Squadrons

A Squadron is an association of players. It is akin to a guild or social group to better enjoy the game. Squad members can support, protect and guide each other. Do objectives solo or together such as team missions for common goals. Socialize with others to build relationships. It may give members access to advice and resources of more experienced pilots. This enables faster progression in the galaxy.

A single Commander can create a new Squadron and invite others to join or accept membership applications. Members can be organised into an internal hierarchy with ranks that offer management options. Squadrons can support a Minor Faction or Power of their choice, compete for top spots in the seasonal leaderboards, and combine efforts for custom activities. Communication within a Squadron is facilitated by in-game chat channels.^[1] Over 20,919 Squadrons were created in 2019.^[2] The Vanguards update improved many features in August 2025.^[3]^[4]

Squadrons

Notable Squadrons with 25 members or greater are listed below.

Squadron Name	Activities	Game Mode	Play Style	Powerplay	Language	Time Zone	Platform	Website
Alliance Rapid-Reaction Corps	All	All	All	Yes	English	All	All	Link
American Alliance	All	All	Role Play	No	English	All American Time Zones	Xbox	Link
Anti-Xeno Initiative	Combat, Xeno Hunter	All	Relaxed / Dedicated	Yes	English	UTC	PC	LInk
BE Dangerous	All, except piracy	All	Relaxed / Family	No	French	All	PC	Link
Deep Space Patrol	All except Piracy. Focus on Patrol / Bounty Hunting	All	Relaxed / Dedicated	No	English	All	PC	Link
Endurance Exploration	Exploration, trade, combat	All	Relaxed	Yes	English	All	PC	Link
Expanders Corp	All, BGS	Open	All	No	Italian	UTC+1	Xbox	Link
Final Space	All	All	Relaxed / Dedicated	No	English	All	PS4	n/a
FleetComm	All	All		No	English	All	All	Link
Fuel Rats	Support	All	Dedicated	No	English	UTC	All	Link
Illegal Creature Eradicators	All, Xeno-hunting focus	All	Relaxed / Dedicated	No	English	UTC-10	PC	Link
Intergalactic Astronomical Union	Exploration, science, PVE	Mobius PG, Solo	Relaxed / Science	No	English	All	PC	Link
Lavigny's Legion	All	Open	Relaxed / Dedicated	Supporting Arissa Lavigny-Duval	English	All	All	Link
MediCorp WA	Rescue	All	Roleplay	No	French	UTC+1	All	Link
New Pilots Initiative	Support new pilots, develop career	All	Relaxed	Yes	English	UTC	PC	Link
Nova Navy	BGS, Anti-Xeno, RP, Exploration, Bounty Hunting	All (Open is primary)	Relaxed / Dedicated (Roleplay)	No (Supporting Nova Imperium)	English	GMT & EST	All	Link
OMNI-Phantom Detachment	All	All	Relaxed/Family	No	English	US-PST/All	Xbox	N/A
Osiris Interstellar [OSRS]	All, focus on BGS	All	Relaxed / Dedicated	Yes	English	All	PC, Xbox	Link
Pilot Syndicate 4 [SYN4]	All	All	All	No	English	All	PS4, PC	Link
Praetorian PMC	All	All	All	Yes	English	All	PC
Radio Sidewinder Crew	All	All	Relaxed / Dedicated	No	English	All	PC [RSCS] PC - Colonia [RSGS] Xbox [RSCS] PS4 [RSCS]	Link
Redshift Logistics	All	All	Relaxed/ Dedicated	No	English	All	Xbox	Link
Simbad Regime	All	All	All	No	English	All	All	Link
STARSEEKERS	All	All	Relaxed / Dedicated	Yes	English	UST-5	PC	N/A
The Big Dipper	Exploration and mining	Open	Dedicated	No	English, French, Spanish, Russian	UTC -6, UTC -5, UTC, and UTC +1	Xbox	Link
The Colonial Fleet	All	Open	Dedicated / Roleplay	No	English	All	All	Link
The Galactic Archive	All, BGS Focused	All	Relaxed/Family	Optional	English	All	PC	Link
United Systems Imperium	All	All	Relaxed/Family	No	English	All	All	Link
Wanderers of Witch Space	All	All	All	No	English	All	PC	Link
WarNimals	All, except piracy,	Private	Relaxed/Family	No	English	UTC +8	PC	Link
Winters Wolves	All	Open, Private	Relaxed, Family	Optional	English	All	PC, Xbox	Link

