PROBE:
When exploration needs to be done quickly and cheaply, Probes are the go to solution. Usually equipped with interplanetary grade FTL Drives, or none at all, Probes lack the range to explore other systems on their own, but are perfectly suitable for planetary and sun-planetary surveying.
Equipped with large sensors for their size, taking up the majority of their mass alongside its engines and power source. Probes are cost-effective at their job, but lack the thoroughness of a dedicated survey ship or Exploration Cruiser unless used in large numbers in a coordinated effort, which is usually not much less expensive than the former options, and less versatile.
Most Probes are small, ranging from 2 meters long to about 16 and under a ton to a few dozen tons, however some Probes can reach far larger sizes to accommodate larger or more specialized equipment.
COURIER DRONES:
While FTL communication exists, it is advanced, expensive, and commonly unreliable. The majority of bulk data lacking the need for speed, data that requires extreme levels of security, or data in areas with limited or nonexistent infrastructure is carried on Courier Drones.
Courier Drones are usually equipped with extremely fast FTL Drives, allowing them to transport information far faster than most manned vessels. A single 'Drone can carry extremely large amounts of information, meaning most planets only need a limited amount of them to fulfill their needs.
The average Courier Drone is no larger than a meter or two and under a ton, but those that carry more data or include higher speeds or security can be far larger, sometimes up to 30 meters and over a hundred tons.
FIGHTERS:
The smallest spacecraft commonly used in combat, Fighters are used for patrols, hunting small ships, and torpedo attacks on enemy vessels. Fighters are the smallest type of manned vessel that commonly has FTL capability, though many short range patrol or defensive Fighters lack FTL. Some Fighters are manned while others are unmanned, usually slaved to manned Fighters within their squadrons.
Fighters have been in use for millenia, but mostly in a secondary role due to their limited effectiveness compared to most warships. This left them mostly used in close patrol, ground support, and anti-munition roles. The paradigm changed with the introduction of the disruptor torpedo by humanity. While munitions had been in use for millenia on Fighters, none before proved as useful as the disruptor torpedo, having been forced to deal with the kinetic barriers of ships stopping munitions before they reached their target. This left them only useful at Fighter scales for finishing off warships already damaged in battle, a role filled by Frigates just as well. The disruptor torpedo turned Fighters from a support and cleanup unit, into a potential main strike weapon, equal in importance to the mass accelerators used for millennia. This started an arms race not seen in a long time, and gave the human defense companies, which already had high level knowledge of Fighters, a leg up that allowed them to survive in spite of the overall technological inferiority of humanity.
Fighters are very small compared to most other craft in space battles, only 8 to 20 meters long and a dozen or few dozen tons.
INTERCEPTORS:
Built in the 2160s (post First Contact War) as a result of the rise in the perceived threat of Fighters, Interceptors are meant to intercept and destroy enemy Fighter and missiles before they can threaten friendly vessels or installations. Usually equipped with Mass Accelerators, anti-Fighter missiles, and Guardian Laser Systems, Interceptors are a deadly threat to Fighters, only held back by their, comparatively, high production cost. The 2170 saw smaller, less capable, Interceptors introduced at lower costs, but these craft are only marginally more combat effective than the Fighters they are meant to fight, leading to several navies operating two lines of interceptors, one cheaper but less effective, and another more effective but expensive.
Most high end interceptors are manned due to the fear of interference, but it is not uncommon for cheaper Interceptors to be unmanned, either slaved to another Interceptor, their mothership, a supporting Corvette or Frigate, or even independently operated by a VI.
Interceptors range from 8 to 25 meters and a dozen tons to a little over a hundred.
SHUTTLES:
To carry small amounts of cargo or passengers from one place to another, Shuttles are commonly used. Most Shuttles lack FTL, limited to ferrying people and cargo between ships, worlds, and stations. Some variants have short range FTL allowing for interplanetary travel and movement through the Relay Network.
Most Shuttles are relatively small, maybe 6 to 30 meters long and a few dozen to a hundred or two tons, though some fall closer to small Dropships in size, being dozens of meters long and several hundred tons in mass.
HOPPERS:
A somewhat colloquial term for a small Schooner designed to carry one or only a few people and/or a small amount of cargo, Hoppers are relatively common among the moderately wealthy within Citadel space, a personal transport that shows wealth while not having extremely high purchase or operation costs. They are also used by some small businesses as couriers for high value, compact cargo, or makeshift data couriers for systems lacking dedicated Courier Drones. Most Hoppers are small, only 6 to 30 meters long and a few dozen or slightly more than a hundred tons.
