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Imperial Fleet Calculations: Updated!
Commander Thelea
Jan 17, 2001, 2:08:36 AM

((Rob, please replace the version at the archives with this one, which
has spelling/grammar errors corrected in addition to being more up to
date and including more information. Strowbridge, is there any other
place this could also be put, like under the "Old Arguements" section
in the R&R, if I recall that correctly?))

Here's something that will answer all of those nagging
questions about the size of the Imperial Starfleet. It is based
entirely on Canon and Official information, with considerable
research into the naval practices of the Galactic Empire and
comparable governments on Earth to fill in the gaps.

Consider this to be the Upper Limit, but not the absolute maximum,
for the Imperial Starfleet based on all currently available
information, but it is NOT random; I will explain each estimation below
it's listings. This figures are based on the WEG "One Million Member
Worlds and 50 million Colonies, Protectorates and Governorships"
statement.

Sector Group: 2 Mobile Deepdocks; 120 Very Heavy Repair Ships;
2,260 Noncombatant resupply ships; 240 Torpedo Spheres; 28,372
Corvettes/Gunships/Light Frigates 101-449 meters long; 11,902
Heavy Frigates/Light Destroyers 450-1,000 meters long; 80 Heavy
Destroyers 1,001-1,600 meters long.

Calculated using the full augmentation for each force inside a
Sector Group, at maximum ships for each line. It's safe to
assume that since the book is set immediately after Yavin, that
by the time of Endor, all sector fleets would be at this
strength, considering Imperial manufacturing capabilities as
based on the second Death Star, which was built secretly, after
all.

Sector Groups (Total): 3,200 Mobile Deepdocks, 192,000 Very
Heavy Repair Ships; 3,616,000 Noncombatant resupply ships;
384,000 Torpedo Spheres; 45,395,200 Corvettes/Gunships/Light
Frigates 101-449 meters long; 19,043,200 Heavy Frigates/Light
Destroyers 450-1,000 meters long; 128,000 Heavy Destroyers 1,001-
1,600 meters long.

Based on the 1,026 Sector estimate based on the Phantom Menace (Number
of saucers in the senate building),
and giving it a total of 1,600 Sector Groups based on a rough
estimate of the number of Sector Groups assigned
to "Oversectors", 250 Sector Groups hidden in the Unknown
Regions, those hidden in the Deep Core, and any additional
sectors that might have been added since the time of The Phantom
Menace. The Empire was almost certainly highly expansionistic.
In addition, this can also take in account the official expansion in
the Deep Core, which IS documented... Finally, there are also the 250
full Sector Fleets hidden in the Unknown Regions by Thrawn, as I
mentioned above. That is supported by a direct official statement by in
Vision of the Future saying the Empire has hidden away the military
forces of 250 sectors in the Unknown Regions.. If not colonized them
outright!

Colonies, Protectorates and Governorship defence fleets:
225,000,000 (Alternatively: 300,000,000) Corvettes/Gunships/Light
Frigates 101-449 meters long;
225,000,000 (Alternatively: 300,000,000) Non-Hyperdrive equipped Light
Picket Ships;
50,000,000 multipurpose defence stations.

Based on using the Bakuran defence force of two 350 meter long
light frigates (Carrack Cruisers) and Four 125 meter long gunships,
along with one multipurpose orbital station (As per the Truce at Baruka
novel)
, and a patrol group
of 6 IPV-1 picket ships that was mentioned in the Truce at
Bakura sourcebook by WEG.
It should be noted that Bakura is your average colony/protectorate; It
has one industry of particular interest, but not major (It produced
novelty repulsorlift equipment.), and a small population, less than a
billion... 400-650 million, IIRC. Irrelevant, virtually, on the scale
of Intergalactic civilization with planets like Coruscant that have a
population of 650 trillion beings. If the Galactic equivalent of a
small town in Alaska that makes custom landrovers is guarded by that
force, I would consider it CONSERVATIVE to assume all other minor
planets also have such protection.

Member World defence fleets: 2,000,000 Heavy Destroyers 1,001-
1,600 meters long; 6,000,000 Corvettes/Gunships/Light Frigates
101-449 meters long; 6,000,000 Non-Hyperdrive Equipped Light
Picket Ships; 2,000,000 Golan-III Battlestations (Or firepower
equivalent in larger number of smaller stations.); 1,000,000
Multipurpose defence stations.

