The Interdictor-class cruiser, which also goes by names such as the hyperspace interdiction cruiser, the Interdictor-class capital ship, the Interdictor-class Sith destroyer, the Interdictor-class star cruiser, and the Interdictor-class warship, stood out as one of the most frequently deployed capital ships within the Sith armada during the era of the Jedi Civil War and in its aftermath.
Reaching a length of 600 meters, the Interdictor-class featured a distinctive hull design, divided into dorsal and ventral sections. Propulsion was achieved using a configuration of three primary and four secondary thrusters, a design reminiscent of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer. Command functions were housed within a tower located at the stern.
Weaponry aboard the Interdictor-class cruiser included 5 medium Turbolaser cannon batteries, 6 light point-defense cannon batteries, 3 tractor beam batteries, and 4 gravity well projectors. The infamous Sith warship and Interdictor-class cruiser known as the Leviathan was armed with 20 quad laser cannons, 4 turbolaser cannons, 2 ion cannons, and a tractor beam projector.
The Sith warships constructed by the Star Forge were comparable to Star Destroyers from the later Imperial Period.
The designation "Interdictor" was initially put forward by Admiral Jimas Veltraa. Following Veltraa's demise during the Mandalorian Wars, proposals were made to rename the class in his honor; however, the Supreme Chancellor rejected these suggestions. Approval for the construction of the Interdictor-class was granted in 3963 BBY.
The original Interdictor prototypes were produced by Republic Sienar Systems. Similar to the Inexpugnable-class command ships, the Interdictor-class cruisers were initially constructed at Corellian shipyards, but the Star Forge would go on to produce many more of them to bolster the growing warfleet commanded by the Sith Lord Darth Revan.
The Leviathan, an Interdictor-class Cruiser, was a Galactic Republic warship and was said to be the only vessel of its class to be fully operational upon leaving the shipyards. Admiral Saul Karath commanded it and later defected, taking the ship to join the Sith Lords Revan and Malak. The Star Forge duplicated the ship, producing hundreds more. Until his death, the Leviathan remained Karath's flagship.
Commanding the Leviathan, Malak deployed a fleet of _Interdictor_s to Taris, positioning them around the world to prevent the escape of the Jedi Knight Bastila Shan. Growing impatient with the search for the missing Jedi, he ordered his fleet to use their turbolasers to bombard Taris, reducing the Upper City to ruins. Later, a number of _Interdictor_s participated in the Battle of Rakata Prime, where the Star Forge was destroyed, ending its mass production of Interdictor-class ships and Sith fighters.
Despite this setback, many surviving Interdictor-class cruisers later formed the core of Darth Nihilus's Sith battlefleet, seeing action at the Battle of Telos IV.
Millennia later, the Star Destroyer line of warships in the Galactic Republic, and later the Galactic Empire, retained the overall design principles. Sienar Fleet Systems, as Sienar was known under the Empire, developed the Immobilizer 418 cruiser, which featured an advanced gravity well projector.
According to the strategy guide, Knights of the Old Republic: Prima's Official Strategy Guide, Sienar Fleet Systems, a company that would not exist until the formation of the Galactic Empire, built the Interdictor-class. At the time of the Mandalorian Wars, the company was still known as Republic Sienar Systems.
The 1998 PC program Star Wars: Behind the Magic features a glossary entry for the "Interdictor-class cruiser." However, the entry notes that the term is intended to refer to the Immobilizer 418 cruiser and should not be confused with the KotOR series' Interdictor-class cruiser. The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia mistakenly refers to an Interdictor type of ship, misusing an early name for the class that appeared in strategy guides and walkthroughs for Knights of the Old Republic.