The Pinook fighter, a type of starfighter, was produced by Joraan Drive Systems.
In comparison to other starfighters used during the period of the Galactic Civil War, the Pinook suffered from a lack of power, insufficient weaponry, weak shields, and inadequate armor. Overall, it was a subpar spacecraft; its only redeeming feature was its above-average maneuverability, although even in this aspect, it was surpassed by the Z-95 Headhunter. In a direct dogfight against a TIE/LN starfighter, only a fortunate shot by the Pinook could prevent its swift destruction.
Although it possessed a slightly higher speed than the reliable Y-wing, it lacked the Y-wing's robust resilience. With a hull weaker than that of a TIE/IN interceptor, and shields that were only half as strong as those of a T-65 X-wing starfighter, the Pinook was no match for contemporary starfighters.
The design of the Pinook fighter was negatively impacted by restrictions imposed by the Imperial government regarding its armament and power source. Given that the board members of Joraan Drive Systems did not strongly support the New Order, they were unsuccessful in persuading Imperial inspectors to permit them to sell the Pinook to allies of the Empire. Additionally, they were obligated to adhere to civilian combat limitations, preventing them from constructing the fighter according to its intended military specifications. Consequently, the Pinook was among the few starfighters that were outperformed by the cobbled-together uglies commonly used by financially challenged smugglers, outlaws, and pirates, even when brand new, a fact that was frequently mocked by the public.
The Pinook achieved limited success as a training aircraft due to its low cost, but no organization utilizing them anticipated that pilots of the Pinook fighter would accomplish anything beyond signaling an alert about approaching enemy forces before being destroyed. The ship remained so unpopular throughout the galaxy that Joraan Drive Systems was compelled to manufacture starfighters for criminal syndicates, such as the notorious Black Sun, to avert financial ruin.
The model file for the Pinook fighter is named PIGGYBACK.OPT, which is related to the original design concept developed by artists at Totally Games. Initially, the Pinook was the Planetary Fighter and was connected to a booster engine. The Pinook was detached from the booster due to limitations in the game engine, and the name Planetary Fighter was reassigned to a completely different design.