Perks

List of available perks:^[5]

Perk	Effect	Available as faction perk	Notes
Mining	+12% fragment yields	Yes	Is this fragment count or fragment mineral %?
Cargo insurance	50% cargo purchase value covered on rebuy	Yes	Presumably if you get pirated then killed, you didn’t technically lose the cargo?
Colonisation claims	-50% claim cost	No
Colonisation deliveries	+15% profits as trade bond	No
CQC rank	+50% rank gain	No	Does this affect CQC rank or EFP CQC rank too?
Mapping efficiency	+25% probe target	Yes
PF rank	+7.5% rank gain	Yes
Faction influence	+5% influence gain	Yes	Likely undetectable in practice, given the diminishing returns curves.
FSD synthesis	-50% materials costs	No	Rounded up or down?
Limpet synthesis	-50% materials costs	No
Mission rewards	+7.5% rewards (all types)	Yes
Notoriety decay	-2 notoriety, -100k bounty / 2 hours	No	Does this require you to be logged in like normal notoriety decay?
NPC crew rank	+50% crew experience	Yes
Powerplay merit bonus	+10% merits	Yes	Does this also affect control points? Answer: no, affects merits only, control points stay the same
Ammunition synthesis	-50% materials costs	No
Wing Trade	+7.5% trade bonds + trade rank (team only)	Yes	Is this 7.5% extra trade bond on the base trade, or a +7.5% multiplier on the existing bond?
Wing Combat	+7.5% bounty payout + rank (team only)	Yes	Does this apply at collection time and therefore affect PP merits?

Overview

Frontier described Squadrons:

Squadrons have been designed for Commanders who want to band together and organise themselves in-game. This might be to play together, or to focus on certain types of gameplay such as bounty hunting, Community Goals, or furthering the agenda of a faction. The aim of Squadrons is to support and augment multiplayer organisation and combined effort in-game.^[6]

The Elite Dangerous community have created so many incredible out-of-game ways to organise how they play Elite Dangerous in player groups, and we would never dream of removing or replacing those systems, but Squadrons offers something for any type of player.^[6]

If you form a Squadron that is looking to engage in activities such as dominating the leaderboards, taking on the Thargoids, or spreading your faction's influence, the in-game squadron tools are designed to help you in these pursuits. That said, if you have a service-providing player group, such as the Fuel Rats, the Squadron tools can be used in addition to the systems you've already put in place outside of the game supplementing the activity you already engage in. Using the tag tool (see below), players will be able to find Squadrons who have a similar play style to their own, so you might just pick up a few new recruits. As with all features in Elite Dangerous, we can't wait to see how our amazing community engages with what we've created.^[6]

Remember that there are thousands of players who may be new to the Elite Dangerous galaxy, or may not engage in the forums or out-of-game activity as much as others, so your searchable Squadron page will be something of an advert for them. Commanders will be able to team up with their friends, and make new friends in-game. In this sense, Squadrons is bringing all types of Commanders together in a way that has never been done before.^[6]

Squadron Creation

Commanders can create a Squadron at any time, provided they have sufficient funds and are not already a member of another Squadron. The first Squadron created by a Commander costs 1,000,000 credits, and every Squadron created by them thereafter costs 10,000,000 credits each. During the creation of a Squadron, the following details can be set:

Mandatory Settings

These must be set during Squadron creation.

Squadron Name: The name by which the Squadron will be known. Cannot be changed.
Squadron ID: A 4-character identification tag for the Squadron. Cannot be changed.

Optional Settings

These can be set during or after Squadron creation.

