Navy Order of Battle The Navy Order of Battle referred to the organization , strength and command structure of the formations of the Imperial Navy of the Galactic Empire . The Order of Battle was under the purview of the Navy ' s Flight Branch . The Order of Battle reflected ideal combat formations and unit strengths , not operational realities . Especially at the higher levels , many Navy formations like the Systems Force and the Sector Group were understrength throughout the Galactic Civil War . In the aftermath of the Battle of Endor and Emperor Palpatine ' s death , the Navy Order of Battle broke down completely : the Imperial Navy split into smaller and smaller operational units as ambitious Moffs and Admirals seized control of parts of the fleet and set themselves up as warlords . Order of Battle . Command . An individual command , a single starship , was the building block of the Imperial Starfleet . Achieving command of a starship , no matter its size , was point of pride in an officer ' s career . The most iconic commands of the Imperial Navy were the " Imperial " - class Star Destroyers , of which nearly 25 , 000 were built . Despite this , they were not the most common warship in the Navy : that was the Sienar Fleet Systems IPV - 1 System Patrol Craft , a heavily - armed corvette . Officers commonly turned down impressive staff promotions in the hopes of receiving a ship command , although serving as a staff officer on a prominent starship , such as a squadron flagship , was often considered a fast track for promotion . Commanding officers of ships , regardless of their line rank , always received the positional title of " Captain " . Line of battle . The most basic combat formation in the Imperial Navy was the line of battle , or simply a line , and the smallest organizational unit used for space combat . The Imperial Starfleet shaped four to twenty starships into lines , depending on the type of line . The line was the most amorphous level of organization in the Starfleet . The Imperial Starfleet Order of Battle outlined seven types of lines : attack , heavy attack , reconnaissance , pursuit , skirmish , troop and torpedo . Attack and heavy attack lines aggressively engaged enemy starships in combat . Attack lines were composed of three heavy cruisers , or six to eight light cruisers , while heavy attack lines were composed of four to eight medium or heavy cruisers , possibly including a " Victory " - class Star Destroyer . If an " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer was present to provide direct firepower , attack lines would harry the opponent ' s flanks . Reconnaissance lines of two to four light cruisers equipped with surveillance gear gathered intelligence of the disposition of enemy forces , and did not engage in direct combat . Pursuit lines of four to ten fast light cruisers or frigates chased and trapped retreating enemies . Skirmish lines of four to twenty corvettes or similar small vessels harassed capital starships and engaged enemy pickets , frigates and starfighters , providing direct support for TIE Fighters . Skirmish lines of IPV - 1 Patrol Craft were deployed everywhere the Empire wished to maintain a military presence . A troop line consisted of two Evakmar - Kuat Drive Yards Corps Transport vessels , two escort vessels , and frequently two " Strike " - class medium cruisers . Its function was the deployment of Imperial Army units . A torpedo line consisted of up to two Torpedo Spheres , used to penetrate planetary shields . In addition to the seven types of lines , the Imperial Navy considered an " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer a line in itself . While an " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer may have been able to act as an attack line and its complement of starfighters as a skirmish line , the decision to give commanders the option to field a ship equivalent to a heavy cruiser as a line unto itself was more political than tactical . After a naval staff study suggested a Star Destroyer was the field equivalent of the smallest of naval squadrons , the Admiralty decided that , as there were more lines than squadrons , designating the Star Destroyer as a line unit would get them more Star Destroyers . The Admiralty ' s thinking prevailed . Lines of battle were commanded by Senior Captain s , who received the positional title of " Captain of the Line " . Squadron . A squadron was the smallest independent operating unit in the Imperial Navy . Composed of several lines , a squadron ranged from 14 to 60 ships , depending upon the composition of the lines in the squadron . A squadron was the largest concentration of ships normally assigned to a single system . The Galactic Republic had designated units of identical configuration as fleets , which had been the total naval presence in a sector . Thus , the subordination and vast growth in numbers of squadrons was a useful measure of the growth of the Imperial Military after the establishment of Emperor Palpatine ' s New Order . Similar to lines , the Imperial Navy ' s Order of Battle designated four types of squadrons : light , heavy , battle , and bombard . Light squadrons patrolled areas known to be safe with a skirmish line and a reconnaissance line , and optionally two attack lines . Heavy squadrons engaged planetary systems that possessed known enemy presences with two heavy attack lines . In situations where pinpointing the enemy ' s position was required , heavy squadrons may be reinforced with an attack line and a reconnaissance line . During aggressive operations against the enemy , or those where the enemy was known to be defending a fixed asset the heavy squadron may consist of three heavy attack lines and a skirmish line . It was common to assign " Victory " - class Star Destroyers to the latter type of heavy squadron . Battle squadrons contained an " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer , supported by at least three lines - two attack lines and one pursuit line - for an average of 18 ships . In practice , Star Destroyers were normally accompanied by just two or three escorts , if any : the " Imperial " - class was designed to operate without support , and its hyperdrive was too fast for any escorts except for the speediest light cruisers . The battle squadron was used for offensive operations against a known enemy , and the mere arrival of an " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer was often enough to put down a planetary revolt or scare off an armed space - threat . Bombard squadrons subjugated worlds in open rebellion that had developed planetary defenses including multilayered planetary shields and large planetary guns with a skirmish line , a pursuit line , and up to four Torpedo Spheres . In practice , however , such squadrons usually only contained one Torpedo Sphere . The squadron ' s flag officer was officially of admiral rank , though he usually received the positional title of " Commander " . Training Squadrons . Like other navies in the past , the Imperial Navy utilized various training squadron s , which were commanded by cadets who had passed through initial pilot training . Bantha Squad and the training squadron on " Victorious " were a few of these training squadrons . Notable squadrons . The Imperial Navy had several squadrons at its disposal . The 123rd Nightstalker Group , under the command of Blackhole , was comprised wholly of TIE / LN starfighter s and participated in various combat operations during the Galactic Civil War . In addition , the 128th TIE Interceptor Squadron was an elite TIE / IN interceptor squadron , formerly led by Kasan Moor until her defection to the Rebel Alliance . Other TIE / IN interceptor squadrons included the 133rd Imperial Fighter Group under Xandel Carivus and the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing , later renamed the 181st Imperial Fighter Group led by Soontir Fel , which became elite under his command . The 181st Imperial Fighter Wing had several subsections , including the 2 / 181st and Alpha Squadron . The 37th Imperial Fighter Wing was also involved in the Battle of Saloch , where it was composed of at least 6 squadrons , including the 6 / 37th . Zsinj once had the 181st Imperial Fighter Group impersonated . The Black Eight Squadron was an elite TIE / LN and TIE / sa bomber squadron , of which its most notable member was Juno Eclipse , one of the leaders of the Rebel Alliance . It eventually was reorganized by 1 ABY . Avenger Squadron was another notable squadron , being composed almost entirely of TIE Avengers and was assigned to the Task Force Vengeance . Storm Squadron likewise was composed entirely of TIE Advanced X1s . Black Squadron was a TIE fighter squadron personally commanded by Darth Vader , although most of the squadron was wiped out during the Battle of Yavin . It was well known enough that several Imperial Starfighter Squadrons derived their names from it , a notable example being Onyx Squadron . Although technically a fleet , Death Squadron was one of the most notable squadrons , being under the direct command of Vader . It was composed of several warships , including the " Executor " , the first in the " Executor " - line of Star Dreadnoughts , which acted as its flagship . It also was composed of several other squadrons under its wing , including the 128th TIE Interceptor Squadron , the TIE / LN starfighter Obsidian Squadron , and the TIE / sa bomber Scimitar Squadron . Although not actually part of the Imperial Navy , the 501st Legion sometimes acted as a starfighter squadron for the Imperial Navy . In addition , Black Wing Squadron was also developed based on the Rebel Alliance / New Republic starfighter squadron Rogue Squadron , with the intention of having them fight it . Because of the importance of the Death Star II ' s construction as well as the Battle of Endor , several squadrons had been reassigned to defend the battlestation , including Death Squadron , Scythe Squadron ( which had originally been assigned to the Anoat system ) , Onyx Squadron ( which had utilized TIE Defenders for the occasion ) and the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing . There were also some who were assigned to defend the Emperor , such as the Emperor ' s Sword and Emperor ' s Shield . During the early years of the Galactic Empire , the 77th Air Wing was utilized during the Western Reaches Operation , which had been composed of a squadron called Sword Squadron , made up of 3 flights , Dagger Flight , Blade Flight , and Scimitar Flight . Another squadron was the 12th Squadron . Other squadrons included the 276th Imperial TIE Bomber Group , 323rd Imperial TIE Bomber Group , Alpha Squadron , Bantha Squad , Beta Squadron , Broadaxe Squadron , Cloak Squadron , Crimson Squadron , Delta