The Kuat Drive Yards Orbital Array, often simply known as the Kuat Drive Yards or the Kuat shipyards, was a group of connected space stations that orbited and completely encircled the planet Kuat as an immense ring.
Layout of the KDY Orbital Array.
The Orbital Array was made of fifteen modules, including three shipyards that constituted the Kuat Drive Yards and produced some of the most memorable starships in the galaxy. These shipyards were the Maw Shipyards, the Deponn Shipyards, and the Andrim Shipyards. There were also three facilities that played a key role in the function of the ring. The first was the Kuati supply space station, located on the West portion of the Orbital Array, which was responsible for receiving and distributing various supplies required for both creating/maintaining the various warships docked there, and for maintaining the orbital array itself. The second was the Kuati residential space station, located to the north, which acted as living space for the workers at the Orbital Array. The third was the military space station.
Owing to the Orbital Array's primary function of laying down, constructing, and maintaining various starships, the ring was littered with various drydocks, warehouses, , and factories.
As many Kuati lived in the ring, the Orbital Array also consisted of many apartment complexes, hotels, restaurants, shops, medical facilities, and places of entertainment. Most of offworlders that visited Kuat remained in the ring during their entire stay. Kuati Security Forces regularly patrolled all areas within the ring, and as such had multiple headquarter offices distributed throughout.
The Orbital Array had its own weapons systems to defend against hostile starships, although they lacked firepower to destroy capital ships.
During the Cold War between the Galactic Republic and the reconstituted Sith Empire, a series of fatal collisions halted production at the shipyards. Republic investigators discovered that the automated traffic controller had been sabotaged by Imperial agents. With the help of Republic slicers, the Kuat shipyards were able to repair the traffic control programs and arrested the saboteurs.
Following the Battle of Yavin, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Devastator was maintained under repair in the Kuat Drive Yards Orbital Array after having sustained heavy damage during an engagement with the Rebel fleet.
In 4 ABY, during the Battle of Endor, Kuat of Kuat bombed the shipyards to prevent Kuat Drive Yards to fall under control of either the Galactic Empire or the Rebel Alliance. The shipyards were saved by Boba Fett but 20% of the docks were destroyed.
Late during the Yuuzhan Vong War, Kuat was attacked by the Yuuzhan Vong and the Kuat shipyards were mostly disrupted.