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- "This is the planet Kuat. Its shipyards are the primary source of the Empire's Star Destroyer fleet. I propose we destroy them."
- ―Imperial defector Everi Chalis
Kuat was a vital shipbuilding and industrial planet located in the Kuat system of the galaxy's Core Worlds region and homeworld of the Kuati people. Known for the prestigious Kuat Drive Yards corporation and its large shipyards, the planet notably produced warships for both the Galactic Republic and Galactic Empire.
Description[]

Kuat during the Galactic Civil War
Kuat was a standard terrestrial planet of clouds, water, and land.[4] A factory world,[12] it was the homeworld of the Kuati people,[7] and ruled by traditional aristocrats.[12] Unlike other planets in the galaxy, a single, large man-made ring circled its equator. Serving as Kuat Drive Yards' legendary shipyards, the ring appeared to galactic citizenry as an immense scaffold in space, bridged and augmented with enormous habitats and machinery. Inside the scaffolding existed the skeletons of ships and other craft, with tiny bright dots drifting to and from the ships under construction with the habitats of the station. The orbital ring had a total inhabitable area of less than three hundred thousand square kilometers, thus making its livable space smaller than a typical planetary substation.[4]
Due to the planet's geopolitical significance, its defenses were formidable. Guarded by a significant ground-based garrison along with a large Imperial fleet, its defenses were considered nearly impenetrable, with a large percentage directed towards space combat.[4]
History[]
Republic service[]
- "Simple smash and grab like that time on Kuat."
- ―Wrecker
In the ancient past, the Rakatans invaded Kuat, but the Kuati people later repeled the invaders.[7] During the age of the Galactic Republic, ships and other equipment for the Republic's peacekeeping forces would often be produced by Kuat Drive Yards, especially during the three-year conflict known as the Clone Wars.[14] Warships were also produced such as the Venator-class Star Destroyer and Pelta-class frigate.[3] During the war, Kuat was represented in the Galactic Senate by Senator Giddean Danu, who joined the Delegation of 2,000 towards the conflict's end.[15]
At some point during the Clone Wars, elite clone commando squad Clone Force 99 performed an operation on Kuat. Commando Wrecker later described the mission as a "smash and grab."[13]
Age of the Empire[]
- "We've bombed the shipyards at Kuat and the supply base on Imdaar."
- ―Admiral Gial Ackbar, to Leia Organa, shortly after the Battle of Yavin
Following the transformation of the Republic into the authoritarian Galactic Empire, most of the New Order's Imperial-class Star Destroyers were constructed, repaired, and resupplied at the massive shipyard, with it being the only shipyard capable of maintaining more than a handful at a time. As a result, Kuat was essential for the Empire's strategy of planetary containment and fast infantry deployment. The Empire's One-Oh-Seventh Stormtrooper Legion, which was specialized in squashing worker and slave uprisings, was stationed on Kuat, but the world was largely a predictable and stable posting.[4] The traditional aristocrats who ruled the planet were proud to completely embrace the Empire's vision of galactic domination by unchallenged capital ship strength.[12]
Following the Empire's loss of its first Death Star, the rebellion seized the initiative and launched attacks against the Empire's assets spread across the galaxy, including bombing the Imperial shipyards at Kuat,[9] although without much impact.[4]
After the Battle of Hoth, Kuat became part of the elaborate Operation Ringbreaker, a plan designed by former Imperial Governor Everi Chalis with remnants of the Alliance's 61st Mobile Infantry to assault and destroy the shipyards by exploiting the station's space-based defenses. Planning to board the station in a rapid-strike, ground-based infantry teams would disable vital manufacturing equipment and sever whole blocks of the station through internal sabotage. In order to accomplish this task, diversionary assaults would be redirected at essential nodes in the Imperial logistical network to force fleet redeployment from Kuat, thus further enervating its defenses as an already stretched Imperial Navy pursued shattered Rebel elements deep into the Outer Rim Territories. After initial success, the plan was abandoned following a prolonged and costly engagement on Sullust where the unit commander Hazram Namir decided that fighting for Sullust was a more worthy cause,[4] resulting in Kuat's continued production of critical assets to the Imperial cause until the end of the war—two years later.[1]
New Republic Era[]
After the Battle of Endor, a battle over Kuat ended in the New Republic capturing a dreadnought. The Battle for Kuat Drive Yards saw heavy fighting[16] for weeks.[17] In 28 ABY,[18] Kuat was represented in the Galactic Senate of the New Republic by Senator Ormes Apolin.[10] Kuat would secretly assist the First Order, a military junta formed from surviving remnants of the Galactic Empire that Kuat — alongside numerous other Centrist worlds — later seceded to join.[11]
Locations[]
- "The shipyards of Kuat are famous throughout the galaxy. Here, the Republic's Acclamator assault ships and the Empire's Star Destroyers were built. A vast man-made ring of factories and spacedocks encircles the planet, allowing huge vessels to be built in orbit."
- ―Galactic Atlas
Kuat was home to galactically-famous shipyards that were built around the world within a ring[19] that stretched across the planet's equator.[4] Built by organics, the ring consisted of factories and spacedocks that were capable of building massive vessels, such as Star Destroyers.[19]
Appearances[]
- The High Republic: Light of the Jedi (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
- Darth Maul – Black, White & Red 3 (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars Journeys: Beginnings (Mentioned only)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Holocron Heist" (First mentioned) (Mentioned on armor and backpack only)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Lightsaber Lost" (Mentioned on announcement holofeed only)
Star Wars: The Bad Batch — "Rampage" (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Mentioned only)
- The Odyssey of Star Wars: An Epic Poem (Mentioned only)
- Battlefront II: Inferno Squad (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars (2015) 4 (Mentioned only)
- Darth Vader (2015) 20 (First pictured)
- Darth Vader (2015) 22
- Darth Vader (2015) 23
- Battlefront: Twilight Company (and audiobook) (First appearance) (Appears in hologram)
- "But What Does He Eat?" — From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
- Aftermath: Life Debt (and audiobook)
"Blade Squadron: Kuat" — Star Wars Insider 168 (also reprinted in Star Wars Insider: The Fiction Collection Volume 1)
- Aftermath: Empire's End (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
"Blade Squadron: Jakku" — Star Wars Insider 172 (also reprinted in Star Wars Insider: The Fiction Collection Volume 1) (Mentioned only)
- Bloodline (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary
- ↑ Star Wars: The Force Awakens Beginner Game places Kuat in the area of space Star Wars: The Galactic Explorer's Guide identifies as the Slice.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Star Wars: The Rebel Files
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Battlefront: Twilight Company
- ↑ Star Wars: The Force Awakens Beginner Game
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Battlefront II: Inferno Squad
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Star Wars 100 Objects
- ↑ Ultimate Star Wars
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Star Wars (2015) 4
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Bloodline
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide
- ↑ 13.0 13.1
Star Wars: The Bad Batch — "Rampage"
- ↑ Ultimate Star Wars
- ↑
"The End of the Clone Wars" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
- ↑ Aftermath: Life Debt
- ↑ Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy
- ↑ Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of Bloodline to 28 ABY.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Star Wars: Galactic Atlas