The 15 Most Powerful Star Wars Spaceships, Ranked

George Lucas' epic "Star Wars" story is as much about spaceships as it is about the galactic-scale factions that command them. The wars between the Separatists and the Republic and the Empire and Rebels wouldn't be nearly as deadly — or as fun to watch — without the presence of massive ships blasting lasers and missiles at each other as they fly among the stars.

Ranking the "Star Wars" ships is a fun thought exercise, but we need to put some restrictions into place. First, we're talking ships, not bases, so the Death Star is going to have to sit this one out. Second, the old "Star Wars" extended universe is so expansive that we're going to need to limit ourselves to ships found only in the projects in the current "Star Wars" canon. With those two rules in mind, let's head for the stars and see if having the most powerful spaceship is all a faction needs to rule the "Star Wars" galaxy.

As their name implies, Jedi Vectors are ships that were once exclusively flown by Jedi on missions for the Order. The ships were commonly used during the High Republic era, but vectors became less regular sights during the Clone Wars, when many Jedi were busy on the battlefield. After the rise of the Empire, flying them became next to impossible because they're specifically designed for the most powerful Force users in the galaxy.

Jedi Vectors are light ships built for maximum speed and efficiency. They have incredibly deadly weapons that are great for precise, targeted strikes, but the ships come with some major drawbacks. Without Jedi reflexes, a person isn't able to make full use of the ship's weaponry and maneuverability, and most people wouldn't be able to turn on a Vector in the first place because they require lightsabers as keys. These are powerful ships, but their limited use hurts their overall ranking.

The Phantom was introduced in one of the best "Star Wars" series, "Rebels." A starfighter that's not really designed to go it alone through the depths of space, the Phantom is an auxiliary ship that's meant to attach to a light freighter to act as a turret, shuttle, and all-around defensive piece of equipment. The Phantom paired with a freighter called the Ghost, and together, under the command of Hera Syndulla, the ships ran many successful missions against the Empire.

The Phantom proves that ships don't need to be overloaded with weapons in order to be powerful. It has a laser cannon and a laser turret, but no missiles and few defensive capabilities. Despite that, its size makes the Phantom an ideal stealth vehicle, and that's what really makes it shine in Rebel hands. The fact that the Phantom managed to pull off so many successful missions before ultimately being destroyed in battle at Reklam Station proves that this little ship is surprisingly mighty.

The A-wing was a favorite ship of the Rebellion, though the now-iconic vessel didn't make an appearance during the original "Star Wars." The ship first showed up in "Return of the Jedi," where it played a key role during the Battle of Endor. Like the Jedi Vector, the A-wing is an interceptor-class ship that puts speed above all else; modified versions like the RZ-2 A-Wing are among the fastest ships in the entire franchise.

These ships aren't going to hold their own against a more combat-oriented ship like the TIE Fighter, but they don't have to. A-wings can run circles around any opponent, making them ideal for guerilla-style tactics that are especially useful when Rebels fight against established Imperial forces. In terms of pure firepower, A-wings are far from the strongest ships in the Galaxy, but there's a reason why the Rebels favored them — and why the Rebels were able to use them to secure victory against the Empire.

The X-wing starfighter is easily one of the most iconic ships in all of "Star Wars." Favored by Rebel fighters, X-wings are a key part of every large battle in the original trilogy. Luke pilots one during the Battle of Yavin, and hundreds of X-wings help the Rebels achieve victory at the end of "Return of the Jedi." X-wings cemented their place in history during the Galactic Civil War, but they continue to play an important role in space battles throughout the sequel trilogy as well.

Among the Rebels, the X-wings are popular because of their array of weapons. Standard X-wings carry four laser cannons and proton torpedo launchers, with the latter being the weapons that famously destroyed the Death Star. X-wings aren't powerhouse war machines, but they're just strong enough to hold their own in a fight and just common enough to be readily available to Rebels hiding from mainstream shipping channels monitored by the Empire.

Aside from Darth Vader, there's no greater villain in the "Star Wars" universe than Grand Admiral Thrawn. He helped lead the Empire to multiple key victories while revolutionizing its fighting forces. Part of the improvements Thrawn made to the Empire's navy includes the creation of the TIE Defender. He began an initiative to improve Empire ship designs, and that resulted in this three-winged ship that is significantly more powerful than the standard TIE Fighter we all know and love.

The Defender is outfitted with all the best weaponry that the Empire can pack into a ship of this size. It has heavy cannons that can be used to get an edge during a dogfight, and it's loaded with an array of missiles that make the Defender a formidable bomber. As the name implies, though, what really sets the Defender apart aren't its offensive capabilities. The ship has deflector shields that make it incredibly difficult to destroy, and in worst-case scenarios, it's able to engage a hyperdrive to escape any situation — at the risk of killing the pilot flying the thing in the process. Thrawn wanted a ship that could effortlessly destroy Rebel forces and evade capture in desperate scenarios, and that's exactly what he got.