I used the two Golan-IIIs as a firepower representation, and
also based on the two guarding Coruscant that were presumably
captured from the Empire, during "The Krytos Trap". The Heavy
Destroyers (ISDs) are based on the assumption that the two left
behind by Ysanne Isard were part of Coruscant's defence fleet.
There was no reason to leave them behind otherwise; Considering
how few ships she had, she needed them badly. It would only make
sense to leave them behind if they were part of Coruscant's
traditional defence fleet. This figure has limited support from
several comics as well that suggest at least one ISD is stationed
above major worlds at all times. The rest of the fleet is
identical to that in size and ship-types to a Colony world's
fleet, assuming that the heavier platforms and ships are added
on for the member worlds to that standard fleet.

Should computer games be added as official material, the number
of platforms could be increased by around x3.

Imperial Navy: 25,000 Heavy Destroyers 1,001-1,600 meters long;
5,000 Light/Medium Cruisers 1,601 meters long to 4,999 meters
long; 5,000 Heavy
Cruisers/Battlecruisers/Carriers/Battleships/Commandships 5,000
meters to 17,600+ meters long (Estimated Max superlaser
equipped: 250.) Also: 6 Torpedo Spheres.

Based on the "25,000 ISD" claim from WEG for the Imperial Navy.
This claim was highly odd, because WEG's own figures suggest a
minimum of 128,000 ISDs in their Order of Battle. Likewise was
the claim that only 6 Torpedo Spheres were in service when the
Order of Battle suggested over 300,000 Torpedo Spheres (Which
made me conclude the idea of finding weaknesses in planetary
shields was hogwash; With one bombardment fleet and one assault
fleet, you'd have 200 Torpedo spheres, IE, 10,000 proton
torpedoes a salvo, firing at the shields. That would batter them
down using pure firepower, especially if the other armed ships
joined in.). I chose a different interpretation; The 6 Torpedo
Spheres and 25,000 ISDs are in the "Imperial Navy" according to
WEG. In the Canon movies, it's always called the "Imperial
Starfleet". Therefore, I concluded that the ENTIRE Imperial
Starfleet has far more ISDs and Torpedo Spheres, while there is
a group of the Imperial Starfleet specifically devoted to heavy
combat engagements as opposed to "Coast Guard" style work that
the Sector Groups and planetary defence forces work on. This
fleet contains the 25,000 ISDs and 6 Torpedo Spheres, along with
the following ships: A minimum of 5,000 ships larger than ISDs,
as based on a 5 ISD escort for the Executor at Hoth. However,
according to one computer game (Which are official according to
Curtis Saxton's interpretation; by the rules of the FAQ,
disregard the 10,000 figure and use the 5,000 figure), a ESB
Arcade Game, another ship larger than ISDs participated at Hoth,
namely, in the search for the Falcon, though was not at the
initial attack; it is possible it had a slower Hyperdrive, and in Lord
Vader's haste, he left it behind. I concluded then that three of
the ISDs would be the Executor's escort, and two that of the
other ship. From this, I derived the 10,000 heavy ship figure,
split evenly between light and medium cruisers and vessels
larger than that. The Six torpedo spheres are in three bombard lines of
two spheres each.

Totals for the Imperial Starfleet: 3,200 Mobile Deepdocks,
192,000 Very Heavy Repair Ships; 3,616,000 Noncombatant
resupply ships; 384,006 Torpedo Spheres; 276,395,200 (Or 351,395,200)
Corvettes/Gunships/Light Frigates 101-449 meters long;
231,000,000 (Alternatively: 306,000,000) Non-hyperdrive equipped light
picket ships;
19,043,200 Heavy Frigates/Light Destroyers 450-1,000 meters
long; 2,153,000 Heavy Destroyers 1,001-1,600 meters long; 5,000
Light/Medium Cruisers 1,601 meters long to 4,999 meters long;
5,000 Heavy
Cruisers/Battlecruisers/Carriers/Battleships/Commandships 5,000
meters to 17,600+ meters long (Estimated max superlaser
equipped: 250; Percentage of known Executors against
Eclipses/Sovereigns as a comparison.); 51,000,000 multipurpose defence
stations;
2,000,000 Golan-III Battlestations; Other Support
ships/Stations/Outposts: UNKNOWN. Possibly as many as three times that
number of defence outposts, based on the computer games, or even more,
but that is not admissible evidence, so they have been left out.


