Interdictor Cruiser Course Notes {INT}

Introduction:
The Immobilizer (also called the Interdictor) has always been a subject of both dread and prestige within the Imperial Fleets. On one hand, commanding or being the crewmember of an Immobilizer is both a sign of trust from ship captain and also a reward for continued service. It is a reward since Immobilizers are both expensive and very fragile. It doesn't take long to destroy an Immobilizer, and even a single squadron of fighters is able to quickly dispatch one of these ships. Also, the Immobilizer has a past of known problems, mostly due to the consistent wear and strain of turning the gravity wells of the ship on and off. Although the long hours necessary to repair the ship can strain any engineering divisions, engineering departments  aboard an Immobilizer have been known to be some of the best in the entire Imperial Navy fleet.

General Statistics:
Name/Model: Immobilizer 418 (Interdictor Im-418) - Interdictor Class Cruiser
Manufacturer: Sienar Fleet Systems
Length: 598 Meters
Crew: 2,807 (427 Officers and 2,380 Enlisted)
Troops: 80 Troopers
Cargo Capacity: 5,500 Metric Tons
Consumables: 1.2 Years
Hyperdrive Capability: x2 Multiplier
Hyperdrive Backup: x8 Multiplier
Speed: 17 MGLT
Hull: 960 RU
Shields: 2,240 SBD

History:
The Immobilizer, although looking like a (under-sized) Star Destroyer, was developed by Sienar Fleet Systems (the same developer as the famous TIE series) instead of Kuat Drive Yards. The shape of the ship might be attributed by some co-operation between the two corporations, although no true clues have been given. The development of the Immobilizer was directly parallel of the new G-7x Gravity Well Projectors. The Immobilizer's history can be said to be not very interesting compared to other ships. The technology for the gravity wells was found shortly after the battle of Yavin, when the empire made a small discovery of a similar technology in the Sedri System. After a few months, the Immobilizer was ready for use. The Immobilizer was created, developed and put on broad-scale production without any major mishaps or problems. The technology of the gravity well seems to be easily (but not cheaply) duplicated, and even now corporations and even civilians have been sighted with gravity well technology in their hands.

Design:
The design of the Immobilizer is very similar to a Star Destroyer. The bridge of the ship is raised high and has a 180o field of vision, enabling the ship captain to correctly place his gravity wells. As in the Star Destroyer, comm units are placed on top of the Command Bridge. The main computer of the Immobilizer is placed directly within the command tower. Two gravity projectors are placed on the port side of the ship and two are placed in the starboard side. Primary and secondary hangars are both placed underneath, on the keel of the ship. The familiar wedge shape sports 10 guns fore, 5 guns port and 5 starboard.

Weaponry/Security:
The Immobilizer is notoriously under-gunned, a major point of concern among captains of the fleet. Armed with just 20 Taim & Bak GX-7 Quad Laser Cannons and no turbolasers, the Immobilizer can't hold the line very well in a fight and will lose against anything from frigates, cruisers and possibly even corvettes. Although classed as a Heavy Cruiser, this ship won't be able to stand long in a fight unless supported by bigger ships. With only 1 squadron of starfighters (mainly only TIE fighters or bombers), the Immobilizer will also have a hard time against enemy starfighters. This shows a glaring error in the Immobilizer, which is more due to tactics rather than the actual ship. As soon as the gravity wells in an Immobilizer are activated, the ship pretty much becomes a target for the entire enemy fleet. It's not unlikely that an enemy fleet commander will use all resources possible to destroy an Immobilizer. The Immobilizer has possibly the highest record of ships destroyed/damaged throughout its history, even higher than the Victory Star Destroyer. Fortunately, Immobilizers can be customised for a particular mission, although the upgrades can severely limit the use of the ship.

Although by looking at the above weapons stats the Immobilizer doesn't seem to be a good ship, it's four G-7x Gravity Well Projectors give the Immobilizer huge tactical and strategical value. Large fleets equipped with such ships are able to trap enemies in battle easily and force ships to exit hyperspace. Unfortunately, it takes half a minute to power up the projectors. This gives enemy ships time to escape into hyperspace. The projectors can be shut off quickly, but it takes about 40 seconds to shunt the power and completely recycle. The projectors work by projecting a wave of energy that resembles the gravitational characteristics of solar phenomena in a specific area of space. Thanks to 4 projectors, the Immobilizer can make a picket field in quite a large area, meaning that normally only one Immobilizer is necessary per fleet.

