The Citizens' Fleet, alternatively known as the citizens' navy, represented a massive fleet that included 14,000 volunteer civilian and military ships. These vessels hailed from across the Core Worlds and throughout the galaxy, coming together during the war between the First Order and the Resistance. General Lando Calrissian orchestrated its formation to support the Resistance during the Battle of Exegol. There, the fleet confronted the formidable forces of the Sith Eternal, which included the Final Order under the command of the reborn Darth Sidious.
Initially, numerous worlds hesitated to offer assistance to the Resistance at the commencement of their war against the First Order. This reluctance stemmed from the recent collapse of the New Republic and the First Order's accelerating conquest of the galaxy. The New Republic's downfall involved the destruction of its New Republic Home Fleet. Although some task forces survived, Senators disbanded them to safeguard their respective homeworlds.
Following the announcement of Darth Sidious's resurgence and the destruction of Kijimi, Rebel Alliance veterans General Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca embarked on a mission aboard the Millennium Falcon to the Core Systems. Generals Poe Dameron and Finn of the Resistance requested that they broadcast a plea for aid to anyone throughout the galaxy willing to support the Resistance in their impending conflict.
After quickly gathering a combined force of 14,000 starships of diverse classes and sizes, crewed by ordinary galactic citizens and allies of the Resistance, the Citizens' Fleet materialized at Exegol. There, the remnants of the Resistance were locked in a battle against the Sith Eternal's fleet of Xyston-class Star Destroyers, representing the Final Order. Their purpose was to bolster the Resistance's efforts to prevent the massive Sith armada from launching from Exegol and attacking the remaining free worlds. The Citizens' Fleet played a crucial role in shifting the battle's momentum, ultimately securing victory and triggering a galaxy-wide uprising against the First Order by the galaxy's inhabitants.
Various units participated at Exegol, including the Mon Calamari fleet, Inferno Squad, and Phantom Squadron.
The immense civilian fleet featured a significant number of capital ships, most notably those belonging to the MC-series star cruiser line developed by the Mon Calamari. These Star Cruisers included at least twenty-five MC75 Star Cruisers, along with numerous MC75B Star Cruisers, many MC75C Star Cruisers, and various other similar models sharing the MC75 style of hull. MC80 Star Cruisers also took part in the battle, alongside a minimum of five MC85 Star Cruisers and numerous other models with the MC85 hull design. Furthermore, multiple MC95 Star Cruisers were present, along with MC95A Star Cruisers, MC95B Star Cruisers, MC95C Star Cruisers, MC95D Star Cruisers, and MC95E Star Cruisers. In addition to the Mon Calamari Star Cruisers, substantial numbers of Hynestian Star Cruisers were also present at Exegol as part of the fleet. The enormous supertanker fuel depot space station known as the Colossus was also integrated into the fleet, along with at least one restored Cronian battlebird. Several Lucrehulk-class battleships were also part of the fleet.
Ships of smaller classifications, known as sub-capital ships, also formed a significant portion of the fleet's composition. Many of these ships were frigates. At Exegol, there were at least seven EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigates, a minimum of fifteen Nebulon-C escort frigates, at least twelve Pelta-class frigates, and at least fourteen Vakbeor-class cargo frigates.
Moreover, there were numerous corvettes, including CR90 corvettes, Lothalian Corvettes, Braha'tok-class gunships, Sphyrna-class Hammerhead corvettes, and at least twenty-four Free Virgillia-class Bunkerbusters. Transports included GR-75 medium transports and Gozanti Armed Transports.
Warships were not the only vessels present; the fleet also included freighters, transports, shuttles, gunships, and numerous other light craft. Specific freighter classes included many Corellian Engineering Corporation starships from the VCX series, YT-series, and the YV-series. These encompassed at least three VCX-100 light freighters, including the Ghost, a YT-1300 light freighter which was the Millennium Falcon and the fleet's lead vessel, as well as YT-2400 light freighters, YT-2400BT freighters, and YV-865 Aurore-class freighters. Additionally, there were at least twenty-five Baleen-class heavy freighters manufactured by CEC. Other freighter classes included Darius G-class freighters and its variant, the Mining Guild Freighter, at least one Drovan Freighter, at least one Ralltiiri Light Freighter, at least two Sullustan Cargo Freighters, at least one 720 light freighter, at least one Coruscant Freighter, and at least one ZH-40 Tribune-class light freighter. Furthermore, the fleet incorporated TUG-b13s.
The fleet also featured GX1 short haulers, T-6 shuttles, Starspeeder 1000s, and at least one H-type Nubian yacht. Light attack craft included at least one Razor Assault Ship, at least one Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft, at least one Pursuer-class enforcer, Avandor-class fighter/transports, Lancer-class pursuit craft including the Nebular Kelpie, Auzituck anti-slaver gunships, UT-60D U-wing starfighter/support craft, and MG-100 StarFortress SF-17 heavy bombers.
In addition to capital ships, sub-capital ships, and light craft, the Citizens' Fleet possessed a substantial force of bombers and starfighters. Bombers included BTA-NR2 Y-wing starfighters, while starfighters consisted of T-70 X-wing starfighters, racing starfighters including the Yellow Ace, Red Ace, Green Ace, the Fireball, Blue Ace, and Yeager's ship, Durosian fighters, Z-95 Headhunters, Fang-class fighters, Kom'rk-class fighter/transports, N-1 starfighters, rebel speeders, Victor-wing Fighters, D-wing fighters, and numerous other vessels.
The Citizens' Fleet debuted in the 2019 film Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, the concluding chapter of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Due to the exclusion of certain shots rendered by ILM from the final movie cut, inconsistencies arose between promotional materials and the finished product. Lucasfilm Story Group member Pablo Hidalgo mentioned in a Star Wars Resistance Bucket's List article on StarWars.com that the fleet consisted of 14,000 starships. However, an Industrial Light & Magic video showcasing the film's visual effects stated that the scene of the fleet appearing at Exegol comprised over 16,000 ships. This article assumes that Hidalgo's statement is the canon number for the amount of ships in the fleet.