Nebula - class Star Destroyer The Nebula " - class Star Destroyer , also known as the Defender " - class Star Destroyer , was the largest , most powerful warship design in the New Republic ' s New Class Modernization Program . Characteristics . Although it was only 1 , 040 meters long ( 65 % of the length of an " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer ) , the " Nebula " - class was built to be a match for an " Imperial II " . Even with a structure that was a significant departure from the " Imperial " - class , especially the lack of a command tower , the " Nebula " was often mistaken for an Imperial design due to its angular lines . Its small size often lead to it being referred to as a " pocket Star Destroyer " , much as the later " Turbulent " - class would be as well . It was designed to be able to defeat any one enemy Star Destroyer , two heavy cruisers , or an entire line of smaller Imperial support ships . It mounted defenses strong enough to resist even some of the smaller Super Star Destroyers or analog warships . The armament of the " Nebula " - class Star Destroyer consisted of 40 heavy turbolaser batteries , 40 turbolaser cannons , 20 ion cannons , 8 tractor beam projectors , and 8 assault concussion missile tubes , each equipped with 30 missiles . Despite the touting of far superior firepower over the " Republic " - class , the two had nearly similar armaments : the difference was eight concussion missile launchers for the " Nebula " , and two additional tractor beams for the " Republic " . The power generation and model of guns was different enough to make the " Nebula " a far superior design to the " Republic " . In addition , the hull armor and shield systems of the " Nebula " outclassed most other ships in the galaxy , including the " Republic " . The ships could carry up to sixty starfighters , normally including one assault wing made up of a mixture of K - wing bombers for precision strikes and Defender starfighter for close support . " Nebulas " could also host a space superiority wing consisting of hyperdrive - equipped E - wings , A - wings , or upgraded X - wings . They also carried 1 , 600 troops and enough consumables for five to six months , depending on configuration . " Nebula " - class Star Destroyers were equipped with a Class 1 hyperdrive for faster than light travel . The design also incorporated a system of lateral thrust vents to increase the ship ' s maneuverability , giving it far greater agility than most large capital ships . Following the New Class practice of using the same hull for multiple configurations , the " Nebula " - class Star Destroyers shared their basic spaceframe design with the " Endurance " - class fleet carriers . History . Development of the " Nebula - class " Star Destroyer began shortly after the fall of Coruscant . Formally renamed as the Defender when it was made a part of the Defender design program , the " Nebula " - class refined the core elements of Walex Blissex ' s " Republic " - class design into a smaller , more angular hull . The Defender program was derailed by delays caused by political distractions and the campaigns of Grand Admiral Thrawn and the reborn Palpatine . When work eventually resumed the design became part of the New Class program and lent its hull design to the " Endurance " - class carrier . In 15 ABY , the " Nebula " - class became the last of the eight new starship designs of the New Class to enter service . The ship ' s introduction was said to be ill - timed , as it occurred during what was considered to be the most peaceful year since the founding of the New Republic . The first of the class to enter service was the " Obi - Wan " , named after one of the Rebellion ' s heros . The ship was commanded by Captain Whyrrryk , a female Wookiee . Due to the process of building compact yet powerful warships of this sort , only a small number of " Nebula " - class ships were built . Only ten were in service c . 17 ABY , with projections of one more being launched each year until the New Class build program was completed . When the Yuuzhan Vong invaded , the few ships of the New Republic ' s valuable " Nebula " - class were kept close to the Core Worlds in reserve fleets due to political pressure . Despite this , " Nebula " s performed well in clashes with the extra - galactic warships once they finally did see combat . Even considering its age , the " Nebula " - class still represented the peak of modern , efficient Star Destroyer design during the Yuuzhan Vong War . At least one " Defender " - class Star Destroyer was still in service by the time of Darth Krayt ' s Galactic Empire . Pol Temm maintained the ship as part of his The Wheel defense fleet . Attempting to enforce his no - weapons rule , he entered a space battle with a Mandalorian faction called the Mandalorian Supremacists and was reportedly killed when his " Defender " blew up . Behind the scenes . Official Expanded Universe information on this ship class has a long and twisted history . Michael P . Kube - McDowell , the author of the Black Fleet Crisis novels , called the Star Destroyer twin for the " Endurance " - class carrier the " " Nebula " - class " , but the RPG sourcebook " Cracken ' s Threat Dossier " named this ship the " Defender " - class Star Destroyer , and gave it a complicated in - universe history as part of a " Defender " project , along with the " Defender " - class assault carrier ( another " New Class " design created by Kube - McDowell ) and the Defender starfighter ( an older WEG ship based on a toy from the animated series " " ) . The sourcebook also included the only official images ( at the time ) of the " Nebula " - class and " Endurance " - class . Unlike the pictures of the other New Class ships in the book , these two ship classes actually looked like they could have been built on the same spaceframe . This meant that they could not be dismissed as easily as the other pictures of New Class ships , although it was hard to see how the " Endurance " - class matched the description of " Intrepid " as " fat - hulled " in " Before the Storm " . In a later RPG sourcebook , " Starships of the Galaxy " , the " Defender " - class appeared once again , but with slightly changed statistics : the ship ' s consumables were increased from 5 to 6 months , and it now carried 60 " starfighters and shuttles " rather than the single wing of the earlier resource . The Saga Edition of the same sourcebook would eventually increase the starfighter compliment still further to 60 starfighters and 12 " space transports " . " Starships of the Galaxy " also had a new picture of the " Defender " , which was sleek , dagger - shaped , and far more similar to other Star Destroyer designs . Adding to the confusion among fans is the fact that the first " Nebula " / " Defender " - class Star Destroyer was named " Obi - Wan " . In some naming conventions , a class is named after the first ship approved for construction or the first ship commissioned . These naming conventions would imply that this Star Destroyer could be called " " Obi - Wan " - class " ; but many warship classes ( especially in the , which operates a dual - naming system ) are named not for a lead ship . Instead the ships are named with a common noun that unites the names of the ships , at least in the initial batch . Under this system , " Obi - Wan " was a very appropriate name for a " Defender " - class ship considering his mastery of the defensive Soresu lightsaber form . " The New Essential Chronology " added more confusion to the debate by saying that the official name is the " Nebula " - class Star Destroyer , retconning its name to the scheme originally set down by Michael P . Kube - McDowell . 2011 ' s " " saw the appearance of a pair of ships specifically called " Defender " - class , using the appearance from Cracken ' s Threat Dossier , possibly making the " Nebula " and " Defender " into two entirely separate classes of Star Destroyer . 2012 ' s " The Essential Guide to Warfare " would seek to tie up many of the loose ends regarding the New Class program in a section author Jason Fry jokingly considered calling " continuity hell " . It established that the " Nebula " - class was formally renamed Defender ( with no use of " class " or italics ) when it was made part of the Defender program . That program stalled and when development on the ship restarted as part of the New Class program several years later it was seemingly back under the original " Nebula " name . It is interesting to note that the " Nebula " - class Star Destroyer and " Endurance " - class fleet carrier closely mimic the scheme of the " Victory " - class Star Destroyer and " Venator " - class Star Destroyer of the Galactic Republic . In both cases , the two destroyers are on the same level of power , but one serves more of a ship - to - ship combat role while the other is more of an escort carrier .