The Springhawk was a heavy cruiser of the Chiss Ascendancy navy that was commanded by Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo. After the Vagaari pirate operations, command of the ship was temporarily taken away from Thrawn, though he regained control soon after. Command of the Springhawk was relinquished by Thrawn after being exiled by a Chiss military tribunal.
The Springhawk was armed with spectrum laser turrets, breacher missile tubes, and plasma sphere launchers. The first two weapon systems allow the ship to perform the follow-up spread, the standard Chiss battle tactic. In addition to the armaments standard to a Chiss heavy cruiser, Senior Captain Thrawn ordered to have an extra tank of plasma sphere fluid installed after the Lioaoin skirmish.
Typical to Chiss warships, the Springhawk was protected by an electrostatic barrier and heavy nyix-alloy hull armor. Point-defense lasers protect the bridge from incoming incoming missiles and battle debris. Blast shields would be raised in the event of the bridge viewport being breached.
A smaller secondary command room was located deep inside the ship, able to take over the control of the ship in the event of the bridge was incapacitated. Aside from the bridge and the secondary command, there were several crewed triangulation observation areas on the ship to aid in fire control. Sensor data were gathered through targeting sensors arrayed across the ship's hull.
The ship's passageways were designed to allow quick transits between areas, with many emergency bulkheads sectioning off the passageways to minimize the damage of hull breach.
The Springhawk was a Chiss heavy cruiser used during the later years of the Republic Era. Command of the ship was given to Mid Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo shortly after a politically charged situation in which Thrawn brought the Ascendancy into a conflict at the planet Solitair between the Lioaoi and the Garwians. Syndic Mitth'urf'ianico was very surprised by this turn of events. He believed that either Supreme General Ba'kif or Supreme Admiral Ja'fosk was behind it, but he also thought that someone in the Mitth family was also helping Thrawn, most likely the Patriarch himself.
The ship participated in the Vagaari pirate operations, after which Thrawn was relieved of command. Mid Captain Ufsa'mak'ro (Samakro) was given command of the ship, which pleased the Ufsa family, as the Springhawk had built itself quite a reputation under Thrawn. Additionally, Senior Commander Plikh'ar'illmorf (Kharill) became the first officer under Samakro. Some months later, after the Attack on Csilla, Thrawn was given command again and Samakro was demoted to first officer. Additionally, Kharill was demoted to second officer. Both Samakro and Kharill are displeased by their demotions. However, Samakro tells Kharill to not disobey any orders and to get ready for the change in command. The ship was sent to attack the Paataatus homeworld with Picket Force Six. It was then sent to investigate who had attacked Csilla.
The Springhawks search for the Csilla attackers first led the ship to a quadruple star system, where they found a Paccosh refugee ship derelict and adrift. They examined the bodies of those who had been on the craft in Ready Room Two. They backtracked it to the Paccosh homeworld of Rapacc, which they found to be under a blockade of unknown warships. After three days of observation, the Vigilant rendezvoused with them. Admiral Ar'alani and Captain Thrawn devised a plan to investigate an abandoned mining station in the Rapacc system's asteroid field.
As the Vigilant made a flyby in the outer system, the Springhawk hid in its , slipping away in dark mode while the Vigilant led the blockade ships away. Captain Thrawn and Caregiver Mitth'ali'astov left for the station in a shuttle a few hours after their arrival. They found the station's systems shut down, but no damage, suggesting an orderly withdrawal from the facility.
After the defeat and capture of Yiv, the Springhawk was involved in the Nikardun campaigns, a campaign to eliminate the remnants of the Nikardun Destiny. After coming under false attack by the Paataatus Hiveborn above that species' homeworld of Nettehi, the Springhawk helped liberate that planet from subjugation by Nikardun remnants.
Thrawn uncovered a plot to drag the Chiss into civil war. The Springhawk played a major role in foiling that plan at the Hoxim incident.
The Springhawk as well as a number of other Chiss warships participated in a mock battle at Sunrise, luring the Whetstone and a Grysk fleet into a trap.
The Springhawk was commanded by Senior Captain Thrawn. Its first officer was Mid Captain Ufsa'mak'ro "Samakro" and its second officer was Senior Commander Plikh'ar'illmorf "Kharill". Crew included:
As a result of the Vagaari pirate operations, Thrawn was temporarily relieved of command of the Springhawk. At that time, Samakro served as the commanding officer and Kharill as first officer. However, at the time of the attack on the Paataatus, Thrawn was reinstated as the Springhawks commander, thus placing Samakro as first officer and Kharill as second officer.
After Senior Captain Thrawn's last stand and the subsequent Mission to the edge of Lesser Space, Thrawn was stripped of his command and exiled for violating the standing order against preemptive combat. Samakro was promoted to senior captain and reinstated as the commander of the Springhawk.
In addition to Thrawn and Thalias, Samakro reported to Supreme General Ba'kif that four other Mitth family members were serving aboard the Springhawk at the time after the Hoxim Incident: a junior officer and three warriors.
The Springhawk first appeared in Star Wars canon in the 2020 novel Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising, the first installment of Timothy Zahn's Ascendancy Trilogy. The ship originated in Legends in Zahn's 2006 novel Outbound Flight.