Dreadnought-class

The Imperial Support Vessel was a midsized type of capital ship used by the anti-Imperial Batonn insurgents, as well as the naval forces of the Galactic Empire. Aside from its usage during the failed Batonn insurgency, several of these starships were later part of Grand Admiral Thrawn's blockade over the planet Lothal shortly before the outbreak of the Galactic Civil War. The blockade lasted until Lothal's liberation from the Empire, when all Imperial ships present were destroyed by flocks of the space-faring purrgil creatures.

Characteristics
The Imperial Support Vessel was an oblong, midsized capital ship class. It was equipped with a dorsal sensor dish located near the stern of the ship, and twelve sublight engines in varying shapes and sizes, along with a hyperdrive&mdash;allowing the starship to reach lightspeed and travel through hyperspace. The vessel also had several rectangular protrusions amidships on either side, a central viewport at the bow, and a gray hull. Overall, the Imperial Support Vessel was much smaller than the Galactic Empire's Imperial I-class Star Destroyer.

Unlike the Imperial Support Vessels, the vessels of the same class employed by the Batonn insurgents had a bow with clamshell-like appearance, and the protrusions located amidships were red-colored and elliptical in shape. They also featured red markings at the bow section, a trait shared by other insurgent starships.

Batonn insurgency
"Incoming! Ten ships on vector one-ten by 80. Batonn insurgents!''" "''Two more groups incoming. Eleven vessels each. Admiral, they're targeting the cruisers."

- Imperial sensor officers inform Admiral Thrawn about the incoming enemy ships

The support vessels were used by a group of insurgents led by Nevil Cygni who operated on the planet Batonn and fought against the Galactic Empire. During the siege of Creekpath Mining and Refining complex, several of these ships were part of the insurgent attack squadrons that opposed Admiral Thrawn's naval forces orbiting Batonn. Although they were targeting the Arquitens-class light cruisers, the insurgents were defeated and the vast majority of the rebel forces were destroyed by Imperial TIE fighters and Thrawn's flagship Chimaera, thanks to Thrawn anticipating Cygni's strategy.

Imperial blockade of Lothal
"Sir, several unidentified objects have just entered orbit.''" "My blockade will intercept them." "''They've destroyed the blockade. Our ships are just gone."

- An Imperial officer and Grand Admiral Thrawn

The Imperial Support Vessel was one of the starship models used by the Imperial Navy. Shortly before the outbreak of the Galactic Civil War, several of these ships served as part of Grand Admiral Thrawn's Seventh Fleet during its blockade over the planet Lothal amid ongoing conflict with local rebel forces.

The blockade ultimately proved unable to contain the rebel presence on Lothal. After the rebel light freighter Ghost sneaked through the blockade by attaching itself to a passing cargo freighter, the Lothal resistance, led by Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger, launched a final attack on the Imperial forces and liberated Lothal from its occupation. During the engagement, the entire blockade was destroyed by flocks of purrgil &mdash;massive whale-like creatures that were capable of naturally traveling through hyperspace &mdash;as part of Bridger's plan.

Behind the scenes
The Imperial Support Vessel featured as a background ship in "A Fool's Hope," the penultimate episode in the final season of the Star Wars Rebels television series, which aired on March 5, 2018. Prior to the episode's release, the ship was initially showcased in a trailer for the series finale. The vessel's name was revealed through concept art illustrations by Andre Kirk in the accompanying "A Fool's Hope" episode guide on StarWars.com. The support vessel later appeared in the sixth and final issue of the comic book miniseries Star Wars: Thrawn, which adapts the 2017 novel of the same name and was illustrated by Luke Ross, with a look much closer to its counterpart in the Star Wars Legends continuity.

The designs for the Imperial Support Ship were derived from the Imperial Dreadnaught, which figured prominently in The Thrawn Trilogy, a Star Wars Legends novel series written by Timothy Zahn. The Dreadnaughts originated in the 1989 Imperial Sourcebook, written by Greg Gorden and published by West End Games for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game.

Appearances

 * Thrawn, Part VI