Squadron , Dark Side Squadron , Dark Squadron , Durkii Squadron , Eagle Squadron , Ebon Squadron , Elite Squadron , Eta Squadron , Gamma Squadron , the Garqi Eagles , GoldWing Squadron , Hammer Squadron , Interloper Squadron , Iota Squadron , Mu Squadron , Nu Squadron , Raven Squadron , Reaver Squadron , Red Squadron , Red Star Squadron , Requiem Squadron , Saber Squadron , Scimitar assault wing , Shadow Squadron , the TIE Defender squadron of the same name , Shadow Wing , Shrike Squadron on Mandalore , Shrike Squadron on Saffalore , Sigma Squadron , SilverWing Squadron , Solaest Fleet Long Range Patrol Wing , Spear Squadron , Specter Squadron , Stranger Squadron , Sunspot Squadron , Talon Squadron , Tempest Squadron , Theta Squadron , the TIE / sa bomber squadron of the same name , Twilight Squadron , Veerpal Squadron , the 302nd Flight Wing , and Zeta Squadron . Some squadrons , such as Black Epsilon , were deployed for covert operations that were either too small or too sensitive for the Navy itself to get involved . Several squadrons were also created for the Imperial Navy ' s successors in the Fel Empire and Krayt ' s Sith Empire , such as the 1st Imperial Center Core Defense Squadron , and Red Squadron . Systems force . A systems force combined several squadrons , typically totalling ninety ships , and was responsible for Imperial Starfleet actions across multiple star systems . In practice , however , despite their nominal strength , most systems forces contained only a single squadron . Perhaps because of this , rather than outline specific formations of system forces , the Imperial Starfleet Order of Battle lent flexibility to Commodores to pool the whole of their naval resources and shape them as necessary missions required . However , in general , the systems force had at least six possible pooling situations . Force superiority pooled at least three battle squadrons and a light squadron . With a minimum of three " Imperial " - class Star Destroyers and nearly 90 other starships , force superiority ' s mission was to achieve space superiority in a given system , defined as ; " the complete absence of hostile craft within the orbital space of controlled worlds , and no chronic enemy ship activity within the entire system . " Should an enemy be too powerful for force superiority to successfully destroy , the Commodore had the option of swapping out the light squadron for a fourth battle squadron , thus gaining enough force to ensure complete domination of a target area . Force escort protected crucial commercial shipments , economically essential space installations or facilities , and hunted down harassing pirates . With at least two heavy squadrons and two light squadrons , force escort was the most flexible of the force pools . Commodores used force escort to run a variety of missions , knowing well that their large starship count and organizational flexibility would allow for their completion . Where force superiority was given the maxim " always send enough " , force escort bore the maxim " never send too much " . In practice , this meant that force escorts were the Empire ' s first line of defense , protecting civilian freighters , attacking corsair s ' hideouts , and serving as guardships at remote outposts . The Empire ' s early force escorts relied heavily on CR90 corvettes and frigates captured from the Trade Defense Force in the aftermath of the Clone Wars , but soon came to included cheap new designs from Kuat Drive Yards , including the " Ton - Falk " - class escort carrier and the EF76 " Nebulon - B " escort frigate . Transport force s were charged with deploying various troops from other branches of the Imperial Military , including Army troopers and even Stormtroopers , as well as acting as command centers for any ongoing surface operation . As such , they are comprised of at least two troop squadrons , a heavy squadron , and a light squadron . System bombard was charged with carrying out planetary bombardment missions . It was composed of three bombard squadrons and one light squadron . Force technical services was charged with transporting mechanical specialists quickly and safely wherever they are needed most . They are composed of eight transports as well as two armed escort frigates . Force support was tasked with resupplying various Imperial depots , including planet - side depots , across the galaxy , and as such , contained over a hundred container vessels . They generally lacked escort vessels of their own , but were assigned some when going through combat zones . Systems forces were commanded by Admirals , who were given the positional titles of " Systems Admiral " or " Commodore " . In practice , however , since most systems forces contained just one combat squadron , the Systems Admiral and the Squadron Commander were the same officer . Fleet . Where all previous units were generally bound to specific system or set of systems , the Imperial Navy designated a fleet as a " sector resource " , allowing it to operate on a sector - wide scale . A fleet was the smallest unit transferred between sectors . Comprising multiple systems forces , fleets typically totalled up to four hundred ships . With such a large number of units , there were thousands of potential types of fleet alignments . Common fleet deployment types included superiority fleet s , assault fleet s , and bombard fleet s . Other