The New Class Modernization Program, also known as the New Class Program, was a standardization project by the New Republic Defense Force. The name also refers to starships developed as a part of the project. All phases of the project were spearheaded by the Republic Engineering Corporation.
The Rebel Alliance fleet consisted of ships donated or captured by numerous rebel groups. The maintenance and supply issues brought on by the wide variety of vessels and ship types put tremendous strain on the fleet. In addition, as the Rebel Alliance military structure matured, it became increasingly difficult to train, rotate and promote crews and officers across the multitude of ship types. As the Rebel Alliance transitioned into the New Republic, the need for an organized military, rather than a ragtag force was clear.
The initial goal of the New Republic’s New Class program was to increase the degree of standardization across internal features (like command consoles) and external features (like hull panels). This was considered the first phase of the New Class program and was initiated around 6 ABY while the Empire was embroiled in a civil war. This standardization also helped to contribute to several new designs for existing companies, such as the Republic-class Star Destroyer and the MC90 Mon Calamari Star Cruiser.
By the time of the Battle of Corellia, the Republic fleet had been completely standardized and the second phase of the project had begun. New ship designs, known as New Class-types, were being developed by the Republic Engineering Corporation. A hallmark of the New Class-type was the easy interchangeability of parts and systems from one ship design to the other. The Sacheen-class Light Escort was the first of these New Class-type ships, and its success helped spur several other designs, culminating in the powerful Defender-class Star Destroyer.
While only a small portion of the New Republic fleet had converted over to the New Class-types by the time of the Xen’Chi War, the years that followed saw an increasing progression of the New-Class types into New Republic armadas.