R2-A3, an R2 series astromech droid, fought for the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War. The Galactic Empire was their opponent. This droid operated from the Rebel headquarters situated on Yavin 4, a moon, and piloted alongside Wedge Antilles, known as Red Two and a skilled pilot. During the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY, R2-A3 and Antilles were a team in a T-65B X-wing starfighter. In this battle, the Alliance combatted the Death Star superweapon of the Yavin system.
Antilles and the droid initially engaged Imperial TIE/ln space superiority starfighters and turrets to divert fire from the BTL-A4 Y-wing assault starfighter/bombers of Gold Squadron. Ultimately, they attempted an attack run on the Death Star's weak point, the thermal exhaust port. Their X-wing starfighter sustained damage before they could finish, forcing them to pull back.
The droid known as R2-A3 was an R2 series astromech droid, a product of Industrial Automaton. It served the Alliance to Restore the Republic in their fight against the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War. This droid was a member of the [Massassi Group](/article/massassi_group], a Rebel group with its base in the Great Temple on the moon Yavin 4. As part of the Rebel Alliance Starfighter Corps' Red Squadron, it flew as Red Two alongside Wedge Antilles, a Rebel pilot.
During 0 BBY, R2-A3 and Antilles piloted a T-65B X-wing starfighter when Red Squadron was dispatched alongside the BTL-A4 Y-wing assault starfighter/bombers of Gold Squadron. Their mission was to destroy the Death Star superweapon belonging to the Empire, which was located in the Yavin system. The pair, along with the rest of the squadron, engaged TIE/ln space superiority starfighters and turrets with the goal of drawing their fire. This would allow the bombers to make an attack on the Death Star's vulnerable thermal exhaust port.
After Gold Squadron suffered heavy losses, Red Squadron began their own attack runs on the port. Antilles and R2-A3, along with Luke Skywalker and Biggs Darklighter, started their run down the Death Star's meridian trench. However, Darth Vader, the Sith Lord, damaged their X-wing starfighter, forcing them to withdraw. Skywalker eventually fired a proton torpedo into the exhaust port, successfully destroying the Death Star before it could target the Rebel base on Yavin 4.
R2-A3 made its debut in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, which is part of the original trilogy. It is more visible in behind-the-scenes photos than in the movie itself. Within current canon, the droid's identity was first established on an action figure set from Star Wars: The Black Series, which was released in 2018 by Hasbro. The name originated in the Star Wars Legends timeline, where Hasbro first revealed it in 2010 during a Q&A session about an action figure of the droid they had released.