Nova - class battle cruiser The " Nova " - class battle cruiser was a capital ship that formed a large portion of the Hapan fleet . The Hapes Consortium had several different warships at their disposal . The backbone of their fleet was the distinctive Battle Dragon , but " Nova " - class battle cruisers were regularly used to supplement the Dragons . They were frequently deployed to the border , where they performed interception missions against the pirates and smugglers ( Han Solo , for example ) who sought to penetrate to the fabulously wealthy inner worlds of the Hapes Cluster . They were designed primarily as large - scale support ships , intended to respond to threats rather than undertake extended missions . Design . The " Nova " - class battle cruisers were four hundred meters in length and were bristling with weaponry . The bridge of the ship was connected to a long neck - like body , with an " inverted - V " shape split - wing structure at the rear of the vessel . The bridge had a retractable wall - like shield that could be deployed for combat . Near the end of the ship ' s body was the hangar bay and main power core . The ion / hyperdrive engines and maneuvering jet arrays on the rear wings made for a combat cruiser that was extremely swift at both sublight and light speeds , thanks to its modern design ( and not a little due to technological espionage directed against Imperial corporations such as Kuat Drive Yards and SoroSuub Corporation ) . Armament . The main weapons of the cruiser were generally 25 turbolasers for use against capital ships , 10 laser cannons for dealing with starfighters or light freighters , and 10 ion cannons for disabling and capturing enemy ships . In its docking bays , a " Nova " cruiser carried two squadrons of Hapan Miy ' til starfighter s and six Hetrinar assault bomber s . " Nova " cruisers picked and entered their battles cautiously , as Hapan turbolaser technology lagged behind the Galactic standard . Their turbolasers took roughly three times longer to recharge than their Imperial and New Republic counterparts , which sometimes left " Nova " cruisers unable to return fire at inopportune times . As a result , they were generally deployed in wings of 3 or more , allowing for the swift , brutal assault that was generally preferred by the Hapans . Later retrofits of " Nova " - class cruisers followed the practices of the Mon Calamari in adding redundant shield generators and larger , more reliable power generators at the cost of reducing the Miy ' til fighters to a single squadron . New Republic Intelligence believed that they employed shield designs stolen from the Mon Calamari Shipyards . History . Prince Isolder once offered a cruiser to Han Solo if Solo would drop his courtship of Princess Leia Organa . Solo refused , and instead kidnapped Leia , spiriting her off to Dathomir . < br > Cruisers were part of the fleet used by Dukat Aleson Gray at the Battle of Qoribu against the Chiss as a result of his misguided attempt to " rescue " the Skywalkers from the Killik Gorog nest . Behind the scenes . While " Cracken ' s Threat Dossier " and " Starships of the Galaxy " list the " Nova " as having only a month of consumables , " The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels " and " The Official Star Wars Fact File " claim they can operate independently for a year . It is unclear if this is an error or if it represents a refit or subclass , although the latter figure is also quoted by Isolder in " The Courtship of Princess Leia " . The Nova - class bears a striking resemblance to the Klingon Bird - of - Prey from Star Trek .