Gravity well projector/Legends



A gravity well projector is an apparatus similar to a tractor beam. Gravity well projectors are used to create interdiction fields. They project artificial gravity wells, simulating the gravity shadow of a planet (or other celestial body) and impeding a ship's motion through hyperspace. The main function of any Interdictor-class ship is to use this effect to foil hit-and-run tactics and keep outmaneuvered enemies from escaping, but throughout history many other tactics utilizing the technology have developed.

History
Throughout galactic history, there has been a technological race between faster hyperdrives and more powerful gravity well projectors. Thousands of years before the Battle of Yavin, the peak of interdictor technology was represented by the warship Leviathan. Although it could stop the hyperdrives of its day, the Leviathan was considered inefficient by later standards. As of 27 BBY, the technology of the Leviathan had been lost to the Galactic Republic for centuries, but was rediscovered by Republic scientists during the Clone Wars. During the eras of the Empire and the New Republic, the Immobilizer 418 was the most commonly used interdictor, to the point that in common usage the term "interdictor" became synonymous with that one class of ships.

Vagaari
The nomadic Vagaari also utilized gravity well projectors, which were used to prevent targets of their conquest from escaping. It is unclear whether the Vagarri actually developed the technology, or stole it from one of the races they conquered. One of their projectors was captured by Force Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Expansionry Fleet in 27 BBY, allowing the Chiss Ascendancy to study the technology. The captured projector was installed in the small Chiss cruiser Whirlwind with no mention of existing equipment being removed to accommodate it, indicating that Vagaari gravity well projectors were relatively small. On the other hand, it was relatively primitive by Republic standards, as it required to have several easily destroyed stations deployed seperately for optimum effectiveness, and so could not be built into a ship.

Centerpoint
One of the many functions of the ancient Centerpoint Station in Corellian system was to produce a colossal artificial gravity well. This ability was first revealed in the early stages of the Corellian Crisis in 18 ABY, when interdiction field spanning the entire Corellian system was activated, making immediate intervention by the New Republic impossible. This made Centerpoint the most powerful gravity well projector in Galactic history. It was even theorized that Centerpoint could, by networking the Corellian system's planetary repulsors and tapping the gravitic potential of Corell itself, create an interdiction field spanning the entire Galaxy, and thus make all hyperspace travel impossible.

Hapes
The Hapes Consortium's pulse-mass mines were a related technology. Hapan Battle Dragons were equipped with 16 pulse-mass mine launchers, and could launch hundreds of the mines to prevent hyperspace travel. While these mines had the distinct advantage of being more difficult to eliminate than an Interdictor cruiser (they presented much smaller targets, and each individual mine had to be located and destroyed), the downside was that they could not be deactivated by the Hapan vessels. This meant that even if the Hapan ships were being overwhelmed by the enemy force, retreat was impossible until the mines' power was depleted. Thus, Hapan commanders would only utilize their pusle-mass mines if they were confident that victory was assured, or when retreat was not an option. Pulse-mass mines were vital to the Hapan victory in the Battle of Dathomir.

List of gravity well projector-equipped starship classes

 * Interdictor-class cruiser
 * Detainer CC-2200 Interdictor Cruiser
 * CC-7700 frigate
 * Immobilizer 418 cruiser
 * Interdictor Star Destroyer
 * Pulsar Station (never constructed)
 * Eclipse-class Star Dreadnought
 * Sovereign-class Star Dreadnought
 * Unnamed Galactic Alliance Interdictor Star Destroyer Class
 * Unknown Chiss Star Destroyer
 * Hapan Battle Dragon (pulse-mass mines)

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Outbound Flight
 * Scavenger Hunt
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: The Phantom Affair
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: Mandatory Retirement
 * X-wing: Rogue Squadron
 * X-wing: Wedge's Gamble
 * Heir to the Empire
 * Dark Force Rising
 * The Last Command
 * X-wing: Isard's Revenge
 * Dark Empire
 * Dark Empire II
 * Ambush at Corellia
 * Assault at Selonia
 * Showdown at Centerpoint
 * Dark Tide II: Ruin