The SW-4 was a dual ion cannon manufactured by ArMek during the early years of the Galactic Empire. It was most commonly used aboard BTL Y-wing starfighters of the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

The SW-4 ion cannon was a notoriously delicate weapon system, and its internal crystal matrices invariably vibrated out of alignment during flight or combat. Rebel mechanics came to dislike the SW-4 due to the time they were forced to put in to maintain the cannons. At the Battle of Yavin, only two of the Alliance's Y-wing fighters had functional ion cannons.

The BTL-S3 Y-wing variant had space for a weapons systems officer, who manually operated the SW-4 turret when necessary. Single-pilot variants had their cannons locked forwards for optimum covering fire, though some pilots chose to lock it facing aft to counter pursuers.

Behind the scenesEdit

In Battlefront II these cannons are replaced with repeating blasters, this is probably for game balancing.

SourcesEdit

• The Stele Chronicles
• The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
• Star Wars: Incredible Cross-Sections
• Starships of the Galaxy (2001)
• Prima's Official Strategy Guide: Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed
• Star Wars Customizable Card Game – A New Hope Limited (Card: SW-4 Ion Cannon)
• The Official Star Wars Fact File 37 (YWI1-2, Y-Wing Starfighter)
•  Y-wing starfighter in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)