Tractor beam

A tractor beam was a projected force field that manipulated gravitational forces to push or pull objects. Such devices were employed on some vessels, creating an energy field that allowed them to lock onto and move other vessels or objects.

Vessels employing tractor beams included the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer, the MC80 Star Cruiser, the Confederacy of Independent Systems's Recusant-class warship, and the TUG-314 Republic tugboat. The Death Star also contained tractor beams and was able to draw the Millennium Falcon into one of the battlestation's hangar bays. Countermeasures such as projectile launchers were used against tractor beams, destroying them with massive amounts of shrapnel that would be brought in by the beam.