The XQ Platform series encompassed a variety of rapidly assembled space installations. These platforms were manufactured by various corporations, notably Bengel Shipbuilders, Telgorn Corporation, and Xizor Transport Systems.
The XQ series boasted six laser cannons for defense, with two positioned at each docking platform's corners. In addition, they included three twin turbolaser emplacements. These were typically situated atop each hangar or on the central hub of the space station if it overshadowed the hangars. Later iterations of the platforms, specifically the XQ3 through XQ6, frequently featured an extra set of three turrets, bringing the total to six, located on the hub's underside to address a common vulnerability in older designs.
The Platform's central hub housed communication antennae along with the conning tower or bridge.
Occasionally, platforms deemed of high importance, such as the TIE Defender research facility located in the Parmel system, were equipped with a concussion missile launcher at the tip of its underside. While this launcher was often used to deter starfighter assaults, its primary function was to intercept incoming warheads before they could damage the station. Attacking fighters often needed to expend multiple concussion missiles to overcome this defensive system.
The hangars of the XQ series could accommodate up to three squadrons of starfighters, as well as transports, shuttles, and other support vessels.
A majority of XQ series platforms functioned as forward operating bases and supply caches for both factions during the Galactic Civil War, such as DS 5 where the Imperial Admiral Harkov sought sanctuary after defecting. Outpost D-34 and NL-1 were utilized by the Empire as customs checkpoints, tasked with policing major hyperspace routes and maintaining order within their designated sectors.
Other platforms were dedicated to research, exemplified by Admiral Zaarin's TIE Defender facility within the Parmel system, along with Pondut and RS-32, which provided facilities for magnetic pulse warhead technology used by the Rebellion.
The XQ Platforms made their initial appearance in Star Wars: TIE Fighter, replacing the previous method of using combinations of freighters and cargo containers to represent space stations as seen in the earlier title, Star Wars: X-Wing.
The naming conventions evolved throughout the X-wing series. In Star Wars: TIE Fighter, the stations were designated as "Platform Class 1 (PLT/1)", whereas the subsequent Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter referred to them as "XQ1 Platform". Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance expanded upon this information by identifying the manufacturers of the Platforms.
Within Star Wars: TIE Fighter, the concourse is depicted as a spacious circular atrium featuring a central column, perhaps containing the turbolifts. This detail could suggest that it is an XQ series platform rather than a Star Destroyer. If this is the case, it stands as the only known depiction of an XQ platform's interior.
The XQ2 seems to be the most commonly featured platform. In Star Wars: TIE Fighter, platforms closely resembling the XQ2 (and, to a lesser extent, the XQ5) appear in several cutscenes, including the introduction (representing a Rebel outpost), Tour of Duty 3 (the new NL-1 in the Pakuuni system), and Tour of Duty 4 (the test facility for TIE Avengers). The cover art for X-Wing: The Krytos Trap also likely portrays an XQ2. However, some visual discrepancies exist between the XQ2 and the platforms shown in these cutscenes and artwork, most notably in the undersides, where the XQ2 has a flat surface while the others are semi-spherical.
A continuity error arises in Star Wars: TIE Fighter Tour of Duty 3, between Missions 5 and 6, as the NL-1 platform transitions from an XQ3 to an XQ1. (A similar error occurs in Tour of Duty 1, where Fogger is initially represented by a Nebulon-B escort frigate and subsequently by a Nebulon-B2 frigate, in missions 3 and 4, respectively.)
There are inconsistencies regarding the size of the XQ Platform series. Within TIE Fighter, an XQ station was depicted with a diameter of approximately one-third of a kilometer, with each docking arm appropriately sized for a YT-1300 light freighter or multiple X-wings/Z-95 Headhunters. At the conclusion of Tour of Duty 3, an XQ2 platform is shown as significantly smaller than an Imperial Star Destroyer providing security nearby. Despite graphical updates and textures in Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, the XQ models retained the same size.
However, with the release of Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance, the XQ stations were rescaled to three times their original size, now boasting a diameter of around one kilometer. Each docking arm was now capable of comfortably accommodating multiple spacecraft as large as a CR90 corvette. The cover art for X-Wing: The Krytos Trap also provides a similar comparison of the XQ Platform (possibly an XQ2) in relation to X-wings, TIE fighters, and a CR90 corvette.