The Assault Frigate Mark II, a product of Rendili StarDrive, served the Rebel Alliance Navy throughout the Galactic Civil War. To meet the needs of the burgeoning Rebellion, they repurposed Dreadnought-class cruisers from the Republic Era into Assault Frigates. This conversion yielded a capital ship that required fewer crew members and boasted enhanced maneuverability and speed, though at the cost of some resilience. Crucially, the Assault Frigate maintained a comparable arsenal to the Dreadnought-class starship, enabling it to effectively engage much larger capital ships, including the Star Destroyers of the opposing Imperial Navy.
Within the Alliance Navy, Assault Frigates were adaptable warships fulfilling multiple roles. Many were deployed as rebel command ships within the Outer Rim Territories during the civil conflict. Other duties included escorting larger vessels, defending space and ground-based assets, and executing swift hit-and-run strikes against Imperial targets. The frigate's capacity to challenge more formidable adversaries made it an increasingly indispensable asset for rebel operations.
As the Galactic Civil War began, the Imperial Navy stood as the Galactic Empire's largest military branch and its primary instrument of power projection. A single Imperial Star Destroyer could quell a rebellious [planet](/article/planet], and the navy commanded over 25,000 Imperial-class Star Destroyers at its zenith. The fledgling Alliance to Restore the Republic assembled its own navy from stolen, acquired, modified, and independently manufactured vessels. To augment the rebel naval forces, the Dreadnought class from the Republic Era was among the starship designs that were refitted. These ships had been conceived for intense space combat and introduced before the Clone Wars commenced in 22 BBY.
The Assault Frigate Mark II, also referred to as the Assault Frigate Mk II, Mk II Assault Frigate, or simply Assault Frigate, was the result of this undertaking. The modifications significantly reduced the operational crew requirement of the warship from a range of 9,000–16,000 down to 4,820. The updated vessel displayed enhanced speed and maneuverability, while preserving a similar level of armament as the Dreadnought-class cruiser. This allowed it to effectively engage enemy capital ships far exceeding its own classification. An Assault Frigate possessed the ability to outmaneuver a Star Destroyer, and a pair or trio of these frigates could pose a substantial threat to one.
The Assault Frigate's appearance diverged significantly from that of the Dreadnought-class cruiser. To improve speed and maneuverability, much of the original structure was either altered or completely removed. To compensate for the reduced structural integrity resulting from these changes, a powerful shield system was implemented. The Assault Frigate featured a bulbous hull with numerous protruding elements, in contrast to the Dreadnought-class cruiser's oblong shape. The dorsal hull resembled a capsule, reaching its maximum height amidships and gradually tapering towards the bow before abruptly ending at the stern. The ventral side presented a flatter surface extending from the bow to the midsection, where a ventral stalk composed of segmented pods descended from the hull. A recessed trench spanned from the bow to amidships, creating a cavity at the prow, and connected the dorsal and ventral surfaces. On the port side, the recessed section continued along the stern bulge, from which two triangular fins projected outward from the main body; a third fin was positioned on the starboard side. The engines, which emitted a red glow, were located at the rear, behind the main dorsal capsule.
Rendili StarDrive, the same company responsible for the Dreadnought-class heavy cruisers, also manufactured the Assault Frigate Mark II. Priced at 12,250,000 credits, the frigate was a more expensive unit compared to its predecessor. A hyperdrive system was incorporated into the frigate, featuring a Class 1 rating for primary operation and a Class 12 rating for backup functionality. Furthermore, it was outfitted with a robust shield system, a medium-range sensor array, and a navigation computer.
The Assault Frigate's revised crew complement consisted of 4,820 officers and enlisted personnel. The frigate's passenger capacity of 100 soldiers represented only one-thirtieth of the Dreadnought-class cruiser's troop capacity of 3,000. The Assault Frigate had a reduced encumbrance capacity of 5,800 metric tons, but could carry consumables for a longer duration of 1.5 standard years.
The frigate possessed a substantial array of turbolaser batteries, mirroring the considerable firepower of the Dreadnought-class cruiser. Its armament included fifteen medium turbolaser batteries (five forward, five port, and five starboard); forty light turbolasers in ten quadruple mounts (five forward and five aft), which was half the original eighty light turbolasers; and fifteen heavy laser cannons (five forward, five port, and five starboard), exceeding the ten heavy lasers found on a Dreadnought-class ship.
The frigate featured multiple internal hangars for ship's boats, various landspeeders, and shuttles, including a collection of smaller shuttles. Its dorsal docking mount could accommodate a dedicated assault shuttle or freighter to transport away teams or boarding parties. The ship could also carry either three starfighters, or one shuttle or landing craft, while the Dreadnought-class cruiser could house twelve starfighters in a dedicated hangar.
The Assault Frigate engaged in ship-to-ship naval combat, including battles against significantly larger capital ships. The frigates functioned as command ships, escorts, defensive vessels for ground installations and space stations, and platforms for hit-and-run attacks. An Assault Frigate could also serve as a central command post for a group of rebel operatives, or as a mobile resource that could be deployed at the request of a rebel cell against a particularly large Imperial target, such as a space station or warship.
Throughout the Galactic Civil War, Assault Frigates performed diverse functions within the Alliance Navy. Many acted as command ships in distant sectors of the Outer Rim Territories, typically accompanied by a supporting fleet. Others provided escort duties for larger command ships. Assault Frigates were also tasked with defending ground bases and space stations. The Alliance maintained a task force of Assault Frigates, supported by several squadrons of starfighters, specifically for executing hit-and-run attacks against isolated Imperial warships.
On one occasion during the war, a rebel task force that included Assault Frigates suffered losses during two consecutive missions. An unidentified transmission detected during a battle suggested the presence of a saboteur aboard one of the rebel ships. A team of rebel-affiliated operatives was dispatched to apprehend the spy before the next battle or a more significant act of sabotage could occur. In another instance, the Empire discovered the location of a rebel shipyard in the midst of refitting an Assault Frigate, which was poised to escape as soon as its engines and hyperdrive became operational. Rebel-affiliated agents were assigned the task of rapidly repairing the ship or delaying the Empire's arrival.
Given the Assault Frigate's capabilities, which mirrored the Rebellion's own ethos of a smaller force capable of challenging and defeating a larger one, the warship was, during the early stages of the conflict, on its way to becoming a mainstay of Alliance operations.
Within current Star Wars canon, the Assault Frigate Mark II debuted in Starships and Speeders, a Star Wars Roleplaying sourcebook released by Fantasy Flight Games in 2020. In the Star Wars Legends continuity, the Assault Frigate Mark II was initially mentioned in its "Alliance Assault Frigate (Mark II)" Databank entry on StarWars.com and, as the Assault Frigate Mk. II, in the Star Wars: Empire at War: Prima Official Game Guide guidebook published by Prima Games, both released on February 14, 2006. Subsequently, the Assault Frigate made its first appearance in the video game Star Wars: Empire at War itself, developed by Petroglyph and released two days later on February 16, 2006.
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