There are several distinct versions of the TIE fighter, but the strongest by far belonged to Darth Vader. His personal starship was first shown off in the original "Star Wars" when Vader led the Black Squadron to defend the Death Star from Rebel forces in the Battle of Yavin. The movie showed that Vader's TIE fighter was a powerful ship when piloted by the Sith Lord, but it didn't really show us the full extent of the ship's abilities over the standard TIE fighter.

Vader's TIE Advanced features across-the-board improvements, and if he'd been flying a standard TIE fighter during the Battle of Yavin, he might not have survived the first "Star Wars" movie. As luck would have it, his personal, customized ship features a full life support system and a hyperdrive, so when Vader's ship was damaged in the battle, he was able to safely jump to a nearby planet and land before losing all of his oxygen. Of course, the TIE Advanced also has some powerful cannons and mounts for secondary weapons, so it can be customized to function as a fighter or a bomber. This ship eventually became the model that the Empire based a whole line of more advanced TIE fighters on.

Slave I first appeared in "The Empire Strikes Back" when Boba Fett marched into the "Star Wars" franchise. The original trilogy showed us even less of the ship than the bounty hunter, but the prequels greatly expanded on the vehicle's lore. In "Attack of the Clones," we got to see Boba Fett's father, Jango Fett, piloting the ship, and we witnessed firsthand some of the features that make Slave I a powerhouse of a starship.

Slave I meets a bounty hunter's need for extreme maneuverability, and its flattened bottom allows it to easily hide amongst asteroids and debris in the depths of space. But what really makes Slave I so powerful are all the custom features added to the ship by Boba Fett and his father. The ship has unbelievably precise small lasers that are the only visible weapons on the hull, and beneath the surface is a wide array of hidden weapons that help Slave I punch well above its weight class. On the defensive front, the Fetts added heavy shield generators and so many high-tech sensors that few ships in the galaxy could ever escape Slave I's notice. Arguably, the only ship of a similar size that can hold its own against the Slave I is the Millennium Falcon.

Even people who've never seen a single frame from a "Star Wars" movie know something about the story of the Millennium Falcon. After all, it is the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs! The Falcon is a modified freighter that's been outfitted with weapons meant for a warship. The ship has quad-laser cannons, blaster laser turrets, and a battery of missiles that can blast through the side of just about any opposing vessel.

Over the years, the Falcon has belonged to legendary pilots like Lando Calrissian, Han Solo, and Rey Skywalker, but the ship is more than just the person sitting in the cockpit. It has survived through multiple decades, several regime changes, and countless large-scale space battles. It completely changed the course of the galaxy on more than one occasion and has secured its place in history as one of the greatest spaceships of all time. To this day, fans still debate whether or not the Falcon would survive a one-on-one encounter with Slave I, but considering that the Falcon has survived against the odds in so many other situations, it's hard to imagine the ship wouldn't be able to hold its own against Boba Fett's signature vessel.

Here's where this list makes a real jump in power level. Ships like the X-wings and the Millennium Falcon are some of the most important fighting vessels in the "Star Wars" galaxy, but on an individual level, fighters simply can't hold their own against the warships controlled by the galaxy's most powerful factions. When we start talking about ships like cruisers and star destroyers, we enter an entirely different league.

In this upper tier of spaceship power, it's worth noting that the Rebels are almost always going to be at a disadvantage. The Mon Calamari Star Cruiser introduced in "Return of the Jedi" is one of the most important and formidable ships in the Rebel fleet, but it's still very much an underdog when compared to Empire ships of similar class. This Star Cruiser is big enough to function as a capital ship carrying numerous other small fighters, and because of that, it's outfitted with a thick hull, a massive deflector shield, and enough guns to turn dozens of TIE fighters into space dust. The Mon Calamari Star Cruiser played a key role in the Battle of Endor and, underdog or not, it managed to come out on top in the fight against the Empire.

The Malevolence is a ship that any fan of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" will be able to instantly recognize. A heavy cruiser that belonged to General Grievous during the Clone Wars, it did incredible amounts of damage to the Republic's navy. The ship is over three miles long, and just about every inch of that space is covered with deadly point defense weapons, high-powered lasers, and missile batteries. If the guns aren't enough, the Malevolence also carries a miniature fleet of fighters that can cause even more destruction.

To get an even better sense of just how big and powerful the Malevolence is, we can compare it to the Invisible Hand, the ship Grievous and Count Dooku are seen flying in the opening scene of "Revenge of the Sith." That ship is the largest Trade Federation ship we've ever seen on the big screen, and it's still just a third of the size of the Malevolence. General Grievous was only commanding it because the Malevolence was destroyed by Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi after it fended off an entire squadron of Republic ships.

