#fighter tank

A product of Rothana Heavy Engineering alongside the more famous AT-TE, LAAT/i and SPHA-T, the TX-130 was often referred to as the Jedi starfighter of the ground, and for good reason. The craft’s powerful repulsorlifts and shield generators lent it to agile, hit-and-run tactics similar to Delta-7 and Eta-2 starfighters, and the craft was also often operated by Jedi with an astromech droid for support, the two doing the job of three clone troopers in its standard deployment. The craft’s speed allowed a Jedi to cross battlefields to flashpoints quickly, and the sturdy shields and armor provided for many occasions where a tank could drop in as both weapons support and cover in infantry battles, allowing clone troopers to advance.

Like many Clone Wars era weapons, the TX-130 was a victim of its success. Once the Clone Wars ended, the Jedi Order was abolished, and the New Order was declared, the Empire no longer needed anti-armor craft designed for elite drivers with impossible reflexes; it needed durable craft for less specialized soldiers that could hold ground, rather than take it. Furthermore, the Empire’s new enemies exercised more guerrilla tactics, including improvised explosives and land mines that were capable of knocking repulsorcraft out of commission easily and cheaply. Instead, walkers with more durable, easy-to-repair systems like the AT-DP, AT-ST, and AT-AT came to the forefront of Imperial military doctrine.