Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought

"These things are fleet-killers! We can't let it get away!"

- Poe Dameron, to General Leia Organa during the evacuation of D'Qar

The Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought, also known as the Mandator IV-class warship and the First Order Dreadnought, was a model of Siege Dreadnought used by the First Order during their conflict with the Resistance.

Dimensions
Overall, it was two-and-a-half times the length of the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer. It had a triangular shape similar to other vessels within the First Order, albeit somewhat more pronounced.

Complement and crew requirements
It had an overall crew of 215,000, with 53,000 officers, 140,000 enlisted personnel, and 22,000 stormtroopers.

Armaments
"More firepower than a dozen star destroyers. Designed for large-scale planetary assault."

- Admiral Gial Ackbar, on the Dreadnoughts

It acted as an orbital gun platform, and had access to two orbital guns as well as 26 point-defense turret cannons on the dorsal side, which was comparatively flat. The ship also possessed six tractor beam projectors at its bow. The Resistance pilot Poe Dameron also implied that the Mandator IV-class had enough firepower to wipe out entire fleets, shortly before his squadron destroyed the Fulminatrix.

Command bridge
The command bridge tower was massive, reaching portions of the stern in terms of width. Two long range sensor towers were also present near the back. In addition, the bridge interior was constantly bathed in a crimson light in order to allow for easier sight when using the orbital autocannons.

History
The Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought was among the hundreds of vessels developed by the First Order under the auspices of Project Resurrection.

Iden Versio and Dio, after infiltrating the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer Retribution, sliced into the onboard computer terminals to gather information for Project Resurrection, where they discovered, among other things, blueprints for the Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought.

During the First Order–Resistance war, Captain Moden Canady commanded the Fulminatrix. It was deployed with a fleet to destroy the Resistance base, which it did. But as it was re-targeting the command ship Raddus, it was destroyed by an attack run by Cobalt Squadron's MG-100 StarFortress SF-17s.

Behind the scenes
The Mandator IV-class warship was unveiled on August 23, 2017 on the Star Wars Show on YouTube, alongside the All Terrain MegaCaliber Six, showcasing several vehicles that have appeared in Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi.

According to Kevin Jenkins, the design supervisor for The Last Jedi, the ship was already indicated in the initial script, but its design did not occur until post-production. He also indicated that director Rian Johnson specifically requested for a bigger battleship known as a dreadnought for the film, and that it would act as a gun platform as well as a flat surface with lots of cannons on it. He also indicated that the design was taken from multiple real-world elements, namely World War II (especially the use of big guns among several things like the Yamato super-battleship and others) as well as the Korean War, and that the historical inspirations even went right up to the 1960s. He also indicated that, similar to other ships in the Sequel trilogy, the ship was based largely on designs from the original trilogy, at least insofar as it resembling an ILM model. They also ultimately decided on just using big guns instead of other elements like a Flash Gordon-based design as well as radar equipment.

The Star Wars: Card Trader app incorrectly labels this vessel as a First Order Mandator III-class Siege Dreadnought (the III is from Star Wars Legends).

The Mandator IV is the first of the Mandator  series Star Dreadnaughts to appear on film. Its "predecessors", the I, II, and III, along with the Bellator-class dreadnought (a variant on the III) are part of Star Wars Legends, and so far there has been no background on how the IV is related since it is part of the new interpretation of canon under Disney ownership. Fans have noted that the IV represents a radical design compared to the earlier ships in the series, so the IV has been placed in its own line.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Battlefront II
 * Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi
 * Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition
 * Star Wars: The Last Jedi: A Junior Novel
 * The Last Jedi Adaptation 1
 * Poe Dameron 31: The Awakening, Part VI