Ye-4 gunships, also known as Imperial Gunboats, were heavily-armed gunships utilized by the Imperial Navy throughout the Galactic Civil War.
The rear of the craft featured two vertical stabilizers that extended both upwards and downwards. Its armament consisted of six turret-mounted weapons, capable of easily eliminating enemy starfighters. Specifically, two weapons were oriented to fire forward, two could cover a 180-degree arc above the ship, one was positioned at the rear to target pursuing craft, and the final weapon was mounted beneath the cockpit to defend the gunship's underside.
The design of the ship bore resemblance to the Sentinel-class landing craft manufactured by Sienar Fleet Systems.
Sienar Fleet Systems engineered Ye-4 gunships with the express purpose of patrolling the Kessel system.
The Ye-4 gunships, also referred to as gunboats, were medium-sized vessels that first appeared as NPC ships in the Jump to Lightspeed expansion for Star Wars Galaxies. They were predominantly encountered in deep space and within the Kessel system, although they occasionally materialized in other star systems.
With the introduction of Chapter 8 in January of 2008, the Ye-4 became a playable multiplayer ship for elite Imperial pilots. It was among several ships, including the X4 Gunship, the AEG-77 Vigo, and the N-1 starfighter, that were made available for player control in Chapter 8.