Star Wars: The Last Jedi's Guide to New Ships & Vehicles

Star Wars has always been about the push and pull between the forces of light and dark, but there’s something else that draws fans back to theaters with each subsequent entry -- all those cool ship and vehicles. After all, few sci-fi franchises can boast a spaceship as iconic as the Millennium Falcon, or vehicles as immediately recognizable as the Galactic Empire’s lumbering AT-ATs. And that’s saying nothing of the Death Star, which looms so large in film history.

Director Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi cruises into theaters nationwide on Friday, bringing with it a new array of inventive, and frequently menacing, starship and vehicle designs. But what are some of the standout vessels used in the struggle between the First Order and the Resistance? Here’s a rundown of all the major ships and vehicles we know will debut in The Last Jedi.

AT-M6

The First Order's All-Terrain MegaCaliber Six, or AT-M6 for short, is exactly what it looks lik: an AT-AT on steroids. First revealed on the Star Wars Show in August, the vehicle is much larger than the walkers used by the Galactic Empire in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. If anything, the massive AT-M6 looks like a cross between the classic AT-AT and the heavily armored All-Terrain Tactical Enforcer (AT-TE) from the prequel trilogy.

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The AT-M6 has a layer of armor and a massive, mounted cannon much like the AT-TE, although it retains the AT-AT’s distinctive design. Their gorilla-like feet make it clear the Resistance won't be able to pull from the Rebel Alliance's Hoth playbook by binding an AT-AT’s legs with wire so that they tumble to their destruction.

V-4X-D Ski Speeder

Ski Speeders in Star Wars: The Last Jedi

What will go up against the massive AT-M6? Why, the V-4X-D Ski Speeder, of course. These dinky little single-pilot ships are deceptively powerful fighters and critical members of the Resistance’s fleet. You wouldn’t know that by looking at them, which is exactly what Johnson wanted when the fighters were being designed.

Actually, the Ski Speeders will play a big role in the Battle of Crait, which takes place on the salt-encrusted mineral world to which the Resistance fled following the evacuation of D’Qar.

B/SF-17 Heavy Bomber

Resistance Bombers in Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The B/SF-17 heavy bomber has an important role in the Resistance’s fight against the First Order: It needs to drop bombs; a lot of bombs. First glimpsed in the teaser for The Last Jedi, the bomber is loaded with ordnance protected by a pair of huge, rotating laser turrets. The bomber’s main targets are Star Destroyers, the massive rectangular starships that have become synonymous with the might and menace of both the Galactic Empire and the First Order.

What part the bombers play in The Last Jedi remains to be seen. The trailer shows Resistance and First Order fighters engaged in space, perhaps above Crait. When it comes to starships, the First Order’s motto seems to be “go big or go home,” so there’s a good chance the bomber will have plenty of large-scale targets.

Kylo Ren's TIE Silencer

Every villain needs a cool ride, and Kylo Ren’s TIE Silencer is just that. Reminiscent of Darth Vader’s TIE Advanced, the TIE Silencer is a sleek, deadly ship decked out with laser cannons and missile launchers. Kylo Ren can be seen piloting the vessel in the trailer for The Last Jedi, seemingly zoned out as he bobs and weaves between two fleets locked in combat.

The trailer also suggests the TIE Silencer might play a pivotal role in Kylo Ren’s journey to the Dark Side. After all, he seemingly takes aim at his mother, Leia Organa, in the trailer, although that may be a bit of creative editing to create tension. Regardless, Kylo is a master pilot, just like his father and grandfather, so if he’s going to make any bold moves, it might as well be from behind the controls of one of the coolest, deadliest ships in the galaxy.

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First Order Dreadnought (Mandator IV-Class Warship)

The First Order is doubling down on big ships in The Last Jedi. Think back to the beginning of Star Wars: A New Hope and the initial long shot that just strolls up the exterior of a Star Destroyer. Took a while, right? Well, the First Order Dreadnought is about two and a half times the size of a standard Resurgent-class Star Destroyer. So, yeah; it's big.

That’s not all. The First Order Dreadnought also boasts 24 cannons and two orbital guns, so there’s no outrunning this ship. The dreadnought's design is based off actual seafaring vessels from World War II, like the Yamato super-battleship, though it retains the look of the original trilogy’s Star Destroyers – except way, way bigger.

Raddus

The Raddus actually has a pretty interesting place in Star Wars lore, although that history likely won’t be explored fully when it debuts in The Last Jedi. It was one of the last ships built before the Military Disarmament Act took hold, reducing the galaxy’s military forces by 90 percent at the close of the Galactic Civil War.

Because of the New Republic’s lessened focus on militarization, the Resistance values every solider it can get. Some systems within the Raddus have also been refined so that they require fewer personnel to operate. It's a strange, retrofitted ship, but certainly a place some call home.

Supremacy

If every villain needs a cool ride, then every supervillain needs a sweet lair. Luckily for Supreme Leader Snoke, his lair is both sweet and highly mobile. Acting as the base of operations for the First Order, which seemingly has limitless resources, the Supremacy can deploy troops, send ships off to battle and repair damaged starfighters.

Judging from the trailer that shows Rey in the clutches of Snoke, it’s highly likely audiences will be getting a tour of the Supremacy. What secrets are hidden away in the villain's cavernous vessel, and how will Rey extricate herself from capture when the Supremacy is basically the size of a city? Only time will tell.

Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Star Wars: The Last Jedi stars Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke, Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux, Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Lupita Nyong’o as Maz Kanata, Benicio Del Toro as ‘DJ’, Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico, Laura Dern as Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, and the late Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa.