The Surveyor-class reconnaissance frigate was a small, fast frigate of the Galactic Empire, based on the Active-class fast attack frigate from Kuat Drive Yards and manufactured by the same corporation for 9,600,000 credits apiece. The Surveyor had a lightly armored hull with a thin, dagger shape, like that of the larger Vindicator-class cruiser. Unlike the Vindicator, the Surveyor lacked a command tower and instead possessed a broad, heavily shielded bunker-like structure, which contained the command deck. This structure, similar to the one on the Bellator-class dreadnought, rose at the aft of the starship and extended over the main drives, of which there were at least two. Surveyors also had a Class 1 primary hyperdrive and a Class 11 backup hyperdrive, as well as a navicomputer.
Surveyor-class vessels were able to carry a squadron of twelve starfighters, along with assorted shuttles. The frigate was manned by 900 officers, pilots, and enlisted crew, as well as eighty troops. The ship's encumbrance capacity was 3,700 metric tons of cargo, depending on configuration, and it held enough consumables for two standard years.
A lightly armed vessel, the Surveyor-class frigate boasted a respectable collection of weapons. These included three dorsal and three ventral turret-mounted light turbolasers, two port and two starboard turret-mounted medium turbolasers, three port and three starboard turret-mounted twin light laser cannons, four forward-mounted medium ion cannons, and two forward-mounted heavy tractor beam emitters.
For a high degree of effectiveness in reconnaissance and exploration, the Surveyor was equipped with powerful and extremely long-ranged sensor suites that were among the most sophisticated of their kind in the Imperial Navy. They were contained in the same bunker-like structure as the command deck. The equipment included passive and active sensors, multispectrum detection arrays, signals and data intercept systems, and a potent dedicated computer system that collected and analyzed incoming data. The signals intelligence capability of the Surveyor was further strengthened by a number of stealth systems, allowing it to hide in star systems and stay relatively safe from detection. The reconnaissance frigate could then gather information and transmit it back to its battle group.
The primary role of the Surveyor-class frigate was reconnaissance and exploration, owing to its various sensor and stealth arrays. Additionally, the weapons systems permitted the Surveyor to act as a combat ship.
During the Imperial Era, Surveyors were relatively common in battle groups operating in the Core Worlds and Mid Rim Territories regions.
The Surveyor-class reconnaissance frigate was introduced in the Star Wars Roleplaying sourcebook Lead by Example, which was written by John Dunn and published by Fantasy Flight Games in 2016 for the Star Wars: Age of Rebellion roleplaying game system.
- Lead by Example