The Resurgent-class was the embodiment of the new doctrine adopted by the First Order, which favored surgical strikes through the use of high quality weapons with parsimony and pragmatism. Where the old Galactic Empire had no qualms in sacrificing countless Star Destroyers, the First Order could not afford such losses and commissioned the Resurgent Star Destroyer to take over the now outdated Imperial-class. Almost twice as big and much better equipped than its Imperial predecessor, the Resurgent-class finally fixed the many flaws of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer.
Forming the backbone of the First Order Navy, the Resurgent Star Destroyer was well ahead of its time and had virtually no equal by the time it entered into active service. Following the Hosnian Cataclysm that saw the annihilation of much of the New Republic's Fleet, the Resurgent Star Destroyer became the spearhead of the First Order in its ruthless conquest of the galaxy, successfully forcing many worlds into submission. When the galactic conflict against the Resistance broke out, the First Order Star Destroyer outclassed its opponents but suffered extensive and unnecessary losses, as demonstrated at the Battle of Oetchi.
Almost twice the length of the Old Empire's Imperial-class Star Destroyers, the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer (also known as Resurgent-class Battlecruiser, Resurgent Star Destroyer, or First Order Star Destroyer) was 2,915.81 meters in length and emulated the dagger-shaped design of its former Imperial-class vessels. Eight Resurgent-class vessels could dock with a single Mega-class Star Dreadnought.
Designed for advanced ship-to-ship combat capabilities, it served as a symbol of the First Order's power, inspiring awe in the Order's enemies and pride within its ranks. Improving on the design of Imperial Era vessels, the ship featured hull structural bracing in its midsection. Much of the bow was split in two along the side, housing open space, supported by a truss structure.
Resurgent-class Battlecruiser schematics
Resurgent-class Star Destroyers featured a complement of 19,000 officers and 55,000 enlisted personnel. To keep such a large ship in operation, starship crews were forced to work closely together and alternate each standard day into six four-hour-long shifts, divided among three crew sections. This would foster a strong sense of unity and team identity. Access to command systems and other areas of First Order vessels and installations were denied to enlisted personnel, requiring the properly coded rank cylinders worn by officers. With many young fleet officers having been trained aboard these new battlecruisers for their entire lives, most considered these warships as their homes.
Resurgent-class vessels featured a crew recreation area on the lower part of the midsection. Upper habitation levels near the primary command bridge were reserved for senior command staff. First Order Special Forces personnel stationed on the ship utilized barracks near senior command domiciles. Domiciles for First Order pilots had four cupboards, and four beds which were split into two bunkbeds. Each cupboard was reserved for each pilot, containing their weapons, with the pilot`s serial number written in Aurebesh on the door. In the domiciles were four ladders which would aid pilots in reaching the top bunkbed. The ship's sickbay was located above the stormtrooper barracks in the bow section of the ship before the forward heavy turbolaser batteries. The ships also featured meeting rooms in which high ranking officials, such as the First Order Supreme Council, could meet and discuss important matters.
Resurgent-class vessels maintained a complement of over 8,000 stormtroopers (a full legion) who had access to a training complex below their barracks. While stormtroopers followed their chain of command while aboard fleet vessels—with a captain of the guard serving as the ultimate authority over the troopers—during alerts stormtroopers were instructed to follow the orders of any officer regardless of branch of service. First Order Special Forces personnel were also stationed on the vessel. A TIE pilot training and briefing complex existed adjacent to the lateral port hangar, while engineering personnel habitation areas were located at the bottom of the ship, near the reactor core. The ship featured a detention center in its upper midsection, slightly closer to the bow of the vessel. Just like its predecessors, the Resurgent-class featured Rebaxan Columni MSE-6 series repair droids to serve as messenger, repair and custodial assistants.
While its size invoked memories of Imperial I-class Star Destroyers, the design also mimicked the Republic's Venator-class Star Destroyers. The dorsal flight deck, side hangars, and long keel are leftovers from the Clone Wars. More efficient flight decks and hangar bays allowed the Resurgent-class to launch its full complement of fighters much faster than Imperial warships could. Other design flaws in Imperial ships such as the exposed bridge were also fixed.