DROPSHIPS:
Descended from the Heavy Lift Rockets used for primitive spaceflight across the galaxy and time, Dropships are used to transport large amounts of cargo or passengers from a planet's surface to orbit. Usually unmanned, most Dropships are little more than an engine and fuel tank with one or more modules attached.
Dropships vary massively in size, with some being only a few dozen meters long and a hundred or two tons, capable of only carrying a few hundred or thousand tons into orbit, while some are hundreds of meters long and tens or even a hundred thousand tons, capable of moving tens to hundreds of thousands of tons into orbit.
SCHOONERS:
The smallest practical vessels equipped with interstellar capabilities are Schooners. Schooners fill countless roles, from small survey ships, to rapid transports, to patrol/rescue vessels, to even small combatants for pirates and minor governments. The term Schooner is less for a single role, and more a catchall term for smaller interstellar-capable vessels. Most Schooners are equipped with quarters or berths for crew and/or passengers for multi day trips, though some designed for only short trips lack them.
Transport/Cargo Schooners fill a role similar to the trucks and airplanes used on planets. While a Freighter or Bargo may carry millions of tons of raw ore from a mining world to an industrial center, a Schooner would pick up some life support systems and bring them straight to a small settlement on said mining world or move a small number of people between planets or isolated space station lacking the population to justify large passenger liners. Most settlements outside of cities with spaceports and large trade stations will never be visited by a Freighter or Passenger Liner or Barge, but Schooners will still come and go, providing fast transport without any fuss.
Schooners also have the advantage over larger transport vessels in underdeveloped areas due to their ability to land on planets, high speed that allows for escape from pirates, and the limited infrastructure needed to keep them operational, making them popular in the Attican Traverse and other frontier regions. It is not uncommon for a Schooner to be entirely unmanned, though this is usually only used for Cargo Schooners delivering on pre-planned, and relatively safe, routes.
Schooners are usually 30 to 150 meters long and a hundred to 25 thousand tons, though they usually do not surpass 10 thousand tons.
TUGBOATS:
Little more than engines and maybe a fuel tank, Tugboats are a vital part of any space infrastructure. Used to move Barges and ships, Tugboats come in a wide variety of subtypes. Docking Tugboats are usually used for larger vessels like massive Cargo Ships or Barges to ensure that docking is safely conducted due to their limited maneuverability. Mover Tugboats are used as the main engines for Barges or for moving asteroids or space stations, attached while accelerating or decelerating. Salvage Tugboats are similar in design to Mover Tugboats, sometimes just being modified vessels of that type, but are capable of the more delicate operations needed to move or even repair damaged ships or stations.
Tugboats vary widely in size, with Docking Tugboats usually not exceeding 1 to 5 meters and less than a ton to a few tons, while Mover and Salvage Tugboats can be as large as 200 meters long and thousands of tons.
CORVETTES:
The smallest commonly accepted warship, Corvettes are primarily patrol ships, lacking the power to go up against larger vessels. Corvettes are unable to deal with warships or even larger civilian craft, but are perfectly capable of combating Schooners and other small craft, making them common police vessels, large enough to do their job, cheap enough to be mass produced, yet lacking the range or firepower to be any real threat. A planet's Police Corvettes will commonly be commandeered or commanded by its military in an emergency or war. Due to this and the potential suddenness of such an event, many governments require the crews of such vessels go through military training, make Corvettes all a part of the military like a Coast Guard, or encourage police forces to mann Corvettes with former military personnel. Corvettes lack the available mass to incorporate a sensor package sophisticated enough to be effective on its own on the modern battlefield, leading to them not being used alone, with them usually attached to a larger vessel and linked with that vessel's sensor package. If no larger vessel is available, Corvettes will always work in at least pairs, though larger formations are more common.
Corvettes lack the size to be of any use in ship to ship combat, and so are usually used for ground fire support, patrol, convoy escort, or to fill in holes usually filled by Frigates. Most large militaries do not use Corvettes in major battles unless absolutely necessary, seeing the loss of resources as not worth it for the minimal gain.
Corvettes are usually between 50 and 120 meters, and mass several hundred to a few thousand tons.