This is everything added together, and separated by ship type,
as you can see. The total
number of combat ships is around:

378,000,000 of all types (Rounded), roughly, plus 306,000,000 Non-
hyperspace capable picket ships, still capable of fighting, just no
hyperdrives,
and some 51,000,000 platforms,
plus gods know how many we don't have accurate figures for.
Also, around 4,000,000 resupply and support ships that are
unarmed, and probably a lot more we have no accurate figures for,
and finally 3,200 mobile Deepdocks, plus all the non-mobile
construction/repair facilities that we cannot accurately guess
of in total numbers.

In a total of all Hyperspace capable combat starships over 100
meters in length, divided among the 51,000,000 inhabited worlds,
we get an average of around 7, that's right, only SEVEN ships
PER INHABITED PLANET. I sincerely hope this gives you a true
sense of the scope and scale of the Galactic Empire.

In terms of an invasion force, ONLY the Imperial Navy, with
it's Six Torpedo Spheres, 25,000 Heavy Destroyers, and
5,000-10,000 Cruiser/Battleship/Carrier/Command rate ships would
be capable of entering and invading another galaxy. The other
378,000,000 combat starships would HAVE to stay in their home
galaxy to police it against rebels, pirates, smugglers,
terrorists, and potential yet highly unlikely enemy raids from
the invaded galaxy or the unknown regions. Considering that the
Imperial Navy is the only truly mobile force out of all these
ships, the Galactic Empire would have essentially zero offensive
capacity in it's own galaxy during an invasion; only defence,
except for the direct pacification of known, rebelling planets,
and small operations within sectors. Any large scale offensive
against the rebels or Unknown Region species would be impossible
with the Imperial Navy committed to another galaxy; The
Starfleet would just have to hold the line until the
pacification either succeeded or failed and the Navy returned,
or what was left of it. Certainly, though, the Starfleet is
quite capable of holding the line; it just simply doesn't have
the resources to conduct it's own offensive operations.. That's
the Navy's job.

Well.. There you have it. The Starfleet and the elite offensive
part of it called the Navy, that make up the space-combat arm of
the Galactic Empire's military machine.

Essentially, the Empire is a MASSIVE organization in terms of pure
numbers;
But the necessity of guarding 1,000,000 major planets and 50,000,000
minor planets cuts so considerably into these numbers that no more than
on the order of 25,000 destroyers, 5,000 cruisers, and 5,000 capital
ships, supported by 6 mobile bombardment platforms, could be used for
an invasion, or rallied in one place to stop one. This is probably the
fleet under Vader's command that was far-flung throughout the galaxy
looking for the Rebels; He likely chose one region of space for
himself, with the Grand Admirals taking the others, or administrating
the Starfleet, which is unlikely considering it is an asset for the
military governors, not the true navy with the above ships.

Of course, local area ships could be, in an emergency, gathered to
stand with this fleet, but such is likely to be unnecessary.

After the collapse of the Empire, the individual warlord Moffs and
their ike took control of the portions of the Starfleet and fought to
the death, while the Grand Admirals also turned warlord, and more ships
were hidden in the Deep Core for the clone of the Emperor, explaining
the destruction of this once awesome fleet, through fratricidal combat.

Note that these are always undergoing revision, and are admittedly on
shaky ground, but the simple facts are that they match up with the
known evidence about the size of the Empire, and a fleet necessary to
patrol and defend said Empire, and also explain the huge
inconsistencies in both official and canon material.

Finally, there is one last thing to note.

The Empire built the Death Star. An object that, when complete, would
have massed as much as FIFTY BILLION Galaxy class Starships.

Now, granted, an ISD masses considerably more than a GCS, but not
REMOTELY enough to make these figures implausible.

Though I haven't yet done it myself, assuming the heavy ships are all
Executors, the total mass of this fleet is probably LESS than the
completed Death Star II would have been!!!!

378,000,000 combat starships and 306,000,000 sublight picket starships
is a conservative estimate; It assumes that the average mass of each of
those ships is somewhere on the order of seven (7) TIMES the mass of a
Galaxy Class Starship... If the entire Imperial Warship production line
is only comparable to the completed Death Star II!!!!!!

Considering that 306,000,000 are 150 meter long sublight pickets, this
is obviously not the case; Certainly some of the starships will be
massive, but none larger than an Eclipse, and those are limited to some
5,000 capital ships.

I would say that this fleet's existence would be made reasonable by
the existence of the Death Star II ALONE.. However, I've also provided
considerable supporting evidence, I daresay.

