The Scythe's main hull followed standard Mon Calamari design patterns. Furthermore, massive power conduits from the ship's main reactor and numerous auxiliary reactors took up additional space. The heavy concentration of weapons batteries on the forward hull meant that there was limited weaponry on the ship's broadsides and stern. While the 'cross of fire' weapons arrangement proved deadly to almost any warship that fell into its crosshairs, this provided some drawbacks. This configuration was referred to as a 'cross of fire' by Galactic Alliance officials and Mon Calamari engineers, and allowed the Scythe-class battle cruiser to focus its fire onto a singular point. The majority of the Scythe's weapon batteries were mounted on the forward blade. The Scythe-class was heavily armed with advanced weaponry, including thirty heavy turbolaser batteries, thirty standard turbolaser batteries, twenty ion cannon batteries, and forty proton torpedo launcher batteries with a total 160-warhead capacity. The Scythe-class battle cruiser's name was in part due to the massive vertical blade centered on the bow of the warship. Following the surrender of the Galactic Alliance government at the end of the Sith–Imperial War, many Scythe battle cruisers saw continued service in the Galactic Alliance Remnant during their operations against the Sith.

These battle cruisers saw extensive use during the Sith–Imperial War. In addition to the unique front blade, the Scythe-class was a mass-produced, standardized design, unlike prior generations of the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser. Designed and produced by the famed Mon Calamari Shipyards, the Scythe was a radical departure from normal Mon Calamari starship design. The MC140 Scythe-class main battle cruiser was the primary warship of the Galactic Alliance Defense Fleet approximately one hundred years after the Yuuzhan Vong War.

Pellaeon class star destroyer