Operation Hammerblow Operation Hammerblow was the New Republic Fifth Fleet ' s live - fire operational readiness exercise . The construction of the Fifth Fleet had been authorized by the New Republic Senate on Supreme Commander Admiral Gial Ackbar ' s assurances that it was needed to continue the war against the remnants of the Galactic Empire . The Dornean , General Etahn A ' baht , was placed in command of the Fifth , and he oversaw the training of the fleet . The final test was a live fire exercise against a simulated target . Although the Fifth would only face drones and computers simulations , the danger to the participating personnel was very real . The planet Bessimir , located fifteen parsecs from Coruscant was chosen as the target , and General A ' baht devised an assault plan . The proceedings were observed by high ranking members of the New Republic in the New Republic Defense Force headquarters on Coruscant , including Admiral Ackbar , Chief of State Leia Organa Solo , and the Defense Council . The Fifth engaged the defenses of Bessimir ; A ' baht effectively used the ships and resources under his command to neutralize the enemy targets . The main weapon used in the defense , a massive hypervelocity cannon capable of firing one hundred and twenty slugs per minute , was taken out by a squadron of new Koensayr Manufacturing BTL - S8 K - wing assault starfighter s . The operation was successful , but not without casualties . Despite the loss of one ship , the " Ahazi " , the Fifth was declared operational following the exercise . History . Prelude . Operation Hammerblow was conceived as the final operational test for the New Republic Fifth Fleet . The Fifth Fleet was the latest naval formation authorized by the New Republic Senate , and was created to give the New Republic the ability to confront and defeat even the most heavily - defended Imperial worlds . Admiral Gial Ackbar , Supreme Commander of the New Republic Defense Force , personally lobbied for the creation of the Fifth , giving assurances and testimony toward the need for it . The Fifth Fleet was comprised entirely of New Class vessels , and enjoyed a uniformity that other New Republic fleets — many of which still retained ships that had served the Rebel Alliance — did not . General Etahn A ' baht , former commander of the Dornean Navy and veteran of the Battle of Endor , was appointed to command the Fifth . His appointment was met with criticism ; although he had participated in the victory at Endor , he had only been a member of the Defense Force for two standard years . Many within the Senate felt that he had not earned such a prestigious position and that a veteran of the Rebel Alliance should have taken command . However , Admiral Ackbar countered this by saying that , while the veterans of the Rebellion were well versed in the tactics needed to wage insurgency - style warfare , they were ill - suited to command forces in conventional warfare . A ' baht , through his experiences with the Dornean Navy , provided the much needed experience that the New Republic required to continue its campaign against the Imperial Remnant . The Fifth ' s live - fire operational readiness exercise was directed against the planet Bessimir , located fifteen parsecs from Coruscant , the New Republic capital . Although the Fifth would only be facing drone targets and computer simulations , the tactical planners prided themselves on making the exercise as realistic as possible in terms of tactics and responses . A ' baht planned the operation personally , and his plan was approved . Observers — including Ackbar , Chief of State Leia Organa Solo and the Senate Defense Council — would watch the execution of the battle plan from inside the New Republic Defense Force headquarters on Coruscant . Execution . Under General A ' baht ' s command , the Fifth executed a hyperspace jump to Bessimir in combat formation . Emerging from hyperspace , the fleet ' s " Nebula " - class Star Destroyers moved to guard the " Endurance " - class fleet carriers , while the " Defender " - class assault carriers took point . Hyperspace - capable starfighters , which had traveled to Bessimir under their own power , formed a defensive perimeter around the fleet , while dozens of supplemental fighters , bombers and gunboats launched from the massed armada . One ship , however , overshot its jump mark . The " Hajen " - class fleet tender " Ahazi " came out of hyperspace too close to Bessimir for its crew to react in time . The support vessel burned up in Bessimir ' s upper atmosphere , claiming the lives of six young men . As General A ' baht oversaw his forces , battle management assigned a reserve tender to fill the " Ahazi " spot in the formation . When confirmation that the Fifth had successfully emerged from hyperspace and had deployed in battle formation was reported , A ' baht gave authorization for a trio of assault carriers and their complement of BTL - S8 K - wing assault starfighter s to start their attack run . The trio of vessels and their starfighter support surged ahead of the main fleet , looping under Bessimir ' s south pole to reach their target — the planet ' s alpha moon , which housed the main starfighter base , primary defense weapons , and a massive hypervelocity gun . The moon was on the far side of the planet from the Fifth ' s entry point . At the same time , pairs of A - wing fighters began to target Bessimir ' s communications and sensor satellites . Their attack drew a counter assault from Bessimir ; surface ion cannons began attempting to defend the orbiting satellites , which in turn revealed the location of the batteries to the Fifth Fleet . The lead assault carriers