examples of formations that a fleet might have taken included a deepdock fleet , support fleet , or ordnance fleet . Superiority fleets maintained space superiority in sectors with " four or fewer worlds confirmed hostile to the New Order , and no more than 16 additional worlds with confirmed significant hostile elements " . With six " Imperial " - class Star Destroyers and almost 400 other starships , a superiority fleet was presumed to be a sufficient force for relatively calm sectors . Assault fleets transported huge numbers of Imperial Army and Navy troops to coordinate ground operations , while maintaining space superiority around the targeted systems . With two transport forces and two force escorts , an assault fleet engaged in massive planetary and system - wide ground campaigns . Bombard fleets contained an average of 416 ships , allocated between two system bombards and two force escorts . Bombard fleets were assigned to high - threat , low - value sectors where the Empire had determined the probability of repressing the Rebellion in the sector to be less than even . System bombards were used to annihilate opposition without concern for local infrastructure , when the Empire would rather completely destroy a world than see it fall into Rebel hands . Deepdock fleets had a total of 280 support vessels and one escort force , and are primarily utilized to support two space - based shipyards . The deepdock complexes in question have over a hundred repair bays with hyperdrive engines to ensure that they were easily relocated . Support fleets were considered the most important non - combat formations in the Navy , charged with securing the logistics of the entire Empire . Support fleets had over 500 small vessels , most of them container ships , with the supply burden falling in equal part on Corellian Engineering Corporation CR90 corvettes and massive FSCV transports . These fleets equip Imperial military forces with weapons , ammunition , equipment , supplies , and consumables . Fleets were commanded by admirals given the positional title of " Fleet Admiral " . Where Sector Group s were not big enough to justify splitting them into separate fleets , this usually made the Fleet Admiral the senior professional officer in the sector . Notable fleets . Fleets within the Imperial Navy include the 15th Deep Core Reserve Fleet ; the 27th Denarian Fleet ; Admiral Kohrin ' s second fleet ; Banjeer ' s fleet ; the Black Fleet ; the Byss Defense Fleet ; the Centrality Navy ; the Chandrila Defense Fleet ; the Charis Fleet ; the Coruscant Defense Fleet ; Crimson Command ; Death Squadron ; Digit Squadron ; Imperial Replenishment Fleet DK - 209 ; the First Naval Fleet ; the Gandle Ott system defense force ; the Grand Imperial Navy ; the Ground Pounders ; the Hammer Group ; the Imperial Fourth Attack Squadron ; the Imperial Outer Rim Territories Patrol Fleet ; the Inner fleet ; Lumiya ' s fleet ; the Maw fleet ; the Outer Rim Imperial Fleet ; Qeimet fleet ; the Secret armada ; the Shadow Hand Fleet ; the Solaest Fleet ; the Swift Wing ; Task Force Vengeance ; Task Force Whirlwind ; the Third Ado Superiority Fleet ; Thrawn ' s fleet ; the Torize planetary defense force ; the Vengeance Battle Group ; and the Western Reaches Superiority Force . In addition , there was also one Unidentified Imperial fleet and one task force . Sector group . A Sector Group was the sum total of Naval strength which the Empire expected to commit to a normal sector . A sector group could be expected to contain at least 2 , 400 ships in multiple fleets , 24 of which were Star Destroyers ( " Imperial " - class Star Destroyers were the norm , but some groups contained older model Star Destroyers ) , and another 1 , 600 combat starships . The Sector Group level of command came about somewhat by accident : the Moffs of the Empire ' s sectors , installed under the Sector Governance Decree in the final days of the Republic , complained that the Imperial Navy ' s force requirements in quelling Separatist holdouts routinely robbed their sectors of resources without sufficient consideration for local security needs . Under the Sector Governance Decree , the Moffs held the power of the old Governor - General s to raise forces and began raising their own local militia s . Alarmed by the prospect of local military forces not loyal to Imperial Center , the Admiralty stepped in and created Sector Groups , local forces directly controlled by the Moffs but carefully scrutinised by Coruscant . The Sector Groups were largely drawn from the Planetary Security Forces , nationalized after the Declaration of a New Order , with its combat forces split between force superiority and force escort , and separate fleet commands for troop transport , bombardment , deepdock and support fleet s . In practice , Sector Groups were rarely at their full establishment strength , sometimes lacking enough discrete forces to justify dividing the group into separate superiority and escort fleets . The commander of a Sector Group received the title of " High Admiral " , but this was often a ceremonial post granted to the Moff who governed the sector . In sectors that were involved in constant and severe naval actions , however , the High Admiral was a separate position from the Moff . The sector groups included Azure Shield , assigned alongside the 1st Sector Army , Azure Hammer Command , to the Azure sector