Vindicator-class heavy cruiser

The Vindicator-class heavy cruiser was the standard 600-meter-long heavy cruiser design of the Imperial Navy.
==Characteristics==
The ship's armament consisted of 25 light turbolasers, 20 light quad turbolasers, 10 point-defense laser cannons, 20 light point-defense ion cannons, and 6 tractor beam projectors organized into 5 light turbolaser batteries, 5 light quad turbolaser batteries, 4 laser batteries, 4 ion cannon batteries and one capital-grade tractor beam battery.
The Vindicator was equipped with a Class 2 hyperdrive. It carried 400 troops and a crew of 2,551. Most Vindicators were specifically configured so that they could carry a full TIE starfighter wing and operate independently without the need for support ships. Other configurations could carry only two squadrons of starfighters.
==History==
It was intended for use in situations in which Imperial-class Star Destroyers were unavailable, and smaller ships were not powerful enough. The ship was manufactured by Sienar Fleet Systems.
They were to replace the Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser as the Navy's standard multi-role cruiser.
The Immobilizer 418 cruiser was designed using the same basic hull as the Vindicator. In addition to manufacturing new Immobilizer 418s, the Empire converted a number of Vindicators into Interdictor cruisers. The Vindicator's hull was used again to build the Enforcer-class picket cruiser, a patrol ship used by the Pentastar Alignment.
The Vindicators were assigned as escorts or as lone hunters. Those postings were seen as prestigious by Imperial commanders.
A Vindicator-class heavy cruiser was present near the Death Star during X2 and Grey Squadron's mission there.Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron
Some of these cruisers were eventually found in local fleets and large pirate squadrons, while an Imperial Vindicator called Molator was captured by the Rebel Alliance.
==Behind the scenes==
While the Vindicator was the original ship in-universe, and its existence had been implied for years, it was only given a name and description in the book Starships of the Galaxy, published by Wizards of the Coast. Because of this, the derivative Interdictor cruiser is far more well-known.
A ship of the same name is mentioned in the manual for Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith, but this appears to be a mislabelled Victory-class Star Destroyer.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron 
==Sources==
*Starships of the Galaxy
*Starships of the Galaxy, Saga Edition
*
*The Essential Guide to Warfare
*Star Wars: Age of Rebellion Core Rulebook
*Fly Casual
==Notes and references==
Category:Rebel Alliance starship classes
Category:Galactic Empire starship classes
Category:Heavy cruiser classes
Category:Sienar Fleet Systems products