Providence - class carrier / destroyer The Providence " - class carrier / destroyer , additionally designated as the Dreadnaught " - class command ship and also known as the Trade Federation cruiser , the Separatist Star Destroyer , or the Separatist dreadnought , was a series of capital ship models fielded by the Confederate Navy during the Clone Wars . It was originally produced and used by the Trade Federation , hence the nickname . Description . Dimensions . Designed by the Quarren Free Dac Volunteers Engineering Corps , the rounded , pseudo - organic aesthetic capital ships , influenced by the planet Dac , would be echoed in the design of the later Mon Calamari Star Cruiser s . The ships were operated by 600 droids , but commanded by sentient officers . " Providence " - class ships were massive , cylindrical 1 , 088 - meter - long warships with a pointed nose that tapered towards the superstructure . Some " Providence " - class vessels were longer , measuring 2 , 177 . 35 meters . These ships were said to be some of the biggest in the Separatist fleet and were capable of holding a planetary blockade almost by themselves . This enlarged model was billed as the " Separatist Dreadnought " . Rising from the stern portion of the vessel , was an elongated main communications and sensor pod . The ships , like all Mon Calamari and Quarren designs , were designed to be capable of landing on water in case of emergencies . Modular compartments . " Providence " - class ships featured modular compartments which made the vessels very easy to modify . This made it possible to easily upgrade the propulsion systems or weaponry of a given ship , as well as making it possible to convert the ships into starfighter carriers , or other variations . The " Invisible Hand " was one example of a heavily modified " Providence " - class ship . Offensive and defensive systems . The surface of " Providence " - class ships were covered with numerous heavy weapons emplacements . Modified vessels such as the " Invisible Hand " included a number of turret - mounted quad turbolasers , thirty - four dual laser cannons , two capital - scale ion cannons , twelve point - defense ion cannons , and 102 proton torpedo batteries . The reactors on - board each vessel produced so much power that even their point - defense ion cannons were each capable of delivering enough heat per shot to rival a 4 . 8 megaton bomb . This weaponry and armor made them capable of taking on " Victory " and " Venator " - class Star Destroyers . Propulsion systems . Along with thick and extensive hull plating unusual for most small - and medium - sized CIS warships , and a network of heavy combat shield generators , the ships relied on three Creveld - 4 radial ion drive units for sublight propulsion and featured an advanced Class 1 . 5 hyperdrive . Standard vessels had their sterns filled with reactors and thrusters , while some ships were modified to allow for bigger hangar space . The thrusters could be arranged to provide different emergency settings , the main one using blast shields to redirect the ion particles exiting the thrusters , and provide a breaking thrust which slowed the ship ' s movement during an atmospheric descent . A similar setting utilized emergency booster engines to slow the ship . In addition to thrusters , a " Providence " - class ship could utilize airbrake panels that lined the ship to slow descent in an atmosphere . Bridge tower . The " Providence " - class command center was located at the front of the vessel , in a forward facing tower similar to the " Recusant " - class light destroyer ; this setup made the " Providence " - class slightly more maneuverable than its Republic counterparts particularly in atmospheres . The ship ' s commander was seated in the middle of the bridge , surrounded by control stations on all sides , manned by OOM pilot battle droids or living crew members . In case of a breach in the bridge transparisteel windows , shield doors could be activated to seal off the affected area . History . Background . The " Providence " - class came about as an updated model of Rendili StarDrive ' s " Dreadnaught " - class heavy cruiser . Quarren manufacturers , originally working on license for Rendili , improved on the design and enlarged it several times to create new models for the Confederacy of Independent Systems . The " Providence " - class destroyers were built on the Quarren - colonized world of Pammant . Their construction served to hide the more secretive building of the massive " Subjugator " - class heavy cruisers . Confederate service . When the Quarren allied with the Confederacy , " Providence " - class ships became the heart of the Separatist starfleet , using their firepower to combat Republic cruisers and acting as point ships for planetary blockades , bombardments , and invasions . They proved problematic to other Republic capital ships , such as the " Venator " and " Victory " - class Star Destroyers . " Providence " - class ships would be used extensively in Confederate offensives in the late Clone Wars , and would be present at several Separatist conquests . During this time , the most famous vessel of the " Providence " - class was a modified specimen named " Invisible Hand " , which served as flagship for General Grievous . Some commanders used the larger " Providence " - class variant exemplified by the Separatist dreadnought " Invincible " , famously used by Admiral Trench . Post - Clone Wars service . At least one " Providence " - class ship was used by Gizor Dellso ' s navy against an Imperial invasion force during the Battle of Mustafar . Several were used by the Alliance to Restore the Republic / Legends . A heavily modified " Providence " - class vessel known as " Rebel One would " later be operated in the Rebel Alliance Fleet . The " Rebel One " later took part in the battle of Deepspace Besh after the Rebel Fleet was ambushed . Behind the scenes . On the commentary track for " Revenge of the Sith " , Lucas refers to Grievous ' s ship as a " Star Destroyer " . This might be an indication that the distinction between destroyers in the Galactic Republic / Empire and similar ships in other fleets is simply a case of semantics . The craft loosely resembles the shape of real - life zeppelins and other airships . This is further brought out during one transition scene in Episode III when the " Invisible Hand " passes , as the sound effect for its motors resemble the engines on some airships . In " " and " " , the ship is depicted as having 2 thrusters , but in and " " , the ship has 3 thrusters . In addition to this the ship does not feature the bridge tower and instead places the command bridge to be near the center of the ship in a rise , somewhat similar to the bridge of the Separatist supership " Malevolence " . " " and " " depict the bridge at the top of the large communications array fin . The " Essential Guide to Warfare " was the first source to state Mon Calamari involvement in the design of the ship . In part 12 of Jason Fry ' s endnotes for the book , Paul Urquhart mentioned that he mentioned the Mon Calamari involvement in the design due to the front of the vessels being similar . He also mentioned that he suspected that the similar design in " Star Wars : The Clone Wars " was deliberate .