Dreadnought-class

The Imperial Support Vessel was a midsize capital ship used by the naval forces of the Galactic Empire. Prior to the Battle of Yavin, the anti-Imperial Batonn insurgents employed Imperial Support Vessels during a failed revolt, while several of the vessels later served as 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.

During the Galactic Civil War, the Rebel Alliance used a stolen Imperial Support Vessel against the Empire while raiding an Imperial refinery in the Outer Rim Territories.

Characteristics
"Load up the shuttles! We've gotta evac!"

- Commander Luke Skywalker, to a rebel trooper

The Imperial Support Vessel was an oblong, midsize capital ship class. It was equipped with a dorsal sensor dish located near the stern of the ship, twelve sublight engines in varying shapes and sizes, and a hyperdrive. The vessel also had several elliptical and rectangular and protrusions amidship on either side, a gray hull, viewports at the bow and at the sides, a bridge, and multiple launch bays. Overall, the Imperial Support Vessel was much smaller than the Galactic Empire's Imperial-class Star Destroyer. Imperial Support Vessel 49AX3, which was stolen by the Rebel Alliance, carried multiple shuttles while under rebel command.

Unlike the Empire's Imperial Support Vessels, those employed by the Batonn insurgents had a bow with clamshell-like appearance, and the protrusions located amidship were red-colored. 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, reporting to Admiral Thrawn

A group of insurgents led by Nevil Cygni on the planet Batonn used Imperial Support Vessels in battle against the Galactic Empire a few years before the Battle of Yavin. During the siege of the Creekpath Mining and Refining complex, several of the vessels were part of the insurgent attack squadrons that opposed Admiral Thrawn's naval forces orbiting Batonn.

Although they targeted Thrawn's Arquitens-class light cruisers, the insurgents were defeated by the Imperial forces. The vast majority of the rebel forces were destroyed by Imperial TIE fighters and Thrawn's flagship, the Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera, due 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 support 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.

Raid at Imperial Refining Platform M36
"We just secured a year's worth of fuel for the fleet. If we jump through an asteroid, we wouldn't just blow ourselves&mdash;we'd blow up the Rebellion's hopes."

- A Pau'an rebel major

Three or four years after the Battle of Yavin, a team of Rebel Alliance soldiers led by a Pau'an major undertook a raid at Imperial Refining Platform M36 in the Outer Rim Territories, using the stolen Imperial Support Vessel 49AX3 to transport the rebel troopers. Assisted by the Jedi Commander Luke Skywalker and his T-65B X-wing starfighter, the rebels managed to steal the refinery's fuel supplies for the rebel fleet, but their escape was blocked by an Imperial-class Star Destroyer after the major refused to go into the hyperspace through the surrounding asteroid field.

Skywalker soon landed his X-wing in the vessel's hangar, where he and the rebel major used the latter's private shuttle to draw the attention of the Imperial TIE fighters away. The tactic worked, and the rebels aboard Imperial Support Vessel 49AX3 were able to evacuate, escaping to a nearby world.

Behind the scenes
The Imperial Support Vessel first 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 first 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 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
 * Age of Rebellion - Luke Skywalker 1
 * Age of Rebellion - Luke Skywalker 1