The A280 was a blaster rifle produced by BlasTech Industries, and was considered one of the best armor-piercing blasters produced during the Galactic Civil War.
Description[]
Though much heavier than Imperial-issue rifles such as the E-11, the A280 was a sturdy weapon and was reputed to be able to cut a fully armored stormtrooper in half at medium range. This weapon, along with its predecessor, the DLT-20A, were marketed as Longblasters. The A280 was different from the DLT-20A in that its galven circuits were clustered near the focusing crystal, giving the weapon a slight bulge at the midsection. This also provided the A280 with more power over a longer range.
History[]
During the final years of the Republic, the A280 was the standard-issue rifle for the Planetary Security Forces and for Ranulph Tarkin's Republic Outland Regions Security Force like its Special Tactics troopers. After the Declaration of a New Order, the A280 became available for the black market.
Throughout the Galactic Civil War, these rifles were primarily utilized by the Alliance to Restore the Republic, in their fight against the Galactic Empire. Rebel soldiers wielded them during the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY,[2] and the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY.[1] Several of these rifles were stolen by Janse for the Rebels when he left BlasTech shortly before the latter battle.[3]
Despite being primarily utilized against them, the Empire also fought with A280s occasionally, and had two on a Blaster rack inside the Death Star II's command center in 4 ABY.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
The BlasTech A280 blaster rifle prop was based on the AR-15 series of rifles as an attempt to replicate the overall appearance of the A295 blaster rifle, which was built from the World War II–era German StG44 Sturmgewehr rifle. Many of the cosmetic features that assisted in this goal were made from stock parts of the Sussex Armoury "Jackal" air rifle.[source?]
The depiction of the A280 has varied over different sources. The image used in this article is that from Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary. Another version was depicted in the Endor Limited expansion of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game, and yet another in its original appearance in the The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook.
Appearances[]
- Rebel Dawn
- Star Wars: Empire at War
- Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption
- "Takeover at Whisper Base" — Star Wars: Age of Rebellion Beginner Game (Picture only)
- "Dead in the Water" — Star Wars: Age of Rebellion Game Master's Kit (Cover only)
- Star Wars: Imperial Assault — Core Set
- Rebel Force: Renegade
- Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided
- The Abduction
- "The Abduction of Crying Dawn Singer" — Classic Adventures
- The Bounty Hunter
- Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi (First appearance)
- "Marooned" — Star Wars Tales 22
- "First Contact" — Star Wars Adventure Journal 1
- "First Contact" — The Best of the Star Wars Adventure Journal, Issues 1-4
- "The Saga Begins" — The DarkStryder Campaign (Reprinted and collected in The DarkStryder Campaign, Deluxe)
- The Last Command
- The Last Command unabridged audiobook
- "Shades of Gray" on Hyperspace (article) (content removed from StarWars.com; new link on Suvudu; backup link)
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
- ↑ The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. I, p. 3 ("A280 blaster rifle")
- ↑ Star Wars Customizable Card Game — Endor Limited (Card: A280 Sharpshooter Rifle) (backup link)
External links[]
- A280 blaster rifle on the SWG Wiki