And in terms of invasion, the crushing blow of 5,000 Capital ships
escorted by 5,000 cruisers and 25,000 ISDs would certainly collapse the
Milky Way powers like a tidal wave; It's up to the techies to determine
the exact firepower and range of the weaponry and the defensive
shielding, etc, but the fact remains that 25,000 ISDs escorting 5,000
Cruisers and 5,000 Capital ships would hit the at least the Alpha
Quadrant and overwhelm the major powers there by sheer weight of
numbers.

And if anything was going wrong, simply divert the production of the
Death Star II into more ships. Hundreds of millions of more ships.

Incidentally, the total number of crewers required for this fleet
comes out as roughly 40% of the population of Coruscant. (Assuming the
accepted figure of 650 trillion people).

Considering the number of worlds the Empire has.. Even with an army,
they're still under-militarized.

We can assume that the Planetary Governors, Moffs, and Grand Moffs are
something like the Dukes and Counts and Barons of the Dark Ages,
particularly countries like France or Germany; Though they have their
own armies (Incidentally, one Duke or Baron, I forgot which, in
Scotland, can still legally raise an army under English Law... A little
irrelevent factoid I thought to throw in. He has a few dozen volunteers
who dress up in period clothing from when his ancestors actually had a
real army and do reenactments.)

Essentially, these people rule their lands as they see fit, and raise
their armies as they see fit; However, the Emperor reserves the right
to call these forces to his banner, so to speak.

Any rebellious Moff or Grand Moff or Governor can be either dispatched
by a loyal one or by the Imperial Navy, or by assassination (What do
you think Mara Jade was for?)

The Emperor, it has been stated in official material, appointed people
as Moffs and Grand Moffs who hated each other's guts. This supports my
theory, as having all the Moffs and Grand Moffs hating each other would
make it easier for the Emperor to rule, as they would have only him to
turn to, and could not form pacts among themselves.

Also, this supports the Starfleet/Navy separation contention; In A New
Hope, it's commented that the Rebellion poses a threat "To your
Starfleet" but not to "This Battlestation".

This is at a meeting by Grand Moff Tarkin; I would think that, since
the word "Starfleet" is used in the movie in cases like this, while
Navy is only seen around the 25,000 ISD figure, that it provides
further support:

The Admiral in question was the commander of Grand Moff Tarkin's
personal Starfleet, which was separate from the Navy, and hence called
a Starfleet.

Rather simple, when you consider it. That's why it was referred to as
a Starfleet there, but in the books, especially around the 25,000 ISD
figures, it's called a navy. They're two separate organizations.

As for the argument that the WEG stats I am using reflect goals of the
Imperial Navy, not what was actually completed, consider this:

The WEG Imperial Sourcebook is set immediately after the Battle of
Yavin.

Remember the speed at which an object the mass of 50 BILLION Galaxy
Class Starships was built... In six months, 25 BILLION GCS masses were
constructed into it.

And all I'm arguing is that the Empire could have built on the order
of 120 MILLION starships in 3.5 years... Far less expenditure than the
Death Star! (I assume the other 258 million Hyperdrive equipped ships
were already in service based on the ratios between minimum and optimal
sizes for the sector fleets. Even if NONE of the non-hyperspace
equipped ships had been built yet, their total is such that they and
the 120 million starships in 3.5 years would STILL fall WELL below the
production capability of the Death Star.)

I mean, think about it. Sure, 50 billion Galaxies would be more
complex than one DS II, but we're NOT talking about 50 billion GCS
here; We're talking about 378,000,000 Hyperdrive equipped ships of
varying sizes and 306,000,000 picket ships without hyperdrives, none of
which are longer than 150 meters. Many of the Hyperdrive equipped ships
are smaller than a GCS, too. And the Empire had OVER three times as
long to complete that force as it did to build an object equivalent in
mass to 50 billion GCS. I HIGHLY doubt that, even taken into account
the complexity of 50 billion GCS compared to one Death Star II that
378,000,000 Hyperdrive equipped ships of varying sizes and 306,000,000
picket ships without hyperdrives, none of which are longer than 150
meters, would take up as much resources to build as a SINGLE Death Star
Mk.II!

To me, the industrial capability of the Empire is more than up to the
task, and the Empire NEEDS these ships to police it's borders. The
evidence IS circumstantial, I admit that, but the evidence points
towards the fleet size I have calculated above.

Thank you for your time and reading this. It's the latest refinement
in a long line of refinements on the sheer, staggering scale and scope
of the Imperial Starfleet.