The Arwing is the primary starfighter of the mercenary team Star Fox. It has been present in every job that the team has taken on, from the Lylat Wars to the Anglar Directorate Invasion. Due to the presence of Gravity Diffuser-aided engines, the starfighter is capable of performing extremely advanced maneuvers, such as the Immelman Turn and the Aileron Roll.

History

Pre-Lylat Wars

Space Dynamics Corporation, Limited began producing the Arwing starfighter a long while before the Lylat Wars began. When forming the Star Fox Team, James McCloud purchased three Arwings for the team. Upon Pigma's betrayal and Peppy's return to Corneria, the new Star Fox Team, headed by Fox McCloud, purchased 4 new Arwings for their use, following in James' footsteps.

Lylat Wars

Arwing during the Lylat Wars

Andross' assault on Corneria sparked the Lylat Wars. In dire need of aid, General Pepper of the Cornerian Army called upon the Star Fox Team to repulse the invasion and counterattack the Venomian strongholds. For most of their missions, the team used their Arwings, the only exceptions being Titania [dust storms interfering with the Arwing onboard computers], Macbeth [better idea to follow the supply train on the ground], and Aquas [unable to fly in water].

Upon their arrival at Venom, Fox flew his Arwing into the core of the planet for the final showdown with Andross. Utilizing all the Arwing's capabilities, he was able to defeat the mad scientist and escape with help from his father's ghost.

Sauria Incident

Arwing circa Sauria Incident

At the time of the Sauria Incident, the Arwing, much like the rest of Team Star Fox's arsenal, had fallen into severe disrepair. In a dire need for money, Slippy removed the targeting computer that was meant to handle tracking charged shots and the storage bays for Smart Bombs, leaving the team's Arwings extremely stripped down. This did not mean they were useless, however, as Fox used one to travel down to the surface of Sauria and its chunks out in space, opening gateways by flying through rings.

While on the surface, ROB/NUS-64 sent down Fuel Cells for the Arwing to travel to other parts of Sauria, but these ended up scattered around in all sorts of areas, forcing Fox to locate them on foot. Also, once Fox met Prince Tricky and he decided to come with him, a storage bay opened up on the underside of the Arwing, allowing Tricky to come with Fox.

Once Andross revealed himself after releasing the final Krazoa Spirit, Fox chased after the revived madman in his Arwing through the portal he opened. Just like the Lylat Wars, using the Arwing to his advantage and this time with the help of the now returned Falco Lombardi, Andross was defeated once again, this time permanently.

Aparoid Invasion

Rear View of Arwing circa Aparoid Invasion

Prior to the Aparoid Invasion, Team Star Fox was able to completely retrofit all of their equipment, from the Arwing to Great Fox, giving all of their vehicles improved performance and an entirely new, more angular look.

As the Cornerian fleet was battling Andrew Oikonny's rebellion, Team Star Fox entered the fray and spearheaded an assault directly for Oikonny. After breaking through the mainline fleets, Oikonny fled to the surface of Fortuna; Star Fox followed in hot pursuit. They plowed through a Venomian Army base on the surface and quickly found Oikonny. With no options left, he converted his flagship into an Andross-like entity; he was quickly defeated once Fox, using the Arwing to his advantage once again, destroyed his mechanical hands. Once the Aparoid arrived, Fox used the Arwing again to defeat the moth-like Aparoid.

Many times during the Aparoid Invasion, the Arwing became an invaluable tool to Star Fox's arsenal, such as taking the Sargasso Space Hideout base and tracking Pigma Dengar across the Lylat System.

After the assault of the Aparoid Homeworld and breaking into the core of the planet, Star Fox used the superior performance of the Arwing, with the help of Team Star Wolf, to launch a direct assault at the Aparoid Queen. After destroying much of her protective shielding, Fox launched the Apoptosis program Beltino Toad developed from the Arwing's Smart Bomb launcher. As the Queen escaped, Star Fox followed in hot pursuit, using the Arwing to attack and weaken her, allowing the program to take effect. They then escaped the planet as it and the entirety of the Aparoids destroyed themselves.

Anglar Directorate and the "Arwing-II"

Arwing II circa Anglar Directorate

When Fox attempted to rebuild the Star Fox Team during the Anglar Directorate, many of the members had their own modified ships at their disposal. Fox and Peppy were the only ones who still used some variation of the Arwing. Fox flew a slightly modified variant known as the "Arwing-II" while Peppy flew the original Arwing, circa the Aparoid Invasion.

(It is unknown how canon these statements are for Star Fox Command has no defined ending, although the ships that the team members use are all different from the standard Arwing.)

Resources

• Arwing Page. Star Fox 64.com. Retrieved 2009-8-31.
• Arwing. Star Fox Adventures Vehicles. Arwing Landing. Retrieved 2009-8-31.
• Arwing. Star Fox Assault Vehicles. Arwing Landing. Retrieved 2009-8-31.

Arwing

Technical Aspects

Height: 5.5 Space Meters

Length: 28 SM

Top Speed: Mach 4.2 (atmospheric flight)

Engines: 4 NTD-FX1 Plasma Engines with Gravity Diffusers

Armament: 2 T&B-H1 Laser Cannons (wingtip), 1 T&B-H1 Laser Cannon (nose), 1 Smart Bomb Launcher

Capacity: 1 crew member

Manufacturer: Space Dynamics Corportaion, Limited

Uses

Main Use: Mainline Starfighter

Used During Lylat Wars Sauria Incident Aparoid Invasion Anglar Directorate

Chronological Appearences and Affiliations

Affiliations Team Star Fox

Appearences Star Fox (non-canon) Star Fox 2 (non-canon) Star Fox 64 Star Fox Adventures Star Fox Assault Star Fox Command