TIE Aggressor
Like most other TIE Series starfighters, the TIE Aggressor sacrificed shields and armor for firepower and maneuverability. It was strong in multipurpose mission profiles, but was more expensive than specialist fighters, like the TIE/IN interceptor or the TIE/sa bomber, and its pilots required more training. As such, it was noted as being a TIE fighter that was a combination of a fighter and a bomber, the craft saw limited use, and never really left the experimental phase. In addition, the fighters also had similar maneuverability to the Y-wing starfighter, which combined with their lack of a shield generator made them fairly easy to ambush by Rebel fighters.
This ship had a laser cannon turret on the top-back of the craft used to defend the craft from pursuers. With a good gunner, the rear turret could be very accurate and hard to evade, which made attacks from the rear or above very difficult even with all shield power channeled forward. Many TIE Aggressor pilots were trained to skirt the outer edges of a combat zone, letting their gunner take shots at any enemy fighters that were currently engaging Imperial craft. If any enemy fighters attempted to pursue the Aggressor, the pilot would fly away from the combat zone, exposing the pursuing craft to the rear turret, while the Aggressor's wingmate would fall in behind the Rebel fighter. The ship represented a distinct break in typical Imperial Starfighter design philosophy, placing survivability and performance over cost efficiency and ease of maintenance.
Like most Imperial fighters, the Aggressor sported a small profile, making it a difficult target to hit. Its maneuverability suffered however, as what limited space was available was needed to provide additional power for the turret. In addition, as the turret needed extra firing space around the sides of the ship to line up shots, the Aggressor had a distinct shortage of ionization and radiation paneling in comparison to most TIE fighters. Because of this shortage of space, the standard TIE cockpit pod used for the Aggressor was lacking its usual chin-mounted weapon hardpoints, instead utilizing external racks for modular forward-facing laser cannons.