Republic-class Star Destroyer

The Republic-class Star Destroyer was Walex Blissex's follow-up design to his Victory-class Star Destroyer. It was manufactured by Crimson Craftworks for the New Republic. The Republic was smaller than Lira Blissex's Imperial-class Star Destroyer, but was a much more efficient design.

The Republic was only half the cost of an Imperial, and it required a mere one-fifth the crew, but boasted 20 percent more firepower than an Imperial I model. Although still outmatched by the Imperial II or a Super Star Destroyer, it was capable of holding its own against any other major warship design it might encounter, with an armament of 40 heavy turbolaser batteries, 40 heavy turbolaser cannons, 20 ion cannons, and 10 tractor beam projectors. The Republic was equipped with a Class 1.5 hyperdrive, which was faster than the Class 2 hyperdrive of the Imperial.

The Republic-class was only 1,250 meters long, significantly smaller than the 1,600-meter-long Imperial-class. Because the smaller ship retains a similar level of weaponry, it had to sacrifice cargo space and endurance. The Republic only held enough consumables to operate without resupply for 2 years, one-third the running time of the Imperial. Only a single regiment of 3,200 ground troops could be carried aboard, and the standard New Republic wing consisted of only 36 fighters rather than the 72 of its Imperial rivals&mdash;but aboard a Republic-class ship, these were usually long-range starfighters rather than short-range TIEs, Defenders, or K-wings. The Republic-class Star Destroyer was not incorporated into the New Class modernization program, which chose instead to develop its largest ships from Republic Engineering Corporation's Defender-class Star Destroyer hull-design. Production (at least for the New Republic Defence Force) may accordingly have ceased around 10 ABY. However, at the outbreak of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, Republic-class ships may still have outnumbered the 20 or so Defender-class ships that had by then entered service.

Behind the Scenes
The only official image of the Republic-class Star Destroyer is found Cracken's Threat Dossier. The ship has many round features, a striking deviation from standard Star Destroyer designs. Some fans believe that the ship's features indicate a Mon Calamari influence in its design, and some have speculated that the New Republic did not want its namesake ship class to resemble other Star Destroyers, long-standing symbols of Imperial power, for political reasons. Although many fans dislike the appearance of the Republic-class, the picture found in Cracken's Threat Dossier cannot be said to contradict any other official sources (unlike the pictures of the New Class ships). Because of this, it must be accepted as Canon. However, unofficial reworkings of the design can be found on the internet, closer in appearance to the traditional Star Destroyer dagger and regarded by some fans as more attractive.