painted the targets with lasers , while the pulse cannons mounted on the fleet ' s Star Destroyers systemically destroyed the ground emplacements . The Republic ' s only casualty in the exchange was the loss of an A - wing from Blackfire Flight , which picked up a sleeper mine on its starboard wing during a recon pass . As the trio of assault carriers approached the alpha moon , drone fighter s began launching from concealed launch bunkers . The carriers deployed penetration bomb s before veering off from the moon , drawing the drone fighters with them . The penetration bombs fell toward the surface of the moon using their own inertia , before activating tail thrusters that drove the bombs deep into the ground . Antiship batteries attempted to stop the incoming projectiles , but most slipped through the screening fire . Having been driven twice their length into the moon ' s surface , the bombs exploded simultaneously . The resulting concussion shockwave shattered the underground launch hangars , collapsing the structure in on itself , and silenced the antiship batteries . Deprived of a higher command and control , the drone fighters that had already launched followed their internal combat programming , targeting the assault carriers . The Republic ships made short work of the threat . Following the assault carriers were the eighteen K - wing bombers of the 24th Bombardment Squadron , led by Red Leader Esege Tuketu . Operating under comm silence , the 24th had been given the assignment of knocking out the hypervelocity gun before it could be brought to bear on the ships of the Fifth Fleet . The weapon was capable of firing at a rate of one hundred and twenty slugs per minute , although New Republic Intelligence had noted that the weapon rarely fired for more than ten seconds at a time . Protected by both particle and ray shields , the firing control for the weapon was synchronized with the shield control . When the weapon fired , the particle shielding would drop to allow the slugs to fire without hindrance . The battle plan required the K - wings — many of which were configured as penetrators , carrying only slug cannon s and flechétte missile s — to destroy the gun by timing their attack and releasing their load of projectiles just as the weapon ' s shields dropped as it fired . Breaking into six three - fighter flights , the K - wings skimmed the surface of the alpha moon , heading in different compass directions with the intention of converging over the weapon at the same time . However , the hypervelocity gun still had to drop its shields to allow the K - wing ' s weapons to do their job . General A ' baht did not want to risk the fleet , so tasked the " Nebula " - class Star Destroyer " Resolve " to act as bait . Outfitted with multiple shields , the " Resolve " dropped out of hyperspace in front of the hypervelocity gun . As the weapon opened fire on the Republic ship , Tuketu ' s flight slipped several projectiles through the shield gaps and destroyed the generator . Stripped of its shields , the hypervelocity gun began firing non - stop at the " Resolve " . Commander Syub Snunb gave the order to begin a withdrawal , hoping that the 24th would destroy the weapon before it destroyed the Star Destroyer . Tuketu ' s K - wings converged over the target , dropping lob bomb s on the gun and destroying it while it still had a few shells in the barrel . Black Leader Hodo dropped the ordnance that finished off the weapon , which was confirmed by both Green Leader and the " Resolve " . As the Fifth Fleet attained domination of local space , the " Warrior " - class gunships began to clear a corridor to Bessimir ' s surface by exposing themselves to ground based defensive emplacements in order for other ships to locate them and destroy them . By clearing a section of emplacements , the fleet created a breach that would allow Republic ships to transit to the surface , and deploy ground troops for an invasion . Satisfied by the fleet ' s performance , General A ' baht reported that the exercise was a success to observers watching the proceeding in the New Republic Defense Force headquarters on Coruscant , and recommended that the Fifth be declared operational . Aftermath . The result of the operation met with mixed reactions . While members of the Defense Council — such as Senator Cian Marook — still questioned the wisdom in placing A ' baht in command , one other wondered at what the Fifth Fleet was to be used for . Senator Tig Peramis accused Organa Solo of creating a tool of oppression , citing that the test was conducted against a planet without a planetary shield . Despite Ackbar ' s proclamation that any planet with a powerful shield would be subject to an initial commando raid to disable it , Peramis believed that the Fifth would be used to invade underdeveloped worlds , or to enforce New Republic edicts amongst its own members . In disgust , Peramis resigned from the Defense Council . With the operation considered a success , the Fifth Fleet was declared operational , and slated to patrol the Seventh Security Zone . However , when word reached the New Republic that the secretive and xenophobic Yevetha had initiated a purge on planets throughout the Koornacht Cluster , the Fifth was retasked to protect New Republic interests near the Cluster . Behind the scenes . Operation Hammerblow was featured in " Before the Storm " , the first novel in " The Black Fleet Crisis " trilogy , written by Michael P . Kube - McDowell and published in 1996 . It served to introduce one of the new characters of the trilogy , Dornean General Etahn A ' baht , as well as the New Republic Fifth Fleet , which would be a major part of the series .