Imperial Patrol Frigate

The Imperial Patrol Frigate was a patrol vessel used by the Galactic Empire and was a modified EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate.
==Characteristics==
The ship itself was a modified EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate, which had about one-third of the decks removed, causing roughly half of the original crew compliment to no longer be needed. The two rear-facing laser cannons were removed and replaced by tow winches to fit the optional 30,000-meter-long sensor netShield of Lies, "The listening array Bloodprice towed behind it on deep patrol was a hundred times longer than the ship itself" capable of omni-directional scanning for several light-hoursShield of Lies, "Three-point-eight light-hours--nearly at the limit of detection." around the ship.
The net was operated from a gondola trailing far behind the frigate by a crew of three people, a towmaster and two sensor technicians. The towmaster had to be specially trained in the use of the sensor net, as it was extremely difficult to control due to the possibility of the lines tangling, shredding, or becoming detached from the ship due to maneuvering strain. Due to these facts, the frigate was restricted to slow speeds while the sensor net was engaged, and when the ship entered hyperspace, the net had to either be brought in or abandoned.
The sensor net itself was a marvel of technology, featuring many advanced sensors, including dedicated energy receptors, crystal gravfield traps, and hyperspace signal interceptors. With all these sensors, the vessel could detect cloaked ships, as well as ships entering or exiting hyperspace within its range, as well as ships traveling through local hyperspace, as long as the ships were large enough. When it did detect a ship traveling through hyperspace, the patrol frigate would calculate likely vectors, and the crew would then report back to base, causing an alert to be raised.
As well as detecting ships, the sensors also possessed the ability to detect any and all hyperspace transmissions, including HoloNet comms, although the decoding of such high security transmissions was generally left to the Imperial Intelligence Signal Branch.
==Appearances==
*Shield of Lies 
*Shield of Lies' abridged audiobook
==Sources==
*Galaxy Guide 5: Return of the Jedi
*The Movie Trilogy Sourcebook
*Galaxy Guide 5: Return of the Jedi, Second Edition
*Cracken's Threat Dossier
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
==Notes and references==
Category:Frigate classes
Category:Kuat Drive Yards products
Category:Patrol craft classes
Category:Starship classes of the Galactic Empire