The dark trooper phase IV was created for Ace and Commander, a top-down starfighter game created by C3PO the Dragon Slayer. At least thirty-six of these fighters survived the Battle of the Arc Hammer, as they were subsequently encountered by Ace Squadron at later times in the war. The Arc Hammer manufactured several hundred of these fighters before its destruction, but as the majority of the fighters flew escort to the factory ship, few survived the Battle of the Arc Hammer. This squadron was still in testing phase when it was called as emergency reinforcements on Kuat after General Morgan's and Admiral Frey'gra's fleets captured a Mandator-II dreadnaught. Only one squadron of dark trooper phase IV units were equipped with hyperdrives. Though the Empire was already developing fighters such as the TIE Aggressor that aimed to solve this, Rohm Moc nevertheless approved the addition because of sufficient resources and because of the advantages of having automated fighters.
It was largely due to the influence of Sienar Fleet Systems employee Duke Raider that the Phase IV made it off the drawing board, as Raider's having witnessed Imperial TIE fighters performing miserably against Rebel fighters convinced him that the Empire needed better fighters for system defense.
The dark trooper phase IV was something of an afterthought with the dark trooper project, not being the focus of General Rohm Moc's ambition. Individual shots from the laser cannons could not do much damage, especially when compared to the laser cannons on TIE fighters, but their rapid-fire capability allowed for the Dark Starfighters to destroy starfighters and other small units with their lasers and use their concussion missiles for larger targets. The dark trooper phase IV was armed with four laser cannons, two mounted on each wing, and a concussion missile launcher with a full load of 12 missiles. Though it was not nearly as advanced as later Imperial fighters such as the TIE Defender, the dark trooper Phase IV was more than a match for the Alliance's standard X-wings. Because there was no need for life support or room for a pilot in the automated fighter, the fighter could achieve remarkable speeds for a fighter with its armor, being able to reach the same acceleration as a TIE fighter. The dark trooper phase IV was a well-armored fighter with a relatively small profile and shields comparable to those of an X-wing.
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