The advent of stealth technology dramatically altered interstellar warfare and prompted the design of several new ship classes, most of which never made it past the conceptual stage. The Destroyer however, entered into production in 2180 and earned it's place in Hierarchy tactical doctrine.
About halfway between the size of a frigate and a cruiser, the destroyer was based upon an older turian design that had been abandoned centuries ago in favor of focusing on dreadnoughts and cruiser packs. The destroyer was heavily armed and armored for such a small ship, with far more guns than it could sustainable fire simultaneously for more than a few seconds. Its armor was made of crushed, compacted diamonds and was hideously expensive, as were the cyclonic barriers the destroyers employed for shielding. To make room for the stealth systems, armor, and barriers, destroyers lacked the GARDIAN systems of other ships, and was also somewhat slow and hard to maneuver. This however, was because a destroyer had but one purpose: get in close to the enemies capital ships and destroy them in a single, overwhelming barrage.
The primary armament of destroyers were the Thranx cannons, which fired depleted uranium rounds coated in silica and heated to over 1000C. The range of Thranx cannons had proved to be limited, but this was more than made up for by their ability to rip through armor and shatter kinetic barriers with startling rapidity. To supplement the Thranx, the destroyer mounted new, powerful ultra-violet lasers of enormous destructive capacity. However, the destroyer could only fire all its weapons twice before the tremendous heat generated by them overwhelmed its impressive capacitors and vents. This was not a huge disadvantage, as the Thranx canons and laser batteries were more than enough to cripple anything but the strongest shields and barriers. Working in squadrons of four, a full barrage from a squadron could destroy even a carrier or super-dreadnought.
The largest problem with the destroyer was that after firing, it could not re-enter stealth for several minutes as the capacitors had to ventilate so that stealth drive could be re-engaged, and during the venting they were easy targets. This was somewhat supplemented by their heavy armor, but the destroyers had another weakness. Lacking GARDIAN systems and armed with weapons suited only for engaging larger ships, the destroyers were easy prey for fighters or drones. To combat this, the Hierarchy shifted frigate design to take on a more specialized, anti-fighter role along with advanced sensors for long range scouting. The frigates would cover the destroyers while they vented, then both groups would slip back into stealth and find their next target. This tactic proved to exceptionally successful on several occasions when the Hierarchy classed with the League, the Primacy or Omega's forces in border conflicts.
The most famous destroyer was the CSV Archangel, captained by Council Specter Garrus Vakarian. (See file "The Butcher of Torfan" for more information). This ship saw heavy combat in the Kite's Nest against Indoctrinated batarian forces, though it's most famous hour occured during the First Siege of Khaje, where the Archangel successfully engaged and destroyed two capital ships in a matter of minutes.