Kuat, the home planet of the Kuati people, was an extremely important industrial and shipbuilding planet. It resided within the Kuat system located in the [Core Worlds](/article/core_worlds] region of the galaxy. The planet was renowned for Kuat Drive Yards, a prestigious corporation, and its expansive shipyards. Kuat was particularly famous for producing warships used by both the Galactic Republic and the Galactic Empire.
The terrestrial planet Kuat consisted of land, water, and cloud cover. This factory world was the origin of the Kuati and was governed by traditional aristocratic families. A unique feature of Kuat, compared to other planets in the galaxy, was a massive artificial ring encircling its equator. This ring housed the celebrated shipyards of Kuat Drive Yards, appearing to inhabitants of the galactic community as a giant scaffold in space. This structure was enhanced and connected with enormous habitats and machinery. Within this scaffolding were the skeletons of ships and other vehicles, with small, bright specks moving between the ships under construction and the habitats of the station. The total habitable area of this orbital ring was less than three hundred thousand square kilometers, making its living space smaller than a standard planetary substation.
Kuat's strategic importance meant it possessed substantial defenses. A significant ground-based garrison and a large Imperial fleet protected the planet, making its defenses almost impenetrable, with a large portion focused on space combat.
Rakatans once invaded Kuat long ago, but the Kuati later repeled them. During the age of the Galactic Republic, Kuat Drive Yards frequently supplied ships and equipment to the Republic's peacekeeping forces, especially during the three-year Clone Wars. They also produced warships like the Venator-class Star Destroyer and the Pelta-class frigate. During the Clone Wars, Senator Giddean Danu represented Kuat in the Galactic Senate, and he became a member of the Delegation of 2,000 as the war neared its end.
At some point during the Clone Wars, the elite clone commando squad Clone Force 99 executed a mission on Kuat. Commando Wrecker later described the mission as a swift "smash and grab" operation.
After the Republic was transformed into the Galactic Empire, the [shipyard](/article/shipyard] was the primary location for the construction, repair, and resupply of most of the New Order's Imperial-class Star Destroyers, as it was the only shipyard capable of handling more than a few at a time. Consequently, Kuat was vital to the Empire's strategy of quickly deploying infantry and containing planets. The One-Oh-Seventh Stormtrooper Legion, an Imperial unit specializing in suppressing worker and slave revolts, was stationed there, but the planet was generally a stable and predictable assignment. The planet's traditional aristocratic rulers were proud to fully support the Empire's vision of galactic dominance through unmatched capital ship strength.
Following the Empire's loss of the first Death Star, the rebellion took the offensive and launched attacks on Imperial assets throughout the galaxy, including bombing the shipyards at Kuat, though with little success.
After the Battle of Hoth, Kuat became part of Operation Ringbreaker, an intricate plan devised by former Imperial Governor Everi Chalis and remnants of the Alliance's 61st Mobile Infantry. The plan aimed to destroy the shipyards by exploiting the station's space-based defenses. The plan was to board the station with rapid-strike, ground-based infantry teams that would disable vital manufacturing equipment and sever entire blocks of the station through internal sabotage. To achieve this, diversionary attacks would target crucial nodes in the Imperial logistical network, forcing the Imperial Navy to redeploy fleets from Kuat, further weakening its defenses as the already strained Navy pursued scattered Rebel forces into the Outer Rim Territories. Despite initial successes, the plan was abandoned after a prolonged and costly engagement on Sullust, where unit commander Hazram Namir decided that fighting for Sullust was a more worthwhile cause. As a result, Kuat continued to produce critical assets for the Imperial war effort until the war's end two years later.
After the Battle of Endor, the New Republic captured a dreadnought in a battle over Kuat. The Battle for Kuat Drive Yards involved weeks of intense fighting. In 28 ABY, Senator Ormes Apolin represented Kuat in the Galactic Senate of the New Republic. Kuat secretly aided the First Order, a military junta formed from surviving remnants of the Galactic Empire, and later seceded with other Centrist worlds to join the First Order.