Ranking The Top 10 Spaceships In The Star Wars Franchise

An immersive look at the most respected ships in the Star Wars galaxy, and their rankings in the universe.

Let’s be honest. As incredible as the characters in the Star Wars universe are, they’re nothing without their spaceships. Imagine a galaxy far, far away without the ability to nonchalantly cruise to a nearby planet or star system. No thanks.

Thanks to their incredible vehicles, our beloved heroes and our revered villains are able to make the Star Wars universe the most action-packed and exciting story ever conceived. Today dear reader, we will be taking a look at the top 10 coolest ships in the galaxy. Here we go.

10. Nubian Royal Starship

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The J-Type 327 Nubian to be exact. For all of the flaws the prequel films had you gotta hand it to the designers – they did a pretty good job. Despite the dialogue in Episodes I through III being pretty atrocious, at least the ship designs were cool. The Nubian Royal Starship was one of the most aesthetically memorable parts of The Phantom Menace.

Most of the ships we were used to seeing before Episode 1 were basically out of date, unreliable vehicles that seemed to be constructed from ship parts from various junkyards around the galaxy. Which makes sense considering the rebels didn’t exactly have a lot to work with. This was the first ship we had ever seen that had a sleek, futuristic design. A vessel truly designed for a queen.

9. Vader’s Shuttle (ST 321)

The ST 321 was a Lambda-class T-4 a shuttle that Darth Vader used as his personal transport in Return of the Jedi. It’s not a type of ship that’s designed for combat, rather, a vessel that is intended to give the impression that someone rather sinister is on board, and that’s exactly what this ship does.

Not only do we get to see the majesty of Lord Vader command this ship, we also get to see his only son escape the second Death Star in it just moments before it explodes. That’s worth ninth place in my opinion.

8. U-Wing (Ut-60-Wing Starfighter)

I’m just going to say what most Star Wars fans are already painfully aware of – the villains almost always get the better looking supplies. Whether it’s lightsabers, costumes, or even star ships, the dark side is definitely equipped with cooler looking gear. That’s why it was rather refreshing to see the U-Wing appear in Rogue One. Aside from the legendary X-Wing, it’s the only fighter ship that the rebels had at their disposal that instantly makes you want to be it’s pilot.

When the design artists of the film were developing the U-Wing they went through 781 different interpretations of the ship before settling on the final version that you see on screen. A lot of work went into this bad boy. Not to mention it, just looks too cool in flight configuration with it wings pulled back.

Photo Credit: Lucasfilm

7. Kylo Ren’s Shuttle (Upsilon-class Command Shuttle)

Naturally, Kylo’s personal shuttle closely resembles his grandfather’s. It’s pretty close to being the same ship, except for that fact that it’s decked out in black armor. Say what you will about Kylo as a villain, but his ship his pretty cool.

You know from the second you lay eyes on it in the opening scene of The Force Awakens that something disastrous is about to happen. I suppose they had to compensate for his childish personality and bratty demeanor somehow right?

6. Snow Speeder (T-47 Light Airspeeder)

I was a fan of these ships from the moment I saw them. They were, and still are, aesthetically different from any other vehicle in the galaxy. Originally constructed as airspeeders, the rebel alliance modified them to suit the conditions on Hoth.

Not to mention, they were the only ships at their disposal that were capable of taking down imperial walkers, using their tow-cables. An X-Wing Fighter honestly might have even had difficulty trying to take those things down. After all, that armor is too strong for blasters – remember?

5. Darth Maul’s Sith Infiltrator – The Scimitar

When it comes to the sith’s private shuttles, Darth Maul’s Scimitar takes the cake. Kylo and Vader both had pretty intimidating vessels of their own, but nothing compared to this. This bad boy was a modified Star Courier that was manufactured by Republic Sienar Systems, and came equipped with six laser cannons, a proton torpedo launcher, a minelayer, and a cloaking device. It also sported three DRK-1 Dark Eye Probe Droids as well as Darth Maul’s land speeder – the Bloodfin. It’s hard to beat that.

4. First Order Dreadnought (Mandator IV-Class Warship)

Yes, I know you probably hated The Last Jedi (I loved it, but that’s a debate for another time) but despite the film’s flaws, at least the Dreadnought was cool. Sure, we had seen Imperial Star Destroyers before, but this was something else.

It is hands down, the king of the sky (unless you count the Death Star or Starkiller Base – but those are technically space stations and not ships.) It’s two and half times as large as your run of the mill Star Destroyer and houses 53,000 officers, 140,000 enlisted personnel, and 22,000 storm troopers. It’s a leviathan of a ship.

3. Slave 1 (Firespray-31-Class Patrol and Attack Craft)

The legendary Slave 1, as sported by Jango and Boba Fett had to make the top three ships on the list. It was utilized in two pretty famous scenes in the series. The first was when Jango and Boba chased Obi-Wan Kenobi through an asteroid field, and the second was when a carbonite frozen Han Solo was loaded aboard the ship. It’s a truly unique vessel when compared to any other ship. You know the moment you lay eyes on it that a member of the Fett family is on board, and is probably ready to reek some serious havoc.

Photo Credit: Lucasfilm

2. X-Wing Fighter

When it comes to sleek ships that the rebels were able to pilot on their quest for galactic peace, very few are as instantly appeasing the legendary X-Wing fighter. Their other two primary star fighters – the A-Wing and the Y-Wing – both have their place in the squad, but there’s a reason why the X-Wing was the craft of choice among rebel fighters.

It’s notably quicker and more agile than the Y-Wing, and packs a more powerful punch than it’s speed focused counterpart, the A-Wing. Not to mention, it just looks cool. If you set a kid loose in a toy store and let them pick out a Star Wars ship of their choice, the odds are pretty good they will choose an X-Wing.

And of course, that only leaves one more…

(Photo by Disney Parks Via Getty Images)

1. The Millennium Falcon

You probably saw this one coming from a mile away. A predictable answer? Yes – but you have to admit, it’s the only acceptable one. We Star Wars fans can disagree on quite a few topics, but one thing we can all agree on is that Captain Solo’s Corellian cruiser is the single greatest hunk of junk in the galaxy.

She may not look like much but she’s got it where it counts. After all, Han did make the Kessel run in it in less the 12 parsecs. And in my opinion, it is home to one of the most touching scenes in the entire saga – “Chewie, we’re home.” It brings a tear to my eye every time.

(Potential spoiler alert) Rumor has it that our beloved Falcon could very well meet it’s fate in the highly anticipated Episode 9. It wouldn’t surprise if it does, given that the next installment of the franchise will likely be the last in the Skywalker saga, but I still have my fingers crossed that she will rule the skies after the next episode ends. We’ll have to wait until it hits theaters on December 20th, 2019 to find out.

What are your favorite ships from the Star Wars universe? Let us know in the comments.