Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-30277232-20170427151147/@comment-27029853-20170501131617

The active ship is just whichever one has activated due to pilot skill order during the combat phase, which technically every ship does, even ships with no shot at range 6 of the nearest enemy ship that will definitely go off the board edge.

Performing an attack does not make you the active ship unless your PS triggers and makes you the active ship.

Actually, because of all the time at the start and mid game you spend not attacking, it could be argued generally that most of the time the active ship does not make an attack in the combat phase.