How to beat executor event any stage

I swear this game is getting on my nerves. I finally tried the first stage of the executor ship event and managed to get my butt kicked every time no matter the line up of my first 3 star fighters. At this rate I'll just have to buy the blueprints when they are available because an event like this shouldn't be this difficult when there really isn't any way to power up ships outside of meeting the requirements to unlock the event. Is there a strategy to handling this?