Superpower Affiliation: Defaults to Independent; other options include Alliance, Empire, and Federation. As long as the Power Affiliation and Faction Affiliation settings have not been set, Superpower Affiliation can be changed by the Squadron Leader at any time.
Power Affiliation: Choose one of the 11 Powers to support for Powerplay. Once set, it cannot be changed.
Faction Affiliation: The minor faction that the Squadron is affiliated with. Once set, it cannot be changed. The minor faction's allegiance will change the Squadron's Superpower Affiliation to match.
Tags: Select tags to indicate a Squadron's preferred activities, attitude, and goals. Tags can be changed at any time. Tag options include:
- Activities: Anti-Xeno Activists, Bounty Hunters, Explorers, Faction Supporters, Humanitarian Aid Providers, Pirates, Power Supporters, Traders and Miners
- Availability: Occasional, Weekdays, Weekends
- Game Mode: Relaxed, Family, Devoted
- Time Zone
- Play Style: PvE, PvP, Roleplay
- Languages: English, Portuguese, German, French, Spanish, Russian
- Attitude: Solo, Open, Private
- Powerplay Characters

Once the Squadron's settings have been selected, the Squadron creation fee will be deducted from the Commander's credit balance and the Squadron will be created. The Commander who creates the Squadron will be automatically designated the Squadron Leader.

Management

Once the Squadron has been created, Squadron Leaders will be able to manage the structure of the Squadron, as well as set in-game announcements to coordinate the Squadron's efforts.

Squadrons can have a maximum of 500 members, including the Squadron Leader.

Squadron ranks

There are five Squadron ranks. The Squadron Leader can customise each rank's name and privileges. The default ranks are:

Leader (crown)
Senior Officer (4 stars)
Officer (3 stars)
Agent (2 stars)
Rookie (1 star)

Rank privileges

Invite: Invite New players to the Squadron.
Kick: Kick members of lower ranks.
Change Member Rank: Promote or demote squadron members of lower ranks.
Change Rank Privileges: Change the squadron privileges of lower ranks.
Change Squadron Tags
Create Post: Create announcements and events.
Accept Applications: Accept or reject applications to the Squadron.
Change admission Policy: Disable access to new members joining the Squadron.
Share Bookmarks: Share squadron bookmark.
Join Leader Chat: Join the Squadron Leader's chat group.

The Squadron Leader also has the authority to disband the Squadron if desired. The option to disband can be found in Squadron Management, under the Settings tab.

Communication

One of the most important features that have been introduced with Squadrons is the ability for groups of Commanders to communicate with each other. Squadron facilitates this with the following features:

Group Comms – A new feature that will be used by Squadrons is group comms, this will add channels and other functionality to the chat panel. When a Squadron is created, the Squadron channel and the Squadron officer channel (which is only available to Officers and the Leader) are automatically created and any Squadron members are added to the relevant channels. This allows Squadron members to communicate regardless of where they are in the galaxy.
The Feed – The Squadron feed panel (which becomes available once a Commander joins a Squadron) will have a list of automated posts that are added to a feed. This feed will provide essential feedback on the Squadron and their activities. For example, when a player joins the Squadron a message will automatically be added to the feed. Those members with the correct privileges will also be able to add an internal statement to the feed, the latest statement will always remain stickied to the top of the feed.

Allegiance

Squadrons can align themselves with both a Faction and a Power. Choosing either of these also sets the squadrons superpower allegiance to the relevant superpower. Once either is set, the Squadron has access to the squadron allegiance page and additional information is shown on the faction's homepage.

The Squadron allegiance page features both a link to the Squadron's aligned power and more information on their affiliated faction. It also shows similar information to the cockpit status panel for the chosen faction, also showing information for every system the faction is present in.

Membership

A squadron can have up to 600 members.^[7]

Finding and Joining a Squadron

If you access the Squadron page on the right-hand panel and are not in a Squadron, you will have the option to search for one to join. Using this page, you can search by Squadron Name or ID as well as filter by tags. You will then see a list of Squadrons based on the criteria you've entered. You will also be able to look at Squadron statistics or read the Squadron's public statement.

Once you find a Squadron you like, you can send an application. This application will include a small amount of text that can be edited before sending. Applications will also include some information on the Commander, such as highest rank.

The Squadron Leader or any member with privileges will be able to see a list of all Commander applicants and accept or decline the application. Once approved, the applicant will be welcomed into the Squadron.

Commanders can also invite each other to a Squadron they have privileges to do so via places like the friends list or contacts panel.

Leaving a Squadron

A Squadron can be left at any time.

Squadron Leaders must first pass leadership to another Commander before leaving the Squadron.

If the final member of a Squadron leaves, it will be automatically disbanded.

