Defender Ship Design Program

The Defender Ship Design Program, known as the Defender Program for short, was a starship design project dating from the early years of the New Republic, in which the nascent Republic Engineering Corporation shipbuilding conglomerate developed plans for a "pocket Star Destroyer", a starfighter carrier, and a new snubfighter.

Only the starfighter was developed rapidly, seeing service in the years after Endor, but while the starfighter was respected and capable, the two capital-ship designs were delayed by various factors, and would only enter service as part of the larger New Class project - in which they became the Defender-class Star Destroyer and the Defender-class Assault Carrier.

=Sources=
 * Wookieepedia