General Anakin Skywalker is shown leading a squadron of Y-wings on one of their first missions to take out a Separatist cruiser, where they are noted for their powerful shields and secondary gunner.
Here the Y-wings of Gold Squadron are shown playing a pivotal role during the Battle of Scarif in disabling an Imperial Star Destroyer with ion torpedoes.
Prized for its durability and long-range striking capability, the success of the Y-wing prompted further production of the original model and a number of variants.
The module connects to two powerful ion engines via reinforced central spar and cross wing, all encased in heavy armor plating.
Armor plating was removed to save on weight and make it easier to perform maintenance, compensated for by increasing deflector shield power.
Various other components were removed or rearranged - such as replacing the six-round torpedo magazines with four-round versions - to lighten weight and increase performance while maintaining overall integrity.
[3] In 2018, Star Wars starfighters had their aerodynamic abilities tested using the Autodesk Flow Design virtual wind tunnel program.
These poor results were rationalized with the in-universe explanations that drag coefficient plays no role in space travel and that Star Wars fighters can use repulsorlifts and deflector shields to give themselves better flight profiles.