GAT - 12 Skipray Blastboat The Sienar Fleet Systems GAT - 12 Skipray Blastboat was , early in the Galactic Civil War , the smallest hyperspace - capable combat starship in use by the Imperial Navy . Characteristics . While small enough to be carried aboard capital ships as a starfighter , its immense power output ( produced by a Sarylcorp ViX multi - flux reactor ) , weaponry , and shielding caused some registries to designate it as a capital ship itself . The most popular variant in the GAT series , the GAT - 12h , had a standard crew consisting of a pilot , copilot / sensor operator , and two gunnery officers ; however , the ship could be piloted by just one person . It was standard equipped with a Class Two hyperdrive and a limited navigation computer capable of storing four jump coordinates , and was stocked with sufficient consumables for a month of independent operation . On short wings on the side of the cockpit it housed two Siep - Irol " Omni - Vu " sensor pylon s . Two forward - swept stabilizer fins branched out from a rotating assembly at the aft of the ship and housed two of the Mendarn Arms Dar - 2 ion cannon s . The stabilizers were kept vertically in flight , with the ion cannons deployed above and below the rest of the ship ; the fins rotated horizontally for landing , putting them on either side of the ship in a more traditional winged configuration . A third Dar - 2 ion cannon was housed in the nose of the ship , with a concussion missile launcher and proton torpedo tube flanking it starboard and port , respectively . On the dorsal fuselage , a fire - linked pair of Senko Systems 5000x2 " Tru - Lok " laser cannon s were mounted in a turret . While designed as a space - faring vessel , the ship actually performed better in atmospheric flight , with a ( reported ) top speed of 1 , 200 km / h ; and its aerodynamic frame provided a better atmospheric maneuvering performance than all but high - performance airspeeders . Its maneuvering performance was not as remarkable out of the atmosphere , and the ship often relied on swift first - strikes or coordination with other ships in space combat . Variants . In addition to the GAT - 12h , several other models were produced , including the GAT - 12i , the GAT - 12g ( which replaced the concussion missile tube with a tractor beam ) , the GAT - 12j ( which carried a larger payload while distributing gunnery duties more evenly ) , the GAT - 12m ( which had better realspace and hyperspace performance , and thus was used as an interceptor and courier ) , and the GAT - 12p ( which had an upgraded sensor suite ) . A newer model , the Skipray 24r Blastboat , saw service in the Jedi Coalition during the Second Galactic Civil War . History . Republic Sienar Systems designed the ship prior to the Clone Wars , with origins on the old " Turbostorm " - class gunship . Many of its systems were tested on Shobquix Yards ' Toscan starfighters , modified by Sienar for the task as testbed gunships . It was later sold primarily to the Empire ; the first GAT - 12h Skipray Blastboats were released prior to the Battle of Yavin , being the smallest hyperspace - capable combat starship in use by the Imperial Navy ( except for a few prototypes ) . The GAT - 12h and its inmediate successor ( the GAT - 12i ) were more powerful than previous models that were slower and less combat - oriented . However , the Navy ' s tactical philosophy wasn ' t open to the idea of a hyperspace - capable capital - starfighter hybrid , and all but snubbed the ship . This led SFS to sell the ship on the open market . They proved to be a reliable design , going on to see extensive use in Outer Rim planetary patrol forces and smuggling fleets for many years . GAT - 12 blastboats were also used by Imperial Customs , Imperial Sector Ranger s and local forces . Sub - models such as the GAT - 12m and GAT - 12p were used by the Empire . Those Imperial fleets that received Skiprays praised the ship highly , but the Skipray Blastboat ultimately gained its fame and reputation as a staple of corporate , mercenary , pirate , and smuggler fleets , as well as private use by individuals such as the former Emperor ' s Royal Guard Kir Kanos ( who used a modified GAT - 12 ) . Though it was designed and marketed for the Empire , many of these ships fell into the hands of the Zann Consortium who added sensor jamming equipment to make their ships harder targets in space combat . During its service with the Consortium , its slow speed , coupled with heavy armor , made it an ideal fighter - bomber and it fulfilled a role similar to Imperial TIE Defender and Rebel B - wing starfighters . The GAT - 12g version was in use by the Imperial Navy some time after the Battle of Yavin . The GAT - 12j upgrade was in production some months before the Battle of Endor and was released some weeks after the imperial defeat . By 9 ABY the GAT - 12j Skipray was the most common model in use . Talon Karrde used Skiprays for planetary defense ; he lost two vessels in Myrkr due to an incident in 8 ABY that involved Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker . Behind the scenes . The mounted twin lasers are depicted as starfighter guns in some sources , but " Starships of the Galaxy " replaced them with a turbolaser .