The RZ-1 A-wing interceptor, also known as the RZ-1 A-wing starfighter, was a wedge-shaped starfighter manufactured by Kuat Systems Engineering, which took design inspiration from the Republic starfighters of the Clone Wars. Based on the original R-22 prototype, the early rebel movement adopted the fighter against the Galactic Empire, letting these so-called RZ-1s see action during the Age of the Empire and the Galactic Civil War. The updated RZ-2 variant would replace the RZ-1 after the Battle of Endor, and would see use thirty years later during the conflict between the Resistance and the First Order.

The A-wing appears in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. Designed by Ralph McQuarrie, they were originally colored blue but had to be changed due to the limited bluescreen technology at the time. The original coloration of the A-wings makes its first appearance on the A-wings of Phoenix Group in the second season of Star Wars Rebels.

The original Star Wars Legends backstory for the craft has them being designed and fielded after the Battle of Yavin, but their appearance in Ahsoka places them in service eighteen years before the Battle of Yavin. The Legends backstory served partly as an in-universe explanation as to why the A-wing fighters created for Return of the Jedi did not participate in the attack on the first Death Star. However, in the new Star Wars canon, A-wings are featured in material taking place well before the Battle of Yavin and have been given earlier origins. The production team for the Star Wars Rebels television series explained that the intention is to depict different rebel cells using different fighters in different parts of the galaxy. The A-wings appear as the primary star fighters of the Phoenix Squadron in Rebels, while the rebel cell led by Jan Dodonna and portrayed in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope used primarily X-wings and Y-wings. The Battle of Endor, intended to show the first time the entire Rebel Alliance comes together, therefore includes both sets of ships. This allowed the Rebels producers to do more with the A-wings, which were not shown in action very much in Return of the Jedi.