Summary
- Star Wars features diverse and massive starships, including those used by egotistical villains and ancient mysterious constructions.
- The largest starships in Star Wars range from the Invisible Hand to the Krakana, serving various roles from battleship to flagship.
- Iconic ships like The Devastator, The Raddus, and The Death Star play significant roles in battles and key moments in the Star Wars universe.
Star Wars is the space opera of the modern entertainment universe, and without the limits inherent in hard science fiction, writers and designers have more freedom when it comes to the size The list includes small, light freighters like the Millennium Falcon, fighting ships like the TIE fighters and X-wings, and titanic battle stations like the Death Star.
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In this regard, many of the biggest ships on offer come courtesy of some of the more egotistical villains in the original and new trilogies in the Empire and the First Order. Others are ancient, mysterious constructions from a forgotten time that have no equal in the modern canon. These types of ships can be used for combat, transport, colonization, storage, or smuggling, among other things.
Updated February 20th, 2025, by Ben Painter: The Star Wars universe is filled with creatures, droids, weapons and, of course, starships. Some are suited to single pilots, like the iconic TIE fighter or the Jedi starfighter, but others are massive and even moon-sized, housing tons of smaller crafts, troops, and even planet-destroying weapons. Throughout the eras of the galaxy, far, far away, there is always a huge starship that causes significant problems for the heroes or even villains. This update adds five more of the largest starships in Star Wars.
19 The Invisible Hand
Length: 3,569 Feet
- Model: Modified Providence-class carrier/destroyer
- First Appearance: Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith
- Roles and Uses: Mobile command base, Naval flagship, Total planetary domination
The Invisible Hand was an upgraded Providence-class carrier/destroyer that was manufactured by Free Dac Volunteers Engineering Corps and Pammant Docks. It was the first of its kind and initially commanded by the Trade Federation and Viceroy Nute Gunray — but was given to General Grievous.
Fans may recall this vessel from the opening of Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith in the battle over Coruscant, where the Invisible Hand meets its demise under the control of Anakin Skywalker. With a length of 3,569 feet, it dwarfed the many ARC-170 Starfighters of the opposing clone army, but there are certainly larger ones in the galaxy.
18 Venator-Class Star Destroyer
Length: 3,730 Feet
- Model: Venator-class Star Destroyer
- First Appearance: Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith
- Roles and Uses: Cargo transport Command ship, Flagship, Flight school (Imperial Era), Replenishment/supply vessel, Ship-to-ship cruiser (initial and primary role), Starfighter carrier (primary role), Troop carrier
The main form of transport for the Galactic Republic and then later the Galactic Empire. The Venator-class Star Destroyer — or as it was better known, the Republic Cruiser and then simply Star Destroyer — had a length of 3,730 feet and was also a battleship armed with eight DBY-827 heavy turbolaser turrets and two Medium dual turbolaser cannons.
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Seen throughout many battles in the galaxy, a truly iconic ship that first appeared chronologically in the Clone Wars but lasted right up until the fall of the Empire.
17 The Devastator
Length: 5,249 Feet
- Model: Upgraded Imperial I-class Star Destroyer
- First Appearance: Star Wars: Episode 4 - A New Hope
- Roles and Uses: Flagship
An improvement on the Venator-class Star Destroyer, named The Devastator, for obvious reasons. It was famous for being the flagship of Darth Vader. The first thing that Star Wars fans saw in the franchise was this massive ship capturing the Tantive IV as the Empire desperately looked to recapture the plans for the Death Star.
Being much bigger than regular Star Destroyers, The Devastator was eventually replaced by the Executor as Vader's vessel and handed to Admiral Jhared Montferrat. It was later destroyed in the Battle of Endor, which ended the reign of the Empire.
16 The Separatist Dreadnought, Providence-class
Length: 7,144 Feet
- Model: The Separatist Dreadnought, Providence-class
- First Appearance: Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith
- Roles and Uses: Assault ship, Blockade vessel, Command ship (primary function), Planetary assault, Starfighter and vehicle carrier, Theater Command
There are two versions of this type of Dreadnought, and the smaller one is about half the size, which means about 3,500 feet and that's still pretty large. The versatility of this model gives it several different names, including the Providence-class carrier and destroyer, or the Providence-class cruiser-carrier, so to avoid confusion, it's often simply nicknamed the Separatist Dreadnought.
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The Confederacy of Independent Systems used the ship extensively during the Clone Wars, including members of the trade federation. Around 19 BBY, it became part of General Grevious' fleet and took part in various assaults on Coruscant. They were mostly dissembled and used for parts during the reign of the Galactic Empire.