Squadron Leaderboards

As Squadron members participate in activities, their accomplishments will contribute to their Squadron's total score and position on seven competitive Leaderboards:

Xeno Defence - Hand in Pilots Federation Combat Bonds obtained from anti-Thargoid combat
Combat - Destroy other ships
CQC - Play CQC Matches
Exploration - Sell exploration data
Political - Maintain a large and happy minor faction
Powerplay - Gain Powerplay merits
Trade - Earn profit through trade

At the end of a Season, which is between one and two months in length, the top three Squadrons in each category, per platform, will be awarded with a bronze, silver, or gold medal in their Hall of Fame to mark their achievement. Members of the winning Squadrons will also receive a bronze, silver, or gold holographic dashboard trophy for each top-three position they reached in each category; multiple copies of the same tier of the same trophy can be collected across seasons and displayed at once. A new Season begins immediately upon the previous Season's conclusion, and all Squadron standings are reset to zero.^[8]

Season One Results (December 11, 2018 - February 7, 2019)

Vanguards

Vanguards is a free update for ED that launched on 19 August 2025.^[9]^[4] It's a complete overhaul of the system and includes the Squadron Carrier.^[10]

Features

These are new and improved features:^[10]

Create a unique identity with your own custom logo and banner and the logo to your ships
Create your Squadron motto to declare your purpose
Use the reworked Squadron Browser to find out more about available Squadrons and their members
Climb to the top of our extended Squadron Leaderboards and earn new rewards
Use the new Squadron Bank to share resources with your fellow members
Manage your fleet with a dedicated Squadron Carrier with an extended Squadron Bank to host commodities, items and ships
Apply new Squadron perks to benefit your members
Review Squadron influence reports to see how your grip on the galaxy has changed,
…And Much More

Squadron details

Create a custom name, ID, motto, mission statement, application requirements. Set superpower allegiance (Alliance, Empire, Federation, Independent), supporting faction, supporting power, primary perk, faction perk. Preferences: activities, languages, time zone, availability, recruitment. The squadron icon (logo) has 3 layers: background, middleground and foreground. You can select a premade banner and colors.

Squadron Bank

Bank includes credits and physical assets such as ships, commodities and other personal assets. Credits can be directly deposited and transferred to another squadron member. Set permissions.

Leaderboards

The leaderboards ranks squadrons by the activities they're involved in.

Ranks and Permissions

Add or set ranks. Promote or demote members. Set permissions such as bank access.

Applications

A list of new members who apply for membership.

Squadron Browser

Find a squadron that is suitable to you. Filter by activities, languages, time zone, availability, powerplay, recruitment.

Logs

There are logs for personnel, squadron, carrier and feats.

Bulletin board and Feed

Post a bulletin title and message to inform squad members.

Overview

Senior Director Piers Jackson said it will improve communication and social gaming in Elite Dangerous, allow people to come together.^[9] There will be an area they can call their own with a new UI that enables direct communication.^[9] A Squadron leader can set objectives, setup a group and be rewarded.^[9] Such as set a mining goal and receive perks for doing it.^[9] Squadrons can be compared to see who are the best.^[9] More experienced players can create a Squadron and help newbies in ED.^[9] There will be in-game and offline elements.^[9] Each Squadron will have a bank (repository) to store credits, modules and ships which can be shared with other members.^[9] It builds on top of Powerplay and colonisation.^[9] There will be player-led factions that also affect the Background simulation.^[9] The maximum number of squadron members was raised to 600 (up from 500).^[7]

Guide videos

Elite Dangerous - Vanguards - Commander Onboarding Module - Creating & Joining a Squadron

Elite Dangerous - Vanguards - Commander Onboarding Module - Member Management

Elite Dangerous - Vanguards - Commander Onboarding Module - Squadron Bank

Elite Dangerous - Vanguards - Commander Onboarding Module - Acquiring A Squadron Carrier

Development

The eponymous feature was added with ED: Beyond Chapter Four (3.3).

In the early stages of development for Fleet Carriers, Frontier Developments described Fleet Carriers as mobile bases that could be purchased and maintained by Squadrons.^[11] After the implementation of Fleet Carriers was delayed from Chapter Four of Elite Dangerous: Beyond to the December Update, development plans changed and it was announced that the vessels could be purchased by individual players.^[12]