X-wing starfighters were a type of starfighter marked by their distinctive S-foils that resembled the High Galactic script’s character «X» in attack formation. They were heavily armed with four laser cannons on the S-foils and proton torpedo launchers in the fuselage. X-wings were designed for dogfighting and long missions. During the Galactic Civil War, the Rebel Alliance used X-wing models like the T-65B X-wing starfighter and T-65C-A2 X-wing in many battles, deploying X-wings in engagements like the Attack on Lothal, the Battle of Yavin, the Battle of Endor, and the Battle of Jakku.

Approximately thirty years later, a different and upgraded variation of X-wing, the T-70, was used by the Resistance, whereas a more advanced model, the T-85, was used by the New Republic Defense Fleet.

The X-wing was descended from Incom Corporation‘s Clone Wars–era Fighter, namely the Aggressive ReConnaissance-170 starfighter, Clone Z-95 Headhunter, and Z-95 Headhunter. Incom’s engineers strove to build a well-rounded, hyperdrive-equipped snubfighter with no exploitable weakness. The new starfighter was intended to become the backbone of the Imperial Navy, but political forces led to the Galactic Empire deciding to rely on Sienar Fleet Systems‘ more affordable TIE line. The Alliance to Restore the Republic then adopted the X-wing design as its own.

In 5 ABY, Incom-FreiTek Corporation introduced the T-70 model, which incorporated many improvements over the T-65 series. The Incom engineers, having learned a valuable lesson from the loss of so many X-wings in the trenches at Battle of Yavin, equipped the T-70 with a swiveling blaster cannon that could be used to fend off attacks from behind. At least one prototype had been constructed prior to the Battle of Jakku. By 34 ABY, the New Republic had retired most of its T-70s in favor of the T-85s, which were even more capable than the already impressive T-70s.