15 The Finalizer
Length: 9,566 Feet
- Model: Resurgent-class Star Destroyer
- First Appearance: Star Wars: Episode 7 - The Force Awakens
- Roles and Uses: Carrier, Destroyer, Mobile Academy, Flagship, Military transport, Command ship
Much like the Devastator before it, the Finalizer served as the flagship for General Armitage Hux and Kylo Ren of the First Order. With a length of 9,566 feet, this massive ship was an upgraded Star Destroyer with many offensive capabilities that its predecessor did not: 1,500+ turbolasers and ion cannons, Point-defense turrets, Point-defense missile emplacements, Ventral cannons, and Tractor beam projectors.
It took part in the attack on Jakku and many subsequent battles against the resistance before taking heavy damage at the battle of Batuu and was replaced by the Steadfast as the main flagship of the First Order.
14 Trade Federation Battleship
Length: 10,400 Feet
- Model: Modified Lucrehulk-class LH-3210 cargo freighter
- First Appearance: Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace
- Roles and Uses: Battleship, Heavy transport
The design of the Lucrehulk-Class Battleship reveals that it's more of a bulwark against passing ships than one to manoeuvre when it comes to battle. This ship became famous as one of the most important components of the Trade Federation blockade in The Phantom Menace.
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The length of this vessel is more about radius because of the shape, which makes it easier to divide the ship into different areas to accommodate its myriad of uses. These include storage areas, command centers for various automated parts, and living and working quarters for any staff or visitors.
13 The Raddus
Length: 11,280 Feet
- Model: MC85 Star Cruiser
- First Appearance: Star Wars: Droid Repair Bay
- Roles and Uses: Battleship, Flagship
The Mon Calamari are known for their humongous and powerful naval fleets, and the Raddus is no exception. The starship was originally called the Dawn of Tranquility and served as the flagship for General Leia Organa during the age of the Resistance, renamed the Raddus in honor of Admiral Raddus, who died at the battle of Scarrif.
At 11,280 feet, it was one of the largest ships commanded by the Rebellion, Resistance, or the Republic. The ship met its end under the command of Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, who sacrificed herself to distract the Supremacy from fleeing vessels above Krait by ramming the Raddus into the Mega-class Star Dreadnought.
12 Mediator-class Battle Cruiser
Length: 11,811 Feet
- Model: Resurgent-class Star Destroyer
- First Appearance: The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime
- Roles and Uses: Battlecruiser
It was aptly named as the type of ship that was small enough to maneuver quickly but big enough to be a deciding force in battle, and it could start a fight just as easily as end one. The Mon Calamari already had a reputation for building some of the bigger and more utilitarian ships as part of the Republic, and in the days after the Empire's defeat, they started to make them more battle-ready.
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The Mediator was the first of a whole line of battle cruisers, and the name wasn't only a reference to its versatility. Her maiden voyage was a diplomatic mission to the planets of Rhommamool and Osarian, hoping to find common ground between two hostile planets that would try to bomb each other every time their common orbits brought them within missile range.
11 The Malevolence
Length: 15,895 Feet
- Model: Subjugator-class heavy cruiser
- First Appearance: Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Ambush"
- Roles and Uses: Experimental testbed, Flagship, Terror weapon
This ship is both impressive and useful in battle, transport, or just to grease the wheels of diplomacy. However, the Malevolence hasn't appeared on the big screen — at least, not yet. But given how much activity was taking place in the galaxy during the Clone Wars, it would have been present at many of the bigger, more important battles, even though it never actually appeared in the prequels.
This massive ship made extensive appearances in Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated show. It was thought to be a myth, or at least an exaggeration, until the main characters saw it for themselves. The design of the ship was based on the real World War II ship, the German ship Bismark, which was also known for its size. Like the Malevolence, it went down in a blazing wreck after an act of sabotage.
10 The Fulminatrix
Length: 25,164 Feet
- Model: Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought
- First Appearance: Star Wars Battlefront 2
- Roles and Uses: Orbital Bombardment
The Fulminatrix was a ship developed by the First Order as the type of craft to stay at a distance as part of a blockade or to act as cover for a large-scale battle or a planetary-level invasion. It was twice as big as the standard issue Dreadnaughts that already made up most of the First Order's fleet.
The size of the ship made it possible to mount two massive orbital bombardment cannons on the ship's hull, guns big enough to penetrate even a planetary shield. The last flight of the Fulminatrix was the Battle of D'Qar, in which it took out several resistance bombers and aimed most of its firepower at the Resistance ship, the Raddus before a single bomber managed to take the whole ship out with a dramatic chain reaction of explosions.