Tartan - class patrol cruiser The Tartan " - class patrol cruiser , also known as the Tartan " - class corvette or simply " Tartan " patrol cruiser , was an Imperial anti - starfighter ship developed by Damorian Manufacturing Corporation towards the start of the New Order . Characteristics . Armed with twenty laser cannons , the " Tartan " - class cruisers were designed for use against starfighters , bombers , and pirate vessels . Most notably , powerful sensor and computer systems enabled their guns to engage rapidly with swarms of small , swift targets , although these systems came at a hefty price . In addition , powerful engines gave these ships the speed and maneuverability to engage directly with starfighters , and the systems that channeled power from the generators to systems throughout the hull were also versatile and sophisticated , being able to redirect energy from the deflector shields to give more firepower to the weapons systems . However , they were more or less useless against larger capital ships ( I . e . " Home One " or an " Imperial Star Destroyer " or a " Kedable - Class Destroyer ( depending on Faction ) " ) , unless in large numbers . History . During the unstable times following the formation of the Galactic Empire , the Damorian Manufacturing Corporation was tasked to develop a warship capable of engaging with small , fast - moving targets as a response to increased piracy . The end result was the " Tartan " - class patrol cruiser , which was equipped with an advanced tracking system . The " Tartan " - class patrol cruiser were similar to the later and somewhat better - known KDY " Lancer " - class frigate , which had an almost identical armament and a similar mission profile , and also with the Rendili StarDrive " Neutron Star " - class bulk cruiser , a larger patrol vessel with a very similar armament . Whereas the " Lancer " - class ships were basically defensive platforms designed to do no more than keep pace with larger capital ships , and while the bulk cruiser was a cheap design known for its slow speeds , the " Tartan " - class was fast and agile , able to skirmish directly with enemy starfighters — displaying the same pace and agility as the same manufacturer ' s earlier " Carrack " - class light cruisers . This agility often led to it being used as reinforcement for the defense of " Cardan " - class space stations . Known ships used by the Empire were the " Diadem " and the " Battler " . A few of the ships also fell into the hands of the Zann Consortium through bribery of their crews , though the Consortium also acquired the actual ships to be manned by its own soldiers through pirating them . Behind the scenes . The " Tartan " - class design was created for the game " " , where it is shown as a relatively small ship , designated as a corvette : its primary strength is in destroying Rebel starfighter squadrons , and it finds itself on relatively equal footing against opposing corvettes , such as the CR90 corvette ( with only a slightly greater firepower output ) , but it was easy prey for Nebulon - B frigates and heavy frigates . Despite falling under the category of frigate under the Anaxes War College System of starship classification , the " Tartan " - class was designated as a corvette in " Empire at War " , probably due to its in - game role . The Databank originally listed as the length of the Tartan - class patrol cruiser as 600 meters . A post by Leland Chee on the StarWars . com forums updated the length to 250 meters , which is more in - line with the scale found in " " . Leftover descriptors in the " Empire at War " XML data files indicate that the " Tartan " - class was intended to be the " Carrack " - class . The stat block in " The Force Unleashed Campaign Guide " states two laser cannon batteries with 5 gunners each for a total of 10 laser cannons instead of 20 ( as if every pair of cannons was fire - linked ) .