Featuring over 1,500 turbolasers and ion cannons, Resurgent-class vessels were designed for orbital assaults and slugging matches with enemy ships. Powerful turbolaser batteries allowed for overloading enemy shields and punching through thick armor, along with orbital bombardments capable of reducing planetary surfaces to molten slag. Upgraded from Imperial Era turbolasers, the Resurgent-class delivered more firepower and had a faster recharge rate. Stemming from kyber focusing crystals harvested from a secret source deep in the Unknown Regions, other captains clamored for upgrades to their warships, only to be denied as military-grade crystals were in short supply. Only the most prestigious and important vessels were allowed this advanced weaponry, along with the Order's highest ranks. Much like its Imperial predecessors, the Resurgent destroyer featured eight dorsal heavy turbolaser turrets in pairs of four on either side of its main tower, in addition to two triple-barreled heavy turbolaser cannons on its underside in front of its main hangar.
The ventral missile cannons of a Resurgent-class vessel.
Smaller point-defense turrets and missile emplacements served as complements to the heavy weapons, being able to track and destroy smaller and more agile ships. Both starboard and port sides of the stern featured standard turbolaser batteries, while heavy turbolaser turrets and an axial defense turret were located at the bow. The ship's turret firing control center was located at the aft and was protected underneath the larger rear portion of the ship. Ion cannon targeting was located on the ship's port side near the front. Multi-spectrum sensor towers were located near the primary command bridge and aided in target acquisition.
The ship's tractor beam projector was located at the very tip of the bow, while the flight deck deflector shield projector was located a short distance behind. The ship's main hull deflector shield projectors were located on both the port and starboard stern sections, while a single domed-shaped bridge deflector shield projector encased the command bridge and its occupants, aided by a bridge deflector augmenter further up the ship's keel line. A bridge point-defense turret also helped further defend the bridge from starfighter attack.
One of the Finalizer's hangars, containing several TIE/sf fighters and Atmospheric Assault Landers.
Resurgent-class Battlecruisers typically carried two starfighter wings of both TIE/fo and TIE/sf space superiority fighters.
The ship featured both lateral starboard and port hangar entrances, with hangar flight control bridges overseeing activities in both bays. Unlike former Imperial-class Star Destroyers, TIE fighters were brought in from storage deeper within the vessel from launching racks, from where they would exit into space. The main hangar was positioned on the vessel's underbelly, where a docking claw aided vessels in landing and departing. The logistics hangar reception bay and ground vehicle storage were located near the main hangar. Another lateral flight deck was located in the ship's bow and was used as a staging area for full-scale invasion operations. Overall, the Resurgent-class could launch its full complement of starfighters and assault ships much quicker than its predecessors in the Imperial Navy.
For ground assault, a Resurgent-class Battlecruisers carried 100 Atmospheric Assault Landers, several speeders, many self propelled artillery piece, at least some ground troop transports, numerous Xi-class and Upsilon-class shuttles, one prefabricated ground base, and more than 8,000 stormtroopers.
The Resurgent-class sported three Destroyer Ion Engines and eight Gemon-8 ion engines.
The Resurgent-class was powered by a single, large III-a1a primary hypermatter-annihilation reactor housed within a dome-shaped reactor containment vessel on the ship's underbelly. The massive reactor was supported by a reinforced reactor superstructure and hull chassis. The reactor engineering control deck oversaw reactor-based activities. The large atmospheric processing complex and reactant ducts were located behind the reactor containment vessel.
The ship was propelled by eleven engines, with three large KDY Destroyer Ion Engines and eight smaller Gemon-8 ion engines. These engines required a subsidiary reactor, reactant silos and isotope containment wells at the stern. There, extra power would be derived while the coolant silo and pumps would help lower the temperature of the massive engines. Around the large, circular engines were the main engine thrust nozzles, while the smaller engines would utilize secondary thrust nozzles to help bring greater control over the ship. The main engines were attached to magnetic turbines, along with an acceleration compensator. In a straight line and at full speed, the Resurgent-class could be faster than a TIE/fo space superiority fighter, however doing so would negate any maneuverability and require a staggering amount of counter-thrust to execute the slightest maneuver. Thus, only the most reckless commanders traded the ship's maneuverability for its speed. The hyperdrive generator was located at the very end of the ship's aft section.
The bridge of the Finalizer.