GUNBOATS:
Less an actual type of spacecraft and more flying fortresses, Gunboats are used for ground support within a planet's atmosphere, providing heavy (for ground engagements) fire support and overwatch for friendly ground forces. Some Gunboats are unable to escape their planet's atmosphere, restricted to operating on only a single world unless moved by a Dropship. Others are able to travel into orbit and travel between planets and stars, either through another transport carrying them or by their own power.
Some Gunboats are able to submerge themselves in bodies of water and operate like submarines (a feat far easier than some may think). Gunboats that can do this are very useful when the enemy has aerospace control, allowing for fire support to operate even with the skies under enemy control.
Gunboats range in size from a few dozen meters and hundreds of tons, to over 200 hundred meters and thousands of tons.
BOMBERS:
The Bomber is a unique ship type, not meant for direct combat with other ships, but striking at the infrastructure of the enemy. To facilitate this, Bombers are some of the fastest ships in use, beyond the speed of even Frigates, the main predator of Bombers alongside Fighters. This allows Bombers to rapidly reach their targets while avoiding interception. Bombers are usually designed to operate well in atmospheric conditions, allowing them an advantage when nearing their targets compared to primarily space focused pursuers. The main strike weapons of Bombers are their expendable munitions, designed to be fired off rapidly, keeping the time a Bomber is forced to remain in an area short.
The largest user of Bombers is the Volus Protectorate, which has a large fleet of Bombers under its command. These Bombers serve as one of the Protectorate's primary contributions to the Hierarchy Navy.
Most Bombers are 60 to 180 meters long and 3 to 12 thousand tons.
SLOOPS:
A type of intermediate range patrol vessel, Sloops are a cheap solution to patrolling vast areas of space, though lacking the ability to act against some of the illegal or hostile activities they may find due to their size.
Usually 100 to 240 meters long and 5 to 24 thousand tons, Sloops fall into a similar size range as Frigates, but are instead designed for long patrols in desolate systems or areas of systems. They are usually used by powers with large amounts of space to patrol and a relatively limited budget to do so. Sloops are usually far cheaper than Frigates of the same mass due to not needing the large Eezo Cores of the more combative vessels. Many powers forgo the use of Sloops, having the funds to use Cruisers instead, lacking large patrol commitments, or wishing to ensure high levels of fleet combative capabilities. Those aiming for the latter option upgrade Frigates with long range capabilities nearing or equal to the Sloop to allow them to fulfill a similar role. While this increases their cost, groups like the Alliance believe that removing the need to produce large numbers of vessels that are near useless in combat, alongside giving Frigates more versatility, is worth the price. Sloops are rather common pirate ships, being large enough to outfight Corvettes, while also being small enough to be cheap, inconspicuous, and, perhaps most importantly, able to fit in small Schooner scale docking and repair facilities found at many small colonies as the only facilities available.
FRIGATES:
Scouts, skirmishers, light escorts, close patrol ships, fast transports, insertion craft, pirate hunters, and much more, Frigates are perhaps the most versatile type of warship in service due to their high speed and reasonable size. Capable of fast FTL and STL speeds in excess of most craft outside of Fighters, Courier Drones, and Interceptors, Frigates can usually not be engaged by anything but one of the former or another Frigate unless it chooses to, using its high speed to evade and outrun any opponent.
Frigates are used to patrol settled systems, but rarely leave their systems, lacking the range or capabilities to be trusted beyond the range of its brethren and the system's defense forces.
Frigates gained a new prominence with the rise of Fighters and the disruptor torpedo, gaining the role as one of the fleet's chief defenders due to their high speed. While before, when the only major concern for point defenses were long range munitions, the mostly static Destroyer was the main defender of the fleet, but the rise of the Fighter, which can appear from anywhere due to their FTL drives, gave the rapid and cheaper, and thus able to be produced in greater numbers, Frigate a chance to shine. Production of Frigates has risen since first contact, and they have become a vital part of any fleet beyond their scouting duties.
The high surface area of Frigates compared to larger warships allow them to operate for longer in combat environments, dispersing their heat far faster than larger vessels. This and their speed make them good skirmishers and escorts. Most large fleets are surrounded by two spheres of Frigates: the outer sphere acts as an early warning system for the fleet, while the inner sphere defends the fleet from enemy Fighters, small ships, and munitions. It is a common tactic for the inner sphere Frigates of two opposing fleets to begin fighting each other, giving munitions and fast attack units a chance to strike the fleet.
