Majestic-class heavy cruiser

Majestic-class heavy cruiser The 700-meter-long Majestic-class heavy cruiser was a powerful warship built under the New Republic's New Class modernization program.

With 30 heavy turbolaser cannons, 20 laser cannons, 20 ion cannons, 8 concussion missile tubes, and 4 tractor beam projectors, these ships are capable of engaging both enemy capital ships and starfighters. Majestic-class heavy cruisers are incredibly durable; their thick armor and shields are equal to the previous generation of Imperial-class Star Destroyers. These ships are equipped with fast Class 0.95 hyperdrives. They carry a crew of 4,050, 640 troops, and enough consumables for 5 months of operation. Following New Class practice, the basic hull design of the Majestic-class heavy cruiser was derived from that of the Defender-class assault carrier.

Although far smaller than Imperial-class ships, and carrying a smaller number of heavy guns, Majestic-class cruisers were nevertheless designed to be able to take on Star Destroyers one-on-one, and win. The secret of this capability laid in improved gunnery systems that allow them to hit their target far more accurately at longer range, coupled with increased speed and manouevrability that allows them to prevent the enemy closing the distance. This had the effect of allowing them to land far more shots on an Imperial Star Destroyer in a long-range duel than their target can answer accurately with; the Imperial ship had to try to close to medium range to score as many hits on a Majestic.

Behind the Scenes
The only official image of the Majestic-class heavy cruiser is found in the RPG sourcebook Cracken's Threat Dossier, but the image looks nothing like that of the Defender-class carrier, which is supposed to be built on the same hull, according to the Black Fleet Crisis novels, on which Cracken's Threat Dossier is based. Because of this, many fans believe that this picture cannot be an accurate representation of the ship.

Although it is labeled as a "heavy cruiser", and sometimes even a "battlecruiser", the 700m Majestic is shorter than the 825m Munificent-class Star Frigate of the Clone Wars, a fact that has caused some fans to doubt her "cruiser" status. However, the Majestic-class falls firmly within the 400-900m size-bracket for cruisers in the system of "standard Imperial classifications" supplied by canon material. It is in fact the Munificent-class that is problematic under this system. It is possible that the Majestic would be regarded as a small frigate under a hypothetical alternative system which calls an 825m ship a "Star Frigate", but there is no explicit canon evidence linking the Munificent's designation to a scale-based system: the heavily armoured Majestic-class has a very different design and purpose from the skeletal Banking Clan ship with its communications-relay role and fixed forward-firing heavy guns, and in the real world, the usage of frigate is not consistent, and does not always refer to small ships: it is entirely possible to have a "frigate" as large as a "cruiser".

External Link

 * Black Fleet Crisis FAQ by Michael P. Kube-McDowell