The Imperial Star Destroyer represents the peak of the Empire's naval power. It's the first ship that fills the screen in the original "Star Wars," its imposing presence immediately conveying the might of the Empire. At the height of the Imperial period, Star Destroyers patrolled the galaxy and obliterated anyone who tried to resist them.

Star Destroyers are over a mile long, but their ion engines make them remarkably maneuverable in battle. In combat, the Star Destroyer can make use of laser turrets, turbo laser cannons, ion cannons, and tractor beams. If the ship needs even more firepower, it can unleash its complement of TIE fighters and become the central hub of an immensely powerful siege engine. The Star Destroyer is a large part of how the Empire remained in power for so long and is one of the reasons the Rebels initially needed to rely on secrecy and guerilla tactics to survive against Imperial forces.

Super Star Destroyers don't have the most original names in the galaxy, but at least they let you know up front exactly what they are. The Super Star Destroyers were the absolute peak of the Empire's navy, which means very few of them actually flew through the stars. The Arbitrator, the Annihilator, and the Ravager were the pride of the Imperial Navy, and after the fall of the Empire, they became some of the most sought-after ships in the galaxy.

In "Star Wars," bigger always means better, and, as their name would lead you to believe, Super Star Destroyers are certainly bigger and more well-armed than the standard model. Their hulls are thicker and covered in even more weapons, and they're able to house even larger fleets of TIE fighters and X-wings to help them in battle. The Emperor himself had a personal Super Star Destroyer called the Eclipse that was so large it carried over 400,000 passengers and crew members. In addition to the Emperor's personal Destroyer, the Empire built one other Super Star Destroyer, but that one is in a class all of its own.

The ships in "Star Wars" have suffered from a bit of power creep over the decades. To be fair, spaceship engineers don't have an easy job, and there are only so many ways that you can make a ship more powerful. The most imaginative minds in the galaxy might be able to craft an entirely new kind of warship but, when in doubt, designers make existing ships larger and give them bigger guns.

The Xyston-class Star Destroyer definitely takes the "bigger is better" approach. These were the ships that the Emperor was secretly building and preparing for war during the events of "The Rise of Skywalker." As massive and imposing as classic Imperial Star Destroyers, they can cause significantly more damage than their Imperial counterparts. Every Xyston-class Star Destroyer is outfitted with a Death Star-inspired axial superlaser that's capable of melting an entire planet. Luckily, people throughout the galaxy already know how to do battle with Star Destroyers, but even with that knowledge, a stray blast from one of these warships could mean the end of an entire civilization.

The Executor is a Super Star Destroyer, and it comes with all the standard features you'd expect to see in that class of ship. Absurd size? Check. Hundreds of thousands of crew members? Check. A full armada of small ships inside its docking bays? You know it.

It has all the requirements of a Super Star Destroyer, but because the Executor is Darth Vader's personal ship, that means it's even more over the top. The Executor's hull is studded with over 5,000 turbolasers, plus a full suite of ion cannons and missile launchers. When it was still in operation, the Executor was the strongest vessel in the Empire by far, and no ship could hope to damage it. In fact, the rebels were unable to defeat the Executor with traditional weapons. The only reason the Executor fell is because a Rebel ship crashed directly into its bridge, completely destroying all of its navigational technology. Ironically, a similar move would later be used to destroy the only ship in "Star Wars" that's even more powerful than the Executor.

We've already said that bigger means better in the world of "Star Wars" spaceships, but the Supremacy takes that ethos so far that, well, it becomes more than a little ridiculous. The Supremacy is the capital ship of the First Order, and it turns up every aspect of the massive Imperial Star Destroyers that came before it. The Supremacy is so big and so packed with armaments that it stretches believability even in a universe as outlandish as the "Star Wars" galaxy.

The Supremacy looks like a pair of outstretched wings, and at its narrowest point, it's still over 8 miles wide. Its full wingspan is nearly 40 miles long, making it so preposterously large that it could only ever exist in the vacuum of space. That's perfectly fine for the First Order, who use the Supremacy as a mobile capital and ship construction platform.

Yes, the Supremacy is so big, there's room inside for it to build ships of its own, and its hangars are so large that its complement is made up of Star Destroyers that then carry their own fleets of X-wings and TIE fighters. The Supremacy is multiple orders of magnitude larger and more powerful than anything the Empire created, undeniably making it the most powerful ship in "Star Wars." In the ending of "The Last Jedi," the New Republic was able to destroy the Supremacy, but just like we've seen with taking out a Death Star, victory came with a massive sacrifice.