of the Imperial Center Oversector ; the Baxel sector fleet , assigned to the Baxel sector ; the Brak Sector Fleet , assigned to the Brak sector ; the Braxant Sector Fleet , a fleet composed of 13 " Imperial " - class Star Destroyers assigned to the Braxant sector that included the " Obliterator " , " Ironhand " , " Relentless " , and the " Tyrannic " ; the Candoras Sector Fleet , composed of four " Dreadnought " - class heavy cruisers and other smaller ships assigned to the Candoras sector ; the Coruscant Sector Fleet , assigned to Coruscant due to it being a sector in itself ; the Elrood Sector Fleet , assigned to the Elrood sector composed of the " Imperial " - class Star Destroyers " Stalker " and " Thunderflare " , the " Bayonet " - class light cruiser " Rintonne ' s Flame " , and smaller vessels , including 12 system patrol craft , custom vessels , Skipray Blastboats , and various TIE fighters ; the Kathol Sector Imperial Fleet , assigned to the Kathol sector ; the Kuati Sector Forces , assigned to the defense of Kuat ; the Oplovis Sector Fleet , assigned to the Oplovis sector ; the Tapani Defense Force , assigned to the Tapani sector ; the Tierfon Sector Fleet , assigned to the Tierfon sector ; and the Trax Sector Group , assigned to the Trax sector . Regional , oversector and strategic command . Although the Sector Group was the highest strength in the standard Order of Battle , there were also higher unofficial levels known as regional groups and Oversector groups , formed by assembled by merging sector groups together . Regional , oversector and strategic military commands came in a variety of mixed and homogeneous forces . These formations , however , are not officially part of the standard Order of Battle . Black Sword Command was a regional command that defended the Core regions from threats emanating from the galactic rim . It had three Super Star Destroyers as part of its fleet assets . Azure Hammer Command , based out of Anaxes , defended Sector Zero and consisted of 57 capital ships , led by the Super Star Destroyer " Whelm " . Likewise , Crimson Dagger Command , also based out of Anaxes , defended the Quelii Oversector , and was instrumental in the Ciutric Offensive during the Reconquest of the Rim in the early stages of the Imperial Period . Cerulean Spear Command , likewise , was charged with the defense of the Maldrood Oversector , and was instrumental in the Sy Myrthian Insurrection during that same time period . Additionally , a full ten percent of the entire Imperial Navy was kept in reserve in the Core Worlds , so as to be able to quickly respond to threats throughout the galaxy . In the Outer Rim Territories , a fleet with at least 19 " Imperial " - class Star Destroyers and three Immobilizer 418 cruisers , the latter supplied by Imperial Drydock IV , was also kept . Roving fleets aimed at specific tasks were fielded at several points in Imperial history . Notable units included Death Squadron and Scourge Squadron , which hunted for Rebel bases in the Outer Rim . There was also the Vengeance Battle Group , used by the Dark Jedi Jerec to search for the Valley of the Jedi , and the secret armada assembled by Admiral Mils Giel , for the purpose of transporting a vital biological device from the Outer Rim to Imperial Center . At least one Star Destroyer task force was used to punish Imperial sectors that threatened to undermine Imperial rule , as when the Moff of the Trans - Nebular sector established himself as the de facto warlord and was engaged by a fleet of Star Destroyers . This force was large enough to leave behind vessels that would form the core of a new sector fleet , before moving on to other trouble spots . There was also a fleet stationed near Byss , that was formed since the start of the Galactic Empire . The Emperor himself also possessed a personal fleet that he has command over , utilizing it in situations important enough to require him to participate in person . Starfighter Corps organization . The TIE Fighters of the Imperial Navy ' s Starfighter Corps were organized as follows : The typical formation of an " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer ' s wing was four TIE Fighter squadrons ( one squadron was often equipped to be a reconnaissance squadron with TIE / rc starfighter s ) , one squadron of TIE Bombers ( lower priority ships had to make do with older TIE / gt fighter - bombers ) , and one squadron of TIE Boarding Craft . Often one or two flights in a fighter squadron were TIE / FC fire control craft . Sometimes one of the fighter squadrons was used for training purposes . By the Battle of Endor , one squadron had been swapped out in favor of a squadron of TIE Interceptors . During typical operations , two TIE squadrons provided screening for their Star Destroyer and any escort vessels , two conducted forward recon , and two were held in reserve . TIE Fighters assigned to ground operations were Navy vessels , but their pilots reported to an Imperial Army garrison commander , organized into ground support wing s . The Navy ' s insistence on retaining control of all starfighters meant that ground support wings were smaller than those assigned to Star Destroyers , and consisted of forty TIEs in ten flights of four fighters each . Three flights were TIE Bombers , six were sorted into two squadrons of TIE Fighters , and a single flight of TIE / FC fire control craft .