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Fett Facts Vehicles

Slave I

2023-11-24T23:25:50-08:00

Modified Kuat Systems Engineering Firespray-Class Patrol and Attack Ship

Description as published in The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels by Bill Smith:

Slave I is Boba Fett's unique starship. It is quite similar to it's owner: obviously dangerous and with many deadly surprises for those who would dare challenge it.

Slave I is a highly modified Firespray-Class patrol and attack ship originally designed for planetary law-enforcement and interdiction duty. Fett has rebuilt this outdated vessel to be the perfect bounty-hunting ship. It has several hidden weapons systems, a dedicated sensor masking and tracking system, interior prison cages, reinforced armor plating, and powerful shield generators, all of which enable Fett to fend off assailants and disable the craft of his quarry.

The ship has an unusual aspect: it lands with its engines down, and in flight, it flies effectively "standing up". Two-thirds of Slave 1's interior is dedicated to the powerful Kuat Engineering Systems F-31 drive engines and the four Kuat X-F-16 power generators, giving Slave 1 the speed of an alliance Y-Wing fighter.

The interior sections are cramped, containing only enough room for Fett's living quarters, his equipment locker, and the six prisoner cages, which includes a contraband Force cage to contain Force-using individuals.

The bottom rear section of the hull has fully rotating twin blaster cannons. Slave 1 also conceals a forward-firing concussion-missile launcher and ion cannon as well as a turret-mounted tractor-beam projector and a pair of proton torpedo launchers that are also on a turret. Combatants are normally so intent on avoiding the blaster cannons that they blunder right into the hidden torpedo launchers' field of fire.

In addition to combat-grade shields and sensors, Slave 1 has an illegal sensor masking and jamming system that allows it to slip through sensor grids undetected. This system, thought to be an Imperial Navy military secret, was somehow acquired by Fett and has given him a decisive advantage on many hunts. He can use the system to sneak onto worlds undetected, much to the dismay of his targets and planetary law-enforcement agents.

Slave 1 has dummy proton torpedoes mounted with homing beacons and S-thread trackers. By tagging a ship with one of these dummy beacons, Fett can use his contraband HoloNet transceiver to track ships through hyperspace. In other words, once he has found you, it's almost impossible to dodge the infamous Boba Fett.

After Fett's apparent death, Slave 1 was captured by the Alliance and held in an impound on the planet Groukouine. Fett managed to get his ship back without alerting the New Republic that he was alive. In his most recent encounter with Han Solo, Boba Fett used Slave 1 to chase down the Millennium Falcon on the smugglers' moon of Nar Shaddaa, but once again, Solo evade capture by his old foe.

Weapons

  • Laser Cannon
  • Concealed Projectile Launcher
  • Ion Cannons
  • Tractor Beams

Behind the Scenes

Slave I was designed by Nilo Rodis-Jamero. The prop was built by Lorne Peterson. The matte painting of Slave I used in "The Empire Strikes Back" was painted by Harrison Ellenshaw. One camera assistant involved with Slave I's flight shots was Ken Ralston.

Variant Names

In the original 1980 script, the ship was simply named "Boba Fett's ship." Nilo Rodis-Jamero's concept art also says the same.

In June 2021, the name Slave I started to get replaced on new Disney products, starting with a LEGO of the ship and expanding to several more items, including a URL replacement on the official Star Wars website in April 2021. See our article for more info. Those variant names include:

  • Boba Fett's Starship
  • Boba Fett's Starfighter
  • Firespray

In January 2022, it was spoken aloud by Boba Fett (portrayed by Temuera Morrison) as "my Firespray gunship" in Chapter 4 of "The Book of Boba Fett."

Related Links

  • Slave II

  • Last updated: November 24, 2023
    Article ID: 22