Cantwell-class Arrestor Cruiser

The Arrestor cruiser known as the Cantwell-class, was named in honor of starship designer Walex Cantwell Blissex I, and served the Department of Imperial Justice of the Galactic Empire. The Cantwell-class Arrestor Cruiser, like other warships in the Galactic Empire's fleet, had a shape resembling a slender arrowhead. However, in contrast to vessels such as Imperial-class Star Destroyers, the arrowhead's point was situated at the ship's rear. The triangular frame was inverted and truncated midway along the hull, resulting in a long, narrow front section. Arrestor cruisers were consistently painted in a light gray tone, reflecting the Empire's preference for subdued colors.

Cantwell-class ships were armed with three dual heavy ion cannons mounted in turrets (one on the port side, one on the starboard side, and one ventrally), along with a dozen light laser cannons (three facing forward, three to port, three to starboard, and three facing aft). The ships also featured three powerful, dish-shaped RT-17 repulsor-tractor beam emitters: one at the front, one on the starboard side, and one on the port side. These emitters allowed the Arrestor to not only capture and pull in other starships, but also to push them away to a distance suitable for disabling the target ship's systems with its ion cannons.

The warship had a pair of sizable docking bays located midships, but it only carried a limited number of TIE/ln space superiority starfighters. Each hangar could accommodate a squadron of starfighters—a total of 24 fighters—along with shuttles and TIE Boarding Craft, which enabled the ship's complement of stormtroopers to board captured vessels.

The purpose of the Cantwell-class Arrestor Cruiser was to capture and disable any suspect starship, whether it was a freighter, frigate, or even another cruiser. When undertaking a capture operation, it would pursue its target, only needing to stay at a distance where its tractor beams could be effectively deployed. After trapping the target, the Arrestor could either pull it in close to disable it with ion cannons, or maintain it at a distance, allowing starfighter squadrons to destroy it. Additionally, the Arrestor was used to reroute traffic away from areas under construction.

During the Galactic Empire's early years of rule, the Department of Imperial Justice and the Imperial Navy pushed for the development of a warship specifically designed to capture pirates, smugglers, and other dissidents for public trials. The program received approval, and Kuat Drive Yards was awarded the contract. Following three years of development and testing, the first Cantwell-class Arrestor Cruiser was officially commissioned.

By 13 BBY, the Imperial Navy was actively using the Arrestor Cruiser. At this time, Han Solo and Qi'ra, members of the White Worms, attempted to flee the Core Worlds planet of Corellia by boarding a ship at the Coronet City spaceport. While being chased by stormtroopers, Solo observed an Imperial recruitment film that prominently showcased an Arrestor Cruiser flanked by a pair of Imperial I-class Star Destroyers.

Three years later, Solo was in pilot training at the Carida Academy. He was assigned to an Arrestor Cruiser as part of Onyx Squadron, flying TIE brutes. During one engagement with pirate Z-95s, Solo's starfighter sustained damage. He managed to guide it into the hangar, but he ended up damaging two additional starfighters. As a result, he faced a tribunal and was reassigned to the Imperial Army for service in the Mimban Campaign.

In 5 BBY, Luthen Rael was briefly halted by Captain Elk's Arrestor cruiser as he entered the orbit of Segra Milo aboard his Fondor Haulcraft. Despite providing the Imperials with a seemingly valid—though fabricated—transponder signal, Rael soon found his ship caught in the Arrestor's tractor beam. However, Rael managed to break free, and his haulcraft's advanced countermeasures allowed him to damage the Arrestor's primary beam emitter. An enraged Captain Elk then launched an air wing from the cruiser's docking bays, but Rael successfully defeated the enemy starfighters and jumped to hyperspace. Around the same period, at least a pair of Cantwell cruisers were stationed at the construction site of the DS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station above Scarif.

The Cantwell-class Arrestor Cruiser made its initial appearance in Star Wars canon within the 2018 film, Solo: A Star Wars Story, specifically in an Imperial recruitment advertisement. However, the original script for Solo included a scene where the Millennium Falcon was to be captured by a tractor beam ship, which ultimately evolved into the Arrestor Cruiser. Although this full appearance was cut from the final film, the cruiser was still featured in the Onyx Squadron sequence included in the film's deleted scenes.

In 2018, Leland Chee revealed on Twitter that the cruiser was designated as the Cantwell-class, although this was not officially confirmed until the release of Starships and Speeders, a 2020 sourcebook for the Star Wars roleplaying game system by Fantasy Flight Games.

Colin Cantwell initially presented the design concept for what would become the Imperial Arrestor Cruiser directly to George Lucas for potential inclusion in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. However, the design was ultimately rejected in favor of a different concept. The design was inspired by aircraft carriers from World War II. Originally called the Sith Carrier, the ship was intended to launch Sith Fighters, and the dishes on its sides were meant to be used to destroy enemy ships. This idea was later repurposed for the superlaser weapon of the Death Star.

The production team for Solo rediscovered Cantwell's design while examining the archives of Lucasfilm. Industrial Light & Magic subsequently created a high-resolution CG model of the ship for its appearance in the film.