Interdictor-class cruiser

Interdictor-class cruiser "Sith Interdictor ship! They must've been waiting for us in the hyperspace route. We're caught in their tractor beam."

- Carth Onasi

Interdictor-class cruisers, also known as hyperspace interdiction cruisers, were among the most numerous capital ships seen in action with the Sith Navy during and after the Jedi Civil War.

Characteristics


The Interdictor-class was 600 meters long and featured a hull that split into two structures, one dorsal and one ventral. The ship was propelled by three main thrusters and four auxiliary thrusters, similar to the Imperial-class Star Destroyer. Each ship was commanded from a sternward tower.

The class was equipped with 20 quad-laser cannons and two ion cannons, though the Leviathan was equipped with four turbolaser batteries and one tractor beam projector in addition to the standard armament. As befitting its name, the Interdictor-class also featured four massive gravity well projectors, which could trap nearby vessels in realspace.

History
The class name "Interdictor" was first proposed by Admiral Jimas Veltraa. When Veltraa was killed in the Mandalorian Wars, some proposed that the name of the class be changed to honor him, but this was overruled by the Supreme Chancellor. In 3,963 BBY, construction on the Interdictor-class was approved.



The original prototype Interdictors were manufactured by Republic Sienar Systems. Like the Inexpugnable-class command ships, the Interdictor-class cruisers were built at Corellian shipyards, though many more would be constructed by the Star Forge to fuel the growing warfleet of the Sith Lord Darth Revan.

The most notable Interdictor-class Cruiser was the Leviathan, a Galactic Republic warship that was said to be the only vessel in the class that came out of the shipyards in a space-worthy state. It was commanded by Admiral Saul Karath, who defected with the ship to join the Sith Lords Revan and Malak. The ship was duplicated in the Star Forge and produced by the hundreds. The Leviathan itself continued to serve as Karath's flagship up until his death.



Malak, in the Leviathan, brought a fleet of Interdictors to Taris and positioned them around that world in an attempt to stop the Jedi Knight Bastila Shan from escaping. Frustrated that the search for the missing Jedi was taking too long, he ordered his fleet to bombard Taris with their turbolasers, turning the Upper City into slag. Some time later, a number of Interdictors participated in the Battle of Rakata Prime, which bore witness to the destruction of the Star Forge and the mass production of Interdictor-class ships and Sith fighters.

Despite that, many of the remaining Interdictor-class cruisers were later used to form the core of Darth Nihilus's Sith battlefleet and were seen in action at the Battle of Telos IV.

As would be seen millennia later, the overall design principles would survive in the Galactic Republic and the later Galactic Empire in the form of the Star Destroyer line of warships. Sienar, known under the Empire as Sienar Fleet Systems, would go on to make the Immobilizer 418 cruiser, equipped with a superior form of gravity well projector.

Known ships



 * Leviathan
 * Darth Revan's flagship

Behind the scenes
According to the Knights of the Old Republic: Prima's Official Strategy Guide, the Interdictor-class was built by Sienar Fleet Systems, a company which would not exist until the formation of the Galactic Empire. The company at the time of the Mandalorian Wars was still called Republic Sienar Systems.

Interestingly, Syndic Mitth'raw'nuruodo (later to be known as Grand Admiral Thrawn) commented on the grav-well projector as if he had never seen it before when he encountered it for the first time in the hands of the Vagaari fleet in 27 BBY, saying that the idea had been proposed, but not implemented, by Chiss engineers. Jorj Car'das, who was accompanying Thrawn at the time, did not seem to recognize it either. This would point to the conclusion that the Vagaari originally developed the technology, and that Thrawn later brought it to the main galaxy during his period of service to the Empire. The seeming contradiction could be resolved if you assume that since Car'das was relatively young and inexperienced at the time, he had not yet encountered any grav-cone projectors, but it is unlikely that he would have been unaware of a technology almost four thousand years old.

The 1998 PC program Star Wars: Behind the Magic includes a glossary entry for the "Interdictor-class cruiser." However, as this entry notes, the term is intended to apply to the Immobilizer 418 cruiser and should not be confused with the Interdictor-class cruiser of the KotOR series.

Appearances

 * The Admiral's List: Jimas Veltraa Memorial Edition
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

Notes and references
Kreuzer der Interdictor-Klasse Crucero clase Interdictor Interdictor-luokan risteilijä