The Ascendancy military, also known as the Chiss military, was the standing military of the Chiss Ascendancy and was based in the galaxy's Unknown Regions, known to the Chiss as the Chaos. It consisted of the Chiss Defense Force, charged with defending Chiss territory, and the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, charged with patrolling the Chaos. The Defense Force and the Defense Fleet were bound by a set of laws restricting their authority to perform preemptive strikes.
The mission of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet was to "watch over Chiss interests in the parts of the Chaos extending beyond the Ascendancy's borders, to learn who was out there and assess their level of threat." In addition to the Expansionary Defense Fleet, many Chiss families had family fleets that functioned analogously to planetary defense forces for worlds where that family had a strong presence.
Long before the Clone Wars, the Chiss Ascendancy participated in the Sith Wars in "Lesser Space" before retreating to an isolationist existence within the Chaos. Some time prior to the Vagaari pirate operations, the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet was formed to protect and reconnoiter Chiss interests beyond the borders of the Ascendancy.
The Chiss Defense Force had an established hierarchy of military ranks. From highest to lowest, they were:
The Ascendancy military employed Chiss heavy cruisers
The Ascendancy military utilized a variety of starships. The largest starships class was the Nightdragon man-of-war. Smaller then the Nightdragon where the two other Man of War classification, the Groundlion man-of-war and Firewolf man-of-war. Smaller than the man-of-war was the Chiss heavy cruiser. The fifth largest class of capital ship was the Chiss frigate. The ascendancy military also employed Chiss patrol cruisers and Chiss patrol ships.
- Star Wars: Timelines