Unfortunately, there are a few limitations with the Immobilizer. While the well projectors are active, the movement of the Immobilizer is limited and the ship can only move a fraction of its original speed. Also, if the well is projected near the interdictor, spinning might occur if the thrusters of the ship aren't carefully regulated. This has proven to create considerable strain on the ship, as the gravity wells constantly have to compensate so that the wells don't go out of position. Several accidents have also occurred when the well projectors were activated when jumping to hyperspeed or when in hyperspace. If this is mostly due to sabotage or simply poor maintenance has never been found out, since most of the ships where this problem arose have either been destroyed or lost forever in the depths of space.

The Immobilizer also possesses a single tractor beam, although the use of this is severely undercut by the second major problem of the Immobilizer. The Immobilizer possesses a very low number of troops for a ship its size. The 80 troopers aboard the Immobilizer can only be realistically used for ship security. Although troops transports are often stationed aboard Immobilizers, they are used for ferrying personnel off and on the ship rather than capture missions. An Immobilizer will find it hard to capture anything bigger than a simple freighter. Fortunately, the high crew number necessary to man the ship creates adequate security against boarding of the ship by hostile forces.

Propulsion:
The Immobilizer is driven by 3 engines powered by a standard reactor (as found in many Star Destroyers) found in the center aft part of the ship. Normal factory base speed of 17 MGLT enable the Immobilizer to keep up with most fleets. A multiplier 2x hyperdrive comes as standard, but it is often upgraded to the standard military 1x to enable the ship to keep up with most imperial fleets.

Defensive Systems:
An Immobilizer comes with a standard shield system as found in any capital sized ships and also relatively strong armour, similar to the one found on Star Destroyers.

Crew/Troops/Starfighters:

The crew of the ships consists of 2,807 crewmembers, 24 of which are gunners. The crew consists of 427 officers and 2,380 enlisted men. Generally, most of the enlisted men are engineers in charge of the 4 gravity well projectors. The normal number of squadrons aboard the Immobilizer is one, either a TIE Fighter, Interceptor or Bomber squadron. Also aboard the ship are 1 lambda class shuttle and 3 troop transports.

Tactics:
Standard imperial doctrine institutes that Immobilizers should be placed on the edge of a battlefield to stop any ships from escaping, but this was an old tactics thought up when the rebels didn't have the necessary ships to create huge fleets. Since the rise of the NR, this doctrine needs to be changed considerably, since high scale engagements are very likely and Immobilizers sitting alone on the perimeter of a fight make for juicy targets. Instead, Immobilizers should be deployed near a more powerful ship (normally an Imperial-Class Star Destroyer), thus making the Immobilizer much less vulnerable to an attack. Fleets where an Escort Carrier and a Victory-Class Star Destroyer protect the Immobilizer have also proven to be effective, although a Victory-Class Star Destroyer alone is able to provide adequate cover. In all cases, an Immobilizer should never be allowed to be on it's own. If an Immobilizer finds itself in a position where it is split from it's main fleet and in danger of being destroyed, the captain should retreat as soon as possible.

Divisions within an Immobilizer
As said in the introduction, the engineering division aboard an Immobilizer will always have to work hard. Poorly maintained Immobilizers have been shown to create major cracks after repeated use of the gravity projectors, which in one case even managed to tear the ship in two. Thus the engineering division will always be much larger than in any other ship. The usual rivalry between the engineering and tactical divisions that occurs in almost any ship is almost non-existent on an Immobilizer, for the simple reason that the tactical division aboard an interdictor has to work directly with the engineering division to ensure that the projectors are running smoothly. Co-operation is needed so that the projectors are activated on the right place at the right time. The tactical division on an Immobilizer also needs to work with the command team to ensure a good placement of the wells, but it's usual roles of ship security and gunnery controlled is less important due to the decreased weaponry onboard the ship.

The command division plays an important role in keeping the ship in a good position and out of danger and also co-operating with the other ships in the fleet to ensure that the Immobilizer is well protected.
Co-operation is key in an Immobilizer. A breakdown in communications in the ship would mean that the interdictor is practically useless in battle, more so than a normal warship. Only if the three divisions aboard the Immobilizer work together, will the ship function as intended.

Conclusion:
Fragile poorly armed and undergunned, an Immobilizer might not seem the best ship to be on. It is a pure escort ship: it can only provide support to other ships, since it can't easily take a fight on it's own. All this adds up to make the Immobilizer an extraordinary ship, that only the best of crews are able to use well.

Links:
http://www.theforce.net/swtc/dagger.html#immobiliser
http://www.galacticempiredatabank.com/Interdictor.html
http://www.starwars.com/databank/technology/gravitywellprojector/eu.html
http://www.thegjo.com/NR/heavyships.htm
http://www.geocities.com/straightedgepr/dgsim.html