The Confederate Navy, also known as the Separatist fleet, was a large collection of warships and other starships provided for the Separatists’ armed forces by the contributing members of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

The navy was organized around flotillas of destroyers and frigates built by hundreds of aggressively independent star systems, who often donated them to the various commercial organizations frontlining the war. The main battleships were donated by the Trade Federation.

During the early days of the Separatist Alliance, the fledgling Confederate Navy was complemented by Sabaoth Squadron, pledged to the Separatist cause by Cavik Toth just prior to the Clone Wars. Toth led his squadron during the First Battle of Geonosis.

Although the ships were often commanded by droid officers, many fleets and blockades were placed under the command of organic Captains and Admirals. While Dooku’s most trusted Commanders, such as Durge and Asajj Ventress, retained leadership positions even within the Navy, Admirals like Pors Tonith, Kirst, and Trench were responsible for leading entire fleets and were important tacticians during the war. Trench in particular was a feared admiral whose tactics tore apart Republic fleets. The famed Admiral was presumed to have perished during the Battle of Malastare Narrows prior to the Clone Wars but had survived the battle and joined the Separatist Alliance at the outset of the Clone Wars. Trench was defeated and again believed to have been killed during the Battle of Christophsis in the second year of the Clone Wars.^[4] Trench actually survived the battle thanks to cybernetics which were used to replace much of the left side of his body.

At the beginning of the war, the Subjugator-class heavy cruiser Malevolence used its deadly ion cannons to great effect, terrorizing Republic supply lines and making short work of multiple naval task forces, such as Plo Koon’s fleet whilst stationed in the Abregado system. The ship was destroyed by a Jedi strike team, who reprogrammed the ship to collide with the Dead Moon of Antar. The separatists did not give up on the Malevolence, however, and it was succeeded by its sister ship, the Devastation, which Dooku placed under the command of Nightsister Sai Sircu. Grievous later attempted to rebuild his fallen flagship, dubbed the Malevolence II.

The navy depended on large shipyards administered by Overseers who watched over the slaves whom they depended on to build the massive warships quickly. They made use of organic workers rather than droids so that the Republic could not bomb their shipyards without immense civilian casualties. In an effort to halt production, a team consisting of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano infiltrated the Gwori shipyards and liberated the facility’s slaves, allowing a strike team to bomb the shipyards. The destruction of the shipyard tipped the balance of the war away from the Separatists, allowing the Clone Wars to rage on.

During the course of the war, Separatist warships participated in various engagements, notably during the Quell, Kamino, and Umbara. Other times, such at Ryloth, Lola Sayu, and Serenno, Confederate ships served defensive purposes or blockades.

One of General Grievous’s flagships, the Invisible Hand, led the navy on a hit-and-fade campaign that disrupted travel, communication, and commerce in the Outer Rim regions, as well as mass invasions on vulnerable Outer Rim worlds.

Towards the end of the war, while millions of Separatist warships battled the Republic in vast Outer Rim campaigns, a task force led personally by General Grievous and amounting to several thousand ships made a fast snatch at Coruscant in an attempt to capture Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. This task force was defeated in the Battle of Coruscant, and its remnants retreated into hyperspace.