The Imperial Navy, also known as the Imperial Starfleet, was the naval branch of the Galactic Empire‘s military. The Imperial fleet was created in the wake of the Clone Wars, when Chancellor Sheev Palpatine transformed the Galactic Republic he led into an authoritarian Empire. Consisting mainly of Star Destroyers and TIE fighters, the Imperial Navy was tasked with maintaining order in the galaxy.
With the rise of the New Order, the massive military buildup that became synonymous with the late Galactic Republic in an effort to combat the Separatist Alliance in the Clone Wars was continued and expanded in the now Galactic Empire. When the Separatist leadership was executed at Mustafar by Darth Vader; then Supreme Chancellor Palpatine announced his plans for the galaxy since the beginning. Officially wiping away the thousand year old Republic by announcing the creation of the Galactic Empire, with himself as Galactic Emperor.
After the rise of the New Order, the Imperial Navy was created from the remains of the Republic Navy at the end of the Clone Wars, and inherited its proud naval tradition that dated back thousands of years. It came to have its own starships that patrolled the vast majority of Imperial space throughout the reign of Emperor Palpatine’s New Order.
After the establishment of the Imperial Navy, it became the primary projection of the Imperial Military‘s arm, becoming the largest branch in the Armed Forces with its enormous fleet of vessels and millions of personnel.
The Imperial Navy was commanded by Galactic Emperor Palpatine and the Joint Chiefs of the Empire, while admirals and captains assumed responsibility for their respective craft and would be informed of any long-term plans. The Admiralty was the overall leading unit of the navy and included Imperial Navy High Command. Naval Command and Control and the Naval chiefs also oversaw the tactical strategy of the Navy, and reassigned ships to trouble spots and plotted long-term strategy under the oversight of both the Emperor and Joint Chiefs. The Imperial Starfighter Corps also aided in overall naval operations, and disliked the Admiralty’s push towards Kuat Drive Yards near monopoly on capital ship production due to a belief that TIE/LN fighters were purposely weakened to ensure continued production and purchases from the company would continue.
Similar to the Army, the Imperial Navy contained multiple branches responsible for various aspects of naval warfare, of which the most important and well known was Fleet Command. Fleet Command controlled the Imperial Navy’s sub-capital and capital ships, and the lowest recruits to the Admiral of the Fleet fell under its auspices.
It was highly unusual for officers to receive captaincy of a Star Destroyer until middle age, while being assigned captaincy of smaller craft was considered to be ignominious. It was common practice for the Imperial Starfleet to often amass ships in an attempt to intimidate various worlds, officers sometimes gathered their respective ships in an attempt to display their power and impress superiors, with the more ships and men under ones command the more important that person was considered. With the Emperor commanding the most ships and men, he was easily considered the most important. The Navy also worked in conjunction with the Imperial Security Bureau, who installed an internal affairs officer aboard every Imperial-class Star Destroyer and Executor-class Star Dreadnought, while the Naval Intelligence Agency and its oversight by Imperial Intelligence provided vital information for the armada.