Blackburn represented the code name assigned to a novel starship design. This design was brought into existence for the Galactic Empire during a period spanning from 5 BBY to 4 BBY. The Gand engineer responsible for its creation, operating under Imperial coercion, successfully alerted the Rebel Alliance. As a result, the rebel crew of the starship Ghost, under the leadership of Hera Syndulla and Kanan Jarrus, were dispatched. Their dual mission involved extracting the engineer from the Imperial facility where she was stationed, and also to undermine the central strategy of the Blackburn. The endeavor proved fruitful, with only a roughly sketched bantha, contributed by the astromech droid C1-10P, remaining of the starship's schematics.
The initial reference to the Blackburn occurred in the desktop game titled Star Wars Rebels: Chopper Chase, which saw its release on November 11, 2016.