Rothana Heavy Engineering

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"Master Sifo-Dyas requested the most powerful army in the galaxy. We have worked with only the best shipbuilders to fulfill that request."

―Lama Su^[1]

Rothana Heavy Engineering was a clandestine subsidiary of Kuat Drive Yards, in operation prior to and during the Clone Wars. Its headquarters was located on the eponymous planet of Rothana.

History[]

After the mineral-rich planet Rothana was discovered in Wild Space in 800 BBY, its location was sold to Kuat Drive Yards. KDY dispatched Quiberon Kuat to the planet with thousands of workers and a fleet of ships, creating a network of mines, factories and shipyards that was the foundation of Rothana Heavy Engineering.

RHE became Kuat's primary subsidiary for pursuing secret projects. Far away from the Core Worlds, it was isolated from corporate espionage and only accessible by an incredibly-convoluted network of hyperspace routes, the locations of which were issued on a strictly need-to-know basis.

Rothana developed the AT-TE for the Republic

In 31 BBY, Rothana Heavy Engineering received an immense order from the cloners on Kamino to create war machines for the Galactic Republic's clone troopers and army. Working in absolute secrecy for nine years, Project Icefang oversaw the development of thousands of new assault ships, dropships, and walkers. Equipment was shipped to Kamino via the Quiberon Line, where the growing clone army tested and trained on their new machines. A handful of field tests were conducted elsewhere, but they were so few that sightings of AT-TEs and other new designs were dismissed as fantasies.

Smaller Rothana warship models were noted for their characteristic "arrow"-shaped command towers. As the Clone Wars progressed, the shipyards quickly supplemented its successful assault ships with larger and more advanced designs such as destroyers and battleships.

After the Clone Wars ended, Rothana would still design and produce weaponry and vehicles for the Galactic Empire, but would not be as prominent as they were before. Still, even during the Galactic Civil War, certain designs would still be influenced by their style. The Rothana yards were ultimately abandoned by the Galactic Empire just after the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY. Aside from vehicle development, they also bred various mounted creatures for use among Imperial Army forces in the event that the environment was such that the Empire's mechanized scout vehicles could not operate without being put in the repair bays for weeks.

As late as 10 ABY, vessels with similar design-attributes to the Republic-era ships saw use in the Imperial Navy.