Needle was initially referenced in the 2019 novel Alphabet Squadron authored by Alexander Freed.