This article is about the class of fictional vehicles. For other uses see Starfighter (disambiguation)

"Starfighter" is a science fiction term used to describe relatively small, maneuverable manned spacecraft designed for military combat (cf starship). Strictly speaking, the term "starfighter" only applies to those that can independently perform intersystem travel; "spacefighter" would be a more appropriate title for those that cannot.

The appearance and use of fictional starfighters is often modeled on fighter aircraft, with little regard for the actual physics of space travel. The starfuries in the television series Babylon 5 are a notable exception in at least the attempt to make a more realistic fighter for space combat.

Well-known starfighters include:

• The Star Wars media empire:
  • Republic: ARC 170 starfighter, V-19 Torrent starfighter,Jedi starfighter, Advanced Jedi starfighter
  • Rebel starfighters: A-wing, B-wing, X-wing, Y-wing, E-wing, Z-95 Headhunter
  • Imperial starfighters: TIE Fighter, TIE Interceptor, TIE Advanced, TIE Defender
  • Confederacy starfighters: Droid starfighter, Geonosian starfighter, Tri-droid starfighter
  • Yuuzhan Vong starfighters: Coralskipper (starfighter),Yorik-Vec (Assault Cruiser), Grutchin
  • Ssi-Ruuk starfighters: Swarm-class Battle Droid
• The Battlestar Galactica property
  • Colonial Viper
  • Cylon Raider
• The Babylon 5 universe:
  • Starfury
  • Thunderbolt
  • Minbari Fighter

Some famous starfighter pilots of the Star wars Universe include:

• Wedge Antilles
• Luke Skywalker
• Corran Horn
• Arvel Crynyd
• Horton Salm
• Biggs Darklighter
• Jek Porkins

In Star Trek, the Peregrine class shuttle can also be recognised as a starfighter. Starfighters are popular as the subjects of flight simulator-like space combat video games, such as the "Wing Commander" and "X-Wing" series. This connection is made explicitly in the 1984 film The Last Starfighter in which a video game on Earth is used as a recruiting device for an alien civilization whose starfighters require the same skills as the video game.