Andor introduced a Rebel spaceship with a host of modifications that make it even better than Star Wars‘ iconic Millennium Falcon. Since Star Wars began in 1977, the franchise has been no stranger to introducing fantastic spaceships from their design to utility. Star Wars’ best spaceships often stand out for their sleek designs, usage within their respective stories, or more simply, their recognizability.
Undoubtedly one of the coolest ships in Star Wars canon is the Millennium Falcon, the trust freighter of Lando Calrissian, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and more recently Rey Skywalker. Above all, the Falcon has stood the test of time in becoming one of the single-most renowned aspects of the Star Wars franchise. That said, Star Wars’Andor introduced Luthen Rael’s ship, the Fondor, a new take on an early Rebel Alliance haulcraft. While the Falcon will likely always rank above the Fondor in terms of recognition, the Fondor has several upgrades and modifications that make it more than a match for Han Solo’s legendary vehicle.
6 The Fondor Haulcraft Has Been Designed To Need Only One Pilot
First Appearance: Andor Season 1, Episode 2, “That Would Be Me”
While Andor season 1 featured the Fondor spaceship to a large extent, most information about the modifications made to the vehicle is outlined in Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion. This book is a 2023 visual guide to the characters, locations, vehicles, and weapons of Disney+ projects of late including Obi-Wan Kenobi and, of course, Andor. One of the first modifications highlighted in regard to the Fondor is that it has been designed for a single pilot. While ships like the Millennium Falcon include larger cockpits for multiple pilots and crew members, the Fondor is entirely retrofitted to work for only one operator.
The reason for this comes from the nature of Luthen’s character. Luthen was depicted as a paranoid, secretive, but most importantly dedicated Rebel when it came to opposing the Empire. In a bid to maintain secrecy surrounding his actions against the Empire and remain mostly undetected from the eyes of Imperials, he eliminated any need for support crew within his ship. Instead, Luthen uses a droid to aid in flight-based operations and wipes its memory after every mission to maintain his high level of discretion, thus avoiding the potential word-of-mouth pitfalls that could come with having human or alien shipmates.
5 The Fondor’s Weapons Are Even More Impressive Than The Falcon
First Appearance: Andor Season 1, Episode 11, “Daughter of Ferrix”
While the Falcon has its own array of weaponry, the Fondor is armed to the teeth with an arsenal capable of taking down even the most threatening of Imperial spacecraft. While most of the weaponry mentioned in the Dawn of Rebellion visual guide will mean little to those unfamiliar with the minutiae of Star Wars‘ ship combat, it is worth listing the Fondor’s offensive capabilities to highlight the wealth of its armaments. The Fondor has two sets of laser canons, one on the fore of the ship and another retractable set used for antipersonnel. It also has a dorsal double laser cannon and a turret tractor beam projector.
In Andor, two other major pieces of weaponry were highlighted for the ship which led to many listing the Fondor as superior to the Millennium Falcon. The first was a ballistic chaff projector that launches chemical propellants that are undetectable by enemy sensors. In Andor, Luthen uses this to destroy a tractor beam on an Imperial Star Destroyer. In the same episode, Luthen also uses the Fondor’s tandem continuous stream particle beam emitter. Despite the sci-fi jargon of the weapon’s name, this is the fantastic lightsaber effect seen in Andor in which two beams are emitted from either side of the ship akin to a large, double-bladed lightsaber.
4 The Millennium Falcon & The Fondor Can Both Take A Beating
First Appearance: Andor Season 1, Episode 2, “That Would Be Me”
An aspect of the Fondor that is not immediately visible but nonetheless present is its capability to take a beating. According to the visual guide’s description of the ship, the Fondor is equipped with a secret layer of composite armor. This means that the Fondor, even beyond its shields that are often found on every Star Wars spaceship, would be able to withstand a high amount of physical damage. While this was not highlighted at length in Andor season 1, Andor season 2 could better outline the Fondor’s physical resilience given the sophomore season’s promise of more action set pieces.
3 Luthen’s Navicomputer Is Almost Impossible To Hack
First Appearance: Andor Season 1, Episode 2, “That Would Be Me”
The first appearance of Luthen’s droid companion embedded within the Fondor was teased in Andor season 1, episode 2. Despite this, Andor season 1 failed to highlight one of the coolest aspects of the navicomputer which aids in making the Fondor a cooler ship than the Millennium Falcon. While the memory wipes of the ship’s logs after every mission aid in secrecy, so too does the triple-encrypted security system of the Fondor’s AI helper.
According to Dawn of Rebellion, the Fondor’s security system is only accessible via a cipher consisting entirely of extinct languages from the Star Wars galaxy. This means that the Fondor’s mainframe is all but impossible to access by anyone unfamiliar with the key to the cipher. What’s more is that only Luthen and Kleya, his close ally and store assistant in Andor, hold knowledge of the key to unlocking the ship’s security systems.
2 Luthen’s Fondor Has A Fake SOS System Han Solo Would Be Jealous Of
First Appearance: Andor Season 2
One other interesting element of the Fondor was not actually showcased in Andor season 1, yet its mention in the Dawn of Rebellion visual guide seems to imply the feature may appear in Andor season 2. The aspect in question is the Fondor’s fake SOS system. According to the aforementioned visual dictionary, the Fondor can fake a reactor meltdown. This likely comes from the droid ally Luthen implanted into the ship’s mainframe which allows the vehicle to convincingly display fluctuations in both temperature and radiation signatures to emulate a reactor failure.
This feature would primarily be used to keep Imperial ships at bay. While Andor season 1 saw Luthen use other methods to escape an interloping Imperial patrol, the fake reactor meltdown would have a similar effect only without the need for violence. Reactor meltdowns are incredibly dangerous within Star Wars meaning anyone reading the Fondor’s fake readings of heat and radiation would keep their distance to avoid being caught in a potential blast. With Andor season 2 set to feature more concerning Cassian and Luthen’s alliance, it stands to reason that the Fondor’s false reactor meltdown could be featured in the upcoming second season of the Disney+ show.
1 The Interior Of Luthen’s Fondor Has Hidden Compartments
First Appearance: Andor Season 1, Episode 4, “Aldhani”
While not an overt modification to the ship’s systems or weapons, the hidden compartments seen in Andor season 1 certainly elevate the ship above unmodified models of the same haulcraft. In order to maintain Luthen’s cover role as a rich antiquities collector, the Fondor has several hidden compartments filled with outfits, gear, and even weaponry. The concealed nature of these compartments would allow Luthen to avoid suspicion should anyone enter his craft while also aiding his secretive aspects as he takes the fight to the Empire, something heavily showcased in Andor‘s story.
