R2-A3

R2-A3 was an R2-series astromech droid assigned to the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War against the Galactic Empire. It operated from the Rebel headquarters on the moon Yavin 4, flying alongside Red Two pilot Wedge Antilles. During the Battle of Yavin, R2-A3 and Antilles flew together in a T-65B X-wing starfighter, where the Alliance engaged the Death Star superweapon in the Yavin system.

After first engaging Imperial TIE/ln space superiority starfighters and turrets to draw fire away from the BTL-A4 Y-wing assault starfighter/bombers of Gold Squadron, Antilles and the droid eventually attempted an attack run against the Death Star's vulnerable thermal exhaust port. Their X-wing starfighter was damaged before they could complete the run, forcing them to retreat.

Biography

R2-A3 was the designation for an R2-series astromech droid^[3]manufactured by Industrial Automaton^[1]that served in the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War against the Galactic Empire. The droid was stationed with the Massassi Group, a group of Rebels based at the Great Temple on the moon Yavin 4. There, it served in the Rebel Alliance Starfighter Corps' Red Squadron, flying alongside Rebel pilot Wedge Antilles as Red Two.^[2]

During the Battle of Yavin, R2-A3 and Antilles flew an T-65B X-wing starfighter when Red Squadron was scrambled alongside the BTL-A4 Y-wing assault starfighter/bombers of Gold Squadron to attempt to destroy the Empire's Death Star superweapon in the Yavin system. The pair and the rest of the squadron engaged TIE/ln space superiority starfighters and turrets, attempting to draw their fire and allow the bombers to make an attack run on the Death Star's vulnerable thermal exhaust port.^[2]After most of Gold Squadron was destroyed, Red Squadron began making attack runs on the port. Antilles and R2-A3 started a run along the Death Star's meridian trench with pilots Luke Skywalker and Biggs Darklighter, but the Sith Lord Darth Vader damaged their X-wing starfighter, forcing them to retreat from the battle. Skywalker ultimately launched a proton torpedo down the exhaust port and successfully destroyed the Death Star before it could fire on the Rebel base on Yavin 4.^[2]

Behind the scenes

R2-A3 made its first appearance in the 1977 original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.^[2]It is more readily visible in on-set photographs than in the actual film.^[5]Within the current canon, the droid was first identified on an action figure set from the Star Wars: The Black Series released in 2018 by Hasbro^[3]The name originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where it was first disclosed in 2010 by Hasbro during a Q&A about an action figure they had released of the droid.^[6]