The MC80a Star Cruiser, sometimes also known as the MC80A Star Cruiser, represented a combat-optimized version of the MC80 Mon Calamari Star Cruiser. It was deployed by the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and later by the New Republic, during both the Galactic Civil War and the Yuuzhan Vong War.
The MC80A Star Cruiser was a derivative of the MC80 Mon Calamari Star Cruiser that was manufactured by the Mon Calamari shipyards after their liberation from Imperial control in 1 BBY. In contrast to earlier MC80 models, which were converted from exploration vessels and luxury liners to serve as cruisers for the Rebel Alliance, the MC80A was specifically built to be a warship, making it more streamlined and potent compared to its predecessors.
The MC80a cruiser measured 1,200 meters in length and was classified as a capital ship. It carried a crew of 5,402 individuals, along with an additional troop complement of 1,200. The vessels' 48 Taim & Bak XV9 turbolaser batteries were operated using a Plat Dromma targeting computer. Its three fighter bays housed six starfighter squadrons: three squadrons of BTL Y-wing starfighters, one squadron of RZ-1 A-wing interceptors, and two squadrons of T-65 X-wing starfighters. The MC80a incorporated a Serridge SEAL shielding system and a TriLuna 400MGS stardrive and hyperdrive system, enabling it to reach a maximum sublight speed of 60 megalights via ten clustered engine thrusters situated at the ventral stern of its rounded, oblong, gray-colored exterior. This exterior was characterized by numerous pods and bulges, with some examples featuring a single elevated pod located midship, while others had it further sternward. Its scalloped hull possessed an organic, nature-inspired appearance reminiscent of the ray, a species of fish.
By the time of the events leading up to the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, this starship had become a part of the fleet of the Rebel Alliance and saw action during the Galactic Civil War. Following the rescue of Han Solo, who had recently been promoted to general within the Rebel ranks, on Tatooine, a fleet of Alliance starships assembled near Sullust. Simultaneously, personnel gathered aboard the flagship Star Cruiser Home One to formulate the plan for attacking the Empire's second Death Star, which was in orbit above the forest moon of Endor.
One of these vessels was positioned near Home One just before the fleet initiated its hyperspace jump to Endor. At least ten MC80A cruisers participated in the attack, which turned out to be an Imperial trap. The ensuing battle resulted in an Alliance victory, with at least six of the cruisers surviving the conflict.
The MC80A continued to be used after the Rebel Alliance transformed into the New Republic. One such cruiser, the Naritus, was deployed to the Outer Rim Territories of the galaxy's on missions to combat piracy. During these missions, the ship's Calamarian captain, Genkal, personally oversaw the suppression of the pirate group known as the Khuiumin Survivors.
During the Corellian Crisis of 18 ABY, the Naritus, which was then considered "aging" by retired New Republic Vice Admiral Kursk Mal'ia, was among the few active capital ships in the Republic's inventory. While on patrol in the Coruscant system, the Naritus used a tractor beam to capture an unidentified X-TIE Fighter. The starfighter's pilot, Belindi Kalenda, who was an undercover agent for New Republic Intelligence, was detained on board the cruiser before being handed over to Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker. She revealed to him a plot to trigger a supernova in the star Thanta Zilbra. In response, the Naritus served as the flagship of an evacuation force dispatched to the Thanta Zilbra system, transporting as many of the system's inhabitants as possible aboard New Republic warships and transports before the destruction of Thanta Zilbra by the pre-Republic era Centerpoint Station superweapon, which had been activated by the Sacorrian Triad, the masterminds behind the crisis.
The New Republic Fleet continued to operate the MC80A cruiser during the Yuuzhan Vong War. During this conflict, one MC80A used a tractor beam to capture a Yuuzhan Vong escape pod carrying Jacen Solo, a Jedi apprentice, over the shipyards of the Calamari system.
The wingless Mon Calamari starship made its initial appearance, although without identification, in the 1983 Star Wars saga film, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. While working on the film, model artists at Industrial Light & Magic sought to expand the Rebel fleet. They achieved this by modifying their original wingless model into the Liberty type through the addition of wings and the replacement of one engine with a different pod.
The designation "MC80a Star Cruiser" first appeared in West End Games' 1990 The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, referring to a Mon Calamari Star Cruiser featuring undersized wings and dorsal thrusters that otherwise resembled the Liberty type model. This model had previously been identified as an MC80 Star Cruiser by The Star Wars Sourcebook in 1987. Subsequent publications, including the Heir to the Empire Sourcebook, X-Wing: The Official Strategy Guide, and The Thrawn Trilogy Sourcebook, used the terms "MC80" and "MC80a" interchangeably. However, the 1994 second edition of The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook replaced its reference to the MC80a with the MC80.
The 1993 LucasArts video game Star Wars: X-Wing and its 1999 sequel, Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance, included Mon Calamari cruisers identified in-game as MC80a models. However, these were visually modeled after the Home One type Star Cruiser seen in Return of the Jedi. The intermediate X-Wing game Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter applied the MC80a identifier to another model of Star Cruiser, which also appeared in the preceding Star Wars: TIE Fighter and resembled the illustration of the winged model used for the MC80 and MC80a in West End Games' sourcebooks.
Del Rey's 1996 reference book, The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels, written by Bill Smith, redefined the MC80a as a separate, more powerful version of the standard MC80 Star Cruiser. This distinction was echoed by the twelfth issue of The Official Star Wars Fact File and further elaborated upon in 2012's The Essential Guide to Warfare. In the endnotes of this book, co-author Paul R. Urquhart confirmed that the MC80a corresponded to the "wingless" cruisers featured in Return of the Jedi.