Screenwriter Gary Whitta worked on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) before joining the Rebels writing staff and used a name left over from an early version of Rogue One as Sabine's alias: Ria Talla.
The TIE interceptor from Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) and the Rebel Transport from Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) make their first appearances on this show.
The solar wings that separate from the TIE fighters are reminiscent of the pop off wings action feature of the original Kenner TIE Fighter toys.
Vult Skerris' TIE pilot helmet features a small horned icon which was found on the side of the Empire Strikes Back version of the Scout Walker model and on it's original Kenner toy version.
In the earliest version of the script, TIE pilot Baron Valen Rudor from season one was going to return as the Academy instructor in this episode.