We haven’t had a look at what the U-Wing works in Rogue One yet, but now thanks to the latest chapter in the Star Wars #GoRogue fan-films we can see them in full flight in all their S-foil glory.
The latest addition to the Rebel Alliance fleet made its debut in the Rogue One teaser and trailer, but it was only glimpsed at in the cockpit, dropping off Rebel fighters in the beach battle on Scarif, or just kind of taking off. It was just basically unexciting stuff.
Meanwhile, the official Star Wars databank entry actually managed to make it sound like a badass weapon worthy of taking on the Empire:
A sturdy troop transport and gunship used by the Rebel Alliance, the U-wing starfighter is a well-armed swing-wing vessel that must penetrate heavy fire zones to deposit soldiers onto battlefields and then fly air support during dangerous missions against the Empire.
Star Wars fans could only dream of what a “well-armed swing-wing vessel” might mean. And thanks to the second chapter in the official fan-made #GoRogue series, which are light-hearted clips meant to introduce the mountain of toys that will be released for Rogue One, we can finally see how the U-Wings function.
Check out Chapter 2 below:
The swing-wings on the side of the ship are known as “S-foils,” which are the movable wings usually found on various Rebel Alliance craft like the X-Wing and the B-Wing. Unfortunately the A-Wing and the Y-Wing are left out. No S-foils for them.
As for the U-Wing, it looks like the S-foils are engaged during regular flight and collapsed during hyperspace travel.
Locking S-foils in hyperspace position.
It’s great to see that Lucasfilm isn’t using these #GoRogue videos to only shill for the toys they’re about to unleash on kids everywhere. Aside from our first look at the fully-functional U-Wing, the first and second chapter of the videos features the first time we’ve heard what will be Director Krennic’s voice and cantankerous personality, though the performance in the clips aren’t by Rogue One actor Ben Mendelsohn. Either way, we’ll take what we can get.
Rogue One hits theaters on December 16.
