TIE Scout

A variant of the TIE Lone Scout-A, the TIE Lone Scout A-2, or more commonly known simply as the TIE Scout, was used by the Imperial Navy and the Imperial Scout Corps. It has an improved deep scan sensor array and a more capable backup hyperdrive at the cost of 25 tons of cargo space. Lone Scout A-2's were sent to Dantooine from the Death Star to investigate claims that a Rebel base was located there.

Its extended mission in the poorly charted reaches of the Outer Rim Territories required the TIE Scout to operate independently of a launch ship or base. The TIE Scouts were often assigned to surreptitiously scan ahead for reconnaissance, spot and survey mine fields and other potential ambushes prior to fleet arrival. Such dangerous tasks saw the costly destruction of many TIE Scouts. The TIE/sr-2 proved to be too expensive for the Empire to push into more widespread service, but it still sees limited use with various fleets.

Some information courtesy of Wookieepedia and the Star Wars Databank.