Summary
- Han Solo made illegal modifications to the Millennium Falcon, adding anti-personnel blasters and missile launchers for defense against potential threats.
- The Millennium Falcon’s plating was reinforced with scavenged military armor, allowing Han to take risky maneuvers and survive dangerous situations.
- Han upgraded the ship’s shield generators, using advanced warship-grade shields to deflect laser bolts and protect the Falcon in battles against other warships.
The Millennium Falcon has become an iconic symbol in the Star Wars saga, and Han Solo has ensured it’s more than just another spaceship with some stunning modifications. From its first introduction as Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s ticket off of Tatooine as they rush to rescue Princess Leia, the Millennium Falcon has become as recognizable as any character in the series. Originally piloted by Han Solo, a daring smuggler with a heart of gold, the Millennium Falcon’s timeline is one that makes the ship stand out among any vessel – despite being regarded as “junk” more than a few times over the years.
The Millennium Falcon had already had several owners by the tie it fell into Han’s possession, and each had made their own modifications. Han went further than most, though, making many key modifications to improve the ship’s performance and make it remarkably formidable. Many of these are discussed in Build the Millennium Falcon #2, a collectible magazine published in the UK. Here are the key changes Han made to the Falcon.
7 Han Solo Added Illegal Defenses To The Millennium Falcon
As a smuggler, Han Solo would have habitually run into some trouble with the authorities in the Empire. To get around all the danger that constantly surrounded his exploits, Han had many defense mechanisms added to the Falcon – some of which were considered quite illicit for civilians to have on their personal spacecraft. “To deal with any conceivable opposition, he concealed an anti-personnel repeating blaster near the loading ramp, and two concussion missile launchers between the forward mandibles.” These heavy-grade firearms allowed the Millennium Falcon to avoid damage from space debris as well as fight back against more dangerous ships.
6 The Millennium Falcon’s Plating Was Reinforced
The Millennium Falcon’s plating looks patchwork, and there’s a reason; most of the ship’s hull had been replaced, notably with duralloy or military armor plating scavengerd from other vessels including a derelict Imperial cruiser. This armor meant Han was free to take risky maneuvers and even fly through asteroid fields. Still, Han’s tricks don’t always pan out the way he plans, and that reinforced outer plating on the Falcon is often the only reason he lives to fly another day.
5 The Millennium Falcon’s Shield Generators Were Tremendously Powerful
Many Star Wars spaceships have shields, but Han Solo took things to another level. Enlisting the help of one of his smuggling contacts, Han was able to get his hands on a set of advanced warship-grade shield generators… likely through means that were less than legal. Ordinary laser bolts were deflected with ease. This is a handy modification for a ship that habitually finds itself in battles against ships designed for war. The shields are one major reason the Falcon was able to dive into the Second Death Star’s infrastructure and blow up its reactor.
4 The Millennium Falcon Has Advanced Sensors Too
Not one to do something halfway, Han upgraded other aspects of his beloved ship as well: As Build The Millennium Falcon explains, “Han upgraded the ship’s sensors with a military-grade rectenna tied into a powerful Fabritech ANq-51 computer.” Han could use this to scan for potential threats, identifying them long before they spotted the Falcon.
3 Han Installed A Smugglers’ IFF System In The Millennium Falcon
In the time of the Galactic Empire, the Identify Friend or Foe System served as a way to broadcast each ship’s identity to others around it. Naturally, it was illegal to send out false IFF transponder codes. This didn’t stop smugglers like Han Solo, who installed an IFF system in the Millennium Falcon packed with different aliases for the ship to use if he was ever stopped by the Empire.
2 The Millennium Falcon’s Hyperdrive Was Upgraded
Most starships have a hyperdrive, but Han Solo once again upgraded the Falcon’s. Improved to the power meant the ship’s hyperdrive start-up sequence had been cut to just three minutes, making all the difference in daring mistakes. Build The Millennium Falcon #2 notes that even the Falcon’s hyperdrive was improved: “Solo had upgraded the Falcon to a Class 0.5 hyperdrive unit – double the size of the one in a standard YT-1300 and twice as fast as most Imperial warships. Such a powerful hyperdrive would have dangerously overloaded most ships, as smugglers who tried to match the Falcon’s speed discovered to their cost. However, master starship-tech ‘Doc’ Vandagante had repaid a favor to Solo with ‘streamlining’ modifications that protected the Falcon in hyperspace.“
1 The Millennium Falcon’s Smugglers’ Compartments Are A Han Solo Addition Too
Of course, Han Solo’s most famous modification is the one explicitly seen in the first Star Wars movie. Han, Luke, and Obi-Wan hide in smuggler’s compartments while the Empire search the ship, and it’s immediately obvious these are an addition – because otherwise they’d have been on the plans, and the Empire would have searched them automatically. In truth, such smuggler’s compartments are common in ships run by smugglers, and Han had routinely used them to hide contraband.
There was just one problem with these smuggling compartments, though; they were relatively small. While three people could safely hide in them, they couldn’t contain vast quantities of spice, and Han was eventually forced to dump the goods he was trafficking when he was intercepted by the Empire shortly before the first Star Wars movie. This was the reason he got in trouble with Jabba the Hutt in the first place, setting up the events of the original trilogy.
The Millennium Falcon is probably the most famous of any Star Wars spacecraft. She may look like a hunk of junk to most observers, but the improvements Han had made ensured she outlived him and remained a force to be reckoned with even in the Resistance era. These modifications and customizations are the real reason the Millennium Falcon is such a force to be reckoned with, and they will continue to give Han Solo a legacy even after the main Star Wars saga has come to an end. The ship is believed to now belong with Rey, which surely means the Millennium Falcon will turn up again when Lucasfilm visit the so-called “New Jedi Order” era.
