Imperial Navy

""&hellip; You are part of the greatest navy ever assembled. The might of the Empire rests on the military &mdash; and the Imperial Navy embodies the most elite and trusted segment of that power. Only the best, the most disciplined, are admitted to our ranks. We who serve the Emperor in the Imperial Navy have made this Empire the irresistible, galaxy-spanning force it is today.""

- Fleet Admiral Vaylin Holt, cadet indoctrination speech excerpt

The Imperial Navy, also known as the Imperial Starfleet or Imperial Fleet, had many responsibilities; it was expected to secure the system space of Imperial worlds, to eliminate hazards to profitable commerce, to bolster local forces in times of crisis and conduct military operations against hostile governments. To achieve these goals, the Imperial Navy was divided into sector fleets, the precise size and composition varying with the importance of the sector and available resources.

While regional governors maintain their own fleets, these are typically more apt to handling day to day piracy, customs enforcement and warding off minor skirmishes with hostile powers. Most governors are reliant on the Navy's sector fleet for more substantial support, which Imperial law obligates it to provide.

The Imperial Navy was a sprawling organization and structure, of staggering size and complexity. The largest Star Destroyers have over 45,000 people aboard and all of them must be fed, clothed, paid, exercised, rested, drilled and disciplined. The vast majority of naval personnel and TIE corps members are enlisted ratings, governed by non-commissioned officers who report to junior officers who in turn report to senior officers who report to the captain, and they to the fleet's admiral, the fleet's admiral to the Naval Command, and finally the Emperor.

Recruitment
Enlisted service-beings could be recruited from any Imperial world. They underwent minimal basic training before taking their positions aboard starships, where further training is vocational, 'on the job' under the supervision of non-commissioned officers.

Officers attended formal academies, where they were trained in all aspects of naval operation and select a specialism. Institutions varied in prestige and selection was extremely competitive - the right academy can mean assignment to a modern Star Destroyer in a valuable sector fleet, offering a bright future. The wrong academy may doom a young officer to a tired old customs ship in a remote backwater.

Order of battle
The Imperial Navy's tactical organization was defined by the Navy Order of Battle, designed to provide flexible resources for a commander's force requirements.

The Imperial Navy's largest formal organizational unit was the Sector Group, nominally composed of 2,600 starships, of which 24 were Imperial-class Star Destroyers and another 1,600 were smaller warships, under the control of a High Admiral, usually the sector Moff. The Sector Groups were split into multiple fleets of around 400 ships each led by Fleet Admirals, with the Group's combat elements being split between "Superiority" and "Escort". A superiority fleet was a space-combat force spearheaded by six Star Destroyers, each nominally accompanied by a battle squadron of eighteen smaller ships. While superiority fleets were officially assigned to fleet combat, in practice they were normally used as mobile reserves, projecting Imperial power in response to local threats. Escort fleets, meanwhile, were composed of force escorts and were designated for combat against pirates and raiders, which in practice meant that they were the Empire's first line of defense, protecting civilian freighters, attacking corsairs' hideouts, and guarding remote outposts. Additional fleet commands were established for the Sector Group's logistics and support forces, including troop transport, bombardment, deepdock and support fleets.

Below the level of fleet was the systems force, led by an admiral appointed as its Commodore. Systems forces totaled around ninety ships in several squadrons, and included force superiority designed to maintain control of space in calm areas; force escort to protect commercial shipments and convoys; systems bombard to carry out planetary bombardments with Torpedo Spheres; and transport forces, force technical services, and force support to supply combat formations. In practice, however, despite their nominal strength, most systems forces contained only a single combat squadron.

Squadrons of 14 to 60 ships were the smallest independent operational units of the Navy, and were designated as light, heavy, battle, or bombard squadrons. Battle squadrons built around an Imperial-class Star Destroyer were the core components of superiority fleets, and were nominally supported by three lines of eighteen smaller ships. In practice, Star Destroyers were normally accompanied by just two or three escorts, if any: the Imperial-class was designed to operate without support, and its hyperdrive was too fast for any escorts except for the speediest light cruisers. The battle squadron was used for offensive operations against a known enemy, and the mere arrival of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer was often enough to put down a planetary revolt or scare off an armed space-threat.

Roving fleets aimed at specific tasks were also fielded at several points in Imperial history. Notable units included Death Squadron and Scourge Squadron, which hunted for Rebel bases in the Outer Rim.