Starfury vs. X-Wing

From time to time, I wonder whether a Starfury (Babylon 5) or an X-wing would win in a fight. I think in the end it comes down to both the skills of the pilots and the environment in which the dogfight takes place.

A-23E Mitchell-Hyundyne Starfury:

• Ridiculously maneuverable

T-62 X-Wing:
(No smear meant against the XJ; I'm just less familiar with it)

• Fast
• Shielding
• Good handling in atmosphere

The technology in Star Wars is generally more advanced than that of Babylon 5. This is shown in both mobility and defensive capabilities; in Babylon 5, fighters are incapable of projecting either jump points or deflection shields. Compare to Star Wars, where the X-Wing is fully capable of both. However, both fighters have comparable weapons systems; both are theorized to use plasma jets (consistent with both the shots' appearance and effects).

Supposing open space, the fight would ultimately come down to pilot skill. The Starfury's one saving grace is that because of its unique engine system, it is capable of executing virtually instantaneous 360-degree spins. This would give a sufficiently skilled pilot an obvious advantage over the much more sluggish X-Wing regardless of the latter's pilot. If a Jedi were in the Starfury, he would be more or less unvanquishable and the X-Wing would pretty much have to use its hyperspace drive to get away. If, say, Captain Sheridan were in a Starfury facing off against a Jedi in an X-Wing, I'd say the odds are fairly balanced. But a mediocre pilot in a Starfury would be unable to stay away from the X-Wing, and in a straight-out slugfest the X-Wing would win easily due to the Starfury's lack of shielding. Odds are, plasma would soak right through the Starfury's armor and be disabled in just one hit.

Given this, they would be forced to use different styles of combat: the Starfury dancing around and damaging the X-Wing through attrition, while the X-Wing uses its shielding technology to soak up the plasma impacts while waiting for a mistake to make a critical hit in.

In atmosphere, of course, the battle would be grossly in favor of the X-Wing, as the only real fighter capable of atmosphere flight in the Earthforce arsenal is the Thunderbolt, which is not the topic at hand here. Odds are, the Starfury would just plummet like a rock.

Come back next week when I discuss whether a Z-95 Headhunter would be able to take out a Firefly-class cargo ship!*

*: While this would be an interesting topic, I'm not familiar enough with either craft to make a fair assessment. This little note stretched what is known thin enough as-is.