Kylo Ren’s TIE silencer was a TIE/vn space superiority fighter used by Kylo Ren during the First Order‘s war with the Resistance. Ren’s use of the TIE silencer allowed Sienar-Jaemus Fleet Systems to refine its onboard system from his detailed post-flight reports.
By flying the silencer against his enemies, Ren continued two traditions—the Imperial tradition that prototype starfighters were tested by aces, with Ren following notable Imperial pilots such as Vult Skerris and Darth Vader; and the tradition that as the son of Han Solo and the grandson of Anakin Skywalker, the former Ben Solo was a natural in the cockpit.
As with other TIE/vn space superiority fighters, the TIE silencer was noted for its speed and ferocity, as well as its laser cannons and missile launchers. The silencer was reminiscent of the Galactic Empire‘s TIE/IN interceptor, TIE Advanced x1, and TIE/d «Defender» Multi-Role Starfighter. It also featured customized flight controls specifically made for its test pilot.
Kylo Ren’s TIE silencer was created and developed for Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi, the eighth film in the Star Wars saga, which was released on December 15, 2017. The ship was officially revealed on The Star Wars Show on July 19, 2017. However, prior to the film’s release, Kylo Ren’s TIE silencer was introduced to the video game Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes on November 9, 2017.
Although Kylo Ren’s TIE silencer was originally planned by the Industrial Light & Magic VFX team to feature missile pods on its underside and shoot them off, VFX supervisor Mike Mullholland revealed that during the film’s early development, director Rian Johnson received an early prototype of the TIE silencer’s toy version by Hasbro Inc., so the FFX team were forced to redesign the fighter.