Learning lessons from the loss of the Executor during the Battle of Endor, the Resurgent-class destroyer featured an off-center, better-protected command bridge along with increased redundancy in command and control systems. No longer having the exposed conning towers of older Imperial Era vessels, bridge height was reduced significantly. In addition, an emergency bridge was located in the ship's midsection and was not exposed but built into the existing structure of the vessel. There, standby personnel would take control of the vessel's activities if the primary bridge were to be taken out of action.
Additionally, sunken data pits continued to be used following the designs from Clone Wars-era Venator-class Star Destroyers, owing to their importance in denoting command hierarchy. Simplified bridge displays with limited colors further aided bridge crews in disseminating large amounts of complex data faster than before. Like the Imperial-class Star Destroyers before them, the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer bridge designs were deliberately modeled to reflect an emphasis on command hierarchical structures, to such an extent that the commanding officers were literally afforded a higher platform than the non-commissioned officers via sunken pits.
Following the Galactic Empire's defeat at the Battle of Jakku and the signing of the Galactic Concordance, its successor state known as the First Order rose to power in the Unknown Regions, eventually it ordered the construction of the new Resurgent-class Star Destroyers on recently constructed shipyards and secret facilities in the galaxy's vast frontier, though their very construction was illegal by the Concordance. It would still be considered a new model shortly before the Battle of Starkiller Base.
The forces of the First Order used the Resurgent-class Star Destroyers as they expanded.
Taking inspiration from the Imperial-class Star Destroyers of the Old Empire, but lacking the resources to construct huge numbers of these capital ships, First Order designs would consciously emulate the psychological factor of the previous Imperial Era ships. The ship's bow, flight deck, side hangars, and prominent keel would share similarities to the Old Republic's Venator-class Star Destroyers, which reflected renewed appreciation among First Order tacticians for capital ships' role as carriers.
Further improvements in a better protected bridge tower along with quicker fighter-combat reaction time, the Resurgent-class served as the mainstay of the First Order Navy, replacing the aging Imperial-class Star Destroyers in service. Despite the size of the Resurgent-class, the Resistance's intelligence branch suspected that the First Order had even larger warships in development.
The Thunderer, a Resurgent-class Star Destroyer on Castilon
General Armitage Hux and Kylo Ren used the Finalizer, the lead ship of the Resurgent-class, 30 years after the Battle of Endor in the search for Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, and launched the Attack on Tuanul from the command ship. Thirty Resurgent-class Star Destroyers, including the Finalizer, the Harbinger and Conqueror, also proceeded to participate in the Battle of Oetchi. The Resistance during that time knew that at least 30 Resurgent-class Star Destroyers were present among the First Order forces, but 20 of them were destroyed in Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo's ramming attack.
At least 17 Resurgent-class Star Destroyers, including the Finalizer, were present at the planet Tah'Nuhna along with one Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought during the First Order's destruction of the planet. Afterwards, the Finalizer was present at Batuu along with two other Resurgent-class Star Destroyers. They engaged Resistance forces above the planet. A fleet of 14 Resurgent-class Star Destroyers arrived in the Aeos system after a Resistance cell led by Kazuda Xiono was on the planet Aeos Prime. The Resurgent-class Star Destroyers bombarded the planet, killing many Aeosians.
Several Resurgent-class Star Destroyers were destroyed across the galaxy.
The Resurgent-class Star Destroyer Steadfast commanded the Sith Eternal's fleet, the Final Order, during the Battle of Exegol. The ship was destroyed when Finn and Jannah used one of its own turbolasers to destroy the command deck. The crippled ship then crashed into Exegol's surface and exploded. After the Sith's defeat, several Resurgent-class Star Destroyers were later attacked by the citizens of the galaxy during an uprising against the First Order.
The Resurgent-class Battlecruiser first appeared in the second teaser trailer for the film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens on April 16, 2015. The ship's full name, the "Resurgent-class Star Destroyer," was revealed in Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Incredible Cross-Sections, released on December 18 along with the film. However, the book's author Jason Fry later announced that the information on the Finalizer from the book had been revised, changing up the complement and reclassifying it as the "Resurgent-class Battlecruiser"—changes that would be reflected in future printings of the reference book.
For the next generation of battlecruisers, many design concepts were considered, including one with a negative space in the bow, similar to the USS Vengeance in J.J. Abrams' 2013 film Star Trek into Darkness.
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