When scouting for a fleet, a Frigate usually does not stray closer than long combat range to an enemy formation, allowing it to avoid fire from enemy Cruisers. If an enemy formation has a Dreadnought, such scouting Frigates usually remain at extreme ranges, fearing the fast rounds of the Dreadnought striking them down.
The limited amount of Guardian Emitters Frigates can carry compared to larger vessels makes their short term protective screens weaker, ironically making them more vulnerable to large waves of Fighters when alone. They also cannot afford to carry ablative armor as thick as most larger warships, making them vulnerable to laser fire, precluding their use against larger vessels at close range.
When Frigates manage to close with an enemy force, they are used to attack already wounded enemy vessels, taking down warships that are damaged from non-fatal mass accelerator rounds and those who lost their shields to disruptor torpedoes.
Assault Frigates are a special type of Frigate designed to deploy ground troops to a contested planet's surface, using their speed and maneuverability to land the force in spite of attempts at interception. The main assault force of an invasion is not usually carried in Assault Frigates, only the vanguard.
Frigates generally range from 100 to 300 meters and mass high thousands to low tens of thousands of tons.
DESTROYERS:
While Frigates serve well as an outer line of defense, Destroyers have proven to be the better close escorts, though it is not uncommon for them to also fill the role of mid-range combatant. Destroyers are designed to escort larger ships and fight at medium ranges, leading to an armament leaning into broadside mass accelerators, missiles, and lasers (both point defense and larger anti ship variants).
The prominence of the Destroyer has diminished in the years following first contact with humanity, as their lower speed compared to Frigates leave them less able to intercept and deal with Fighters, relegated to only attacking them when they are already close to their targets. This has led to newer Destroyers following two different design paths: one path, followed by the Alliance Hierarchy, and many smaller navies, turns the Destroyer into a primarily anti-ship vessel, shedding the escort role it once filled in a time of rising integrated defenses on capital ships, increased Frigate numbers, and the introduction of the Interceptor. The other, championed by the Union, Hegemony, and some Republics, turns the Destroyer into a Frigate killer, increasing their speed to match or even surpass that of Frigates, while arming them with weapons best suited to taking down their nimble prey. Some humans have marked this divide as similar to the one between Battleships and early Battlecruisers, the former focused on fighting pier opponents, while the latter is meant to hunt down Cruisers and other small vessels. This has led to the more combat oriented Destroyers being called Battle Destroyers, while the anti Frigate Destroyers were named after the first class to be built along its lines, the Asari Huntress class, and are thus called Huntress Destroyers (or Hunter Destroyers in some sources).
Assault Destroyers are a special type of Destroyer used for planetary assaults. They are used after a foothold has been gained to deploy the main force of an invasion. Assault Destroyers used by the Hierarchy's Legions are designed mainly for boarding actions, carrying large numbers of boarding pods close to an enemy ship (usually a disabled one, but not always).
Destroyers are usually between 250 and 400 meters long and 60,000 to 650,000 tons, though vessels on the larger end are usually of the Battle Destroyer variation. Most Destroyers fall into the 100 to 350 thousand ton range.
BARGES:
The backbone of interplanetary bulk transport, Barges are, usually, automated cargo vessels lacking integrated engines. They are used to transport bulk goods like raw materials and low class passengers in stasis across a solar system and through Relays. Moved by Tugboats, Barges are left on ballistic trajectories until they are required to decelerate, moving comparatively slowly to other ships to save cost. Most, if not all, goods transported on Barges do not require rapid delivery, instead needing the lowest possible transport cost. This makes it one of the most important, though not the most glamorous, method of transport for the galactic economy, keeping prices extremely cheap across the Relay Network.
Barges are usually between 100 and 1500 meters long, and mass between tens of thousands of tons to tens of millions of tons, though the high end is usually in the millions. Micro Barges, more commonly known as Transport Pods, are far smaller, usually between 1 to 60 meters and half a ton to a few hundred. These are sometimes accelerated by Tugboats like Barges, but it is more common for them to be launched by large mass drivers and decelerated by a Tugboat at the target. Those mass drivers commonly double as defenses, especially for minor mining outposts.
MONITORS:
A relatively low cost solution to protecting deep space colonies far from the rest of civilization, Monitors are designed to operate without support for long periods of time, having large amounts of supplies and comfortable crew accommodations (at least those that are properly designed). They lack the raw firepower of Cruisers, but are still much better than Frigates. Monitors are also used to patrol more out of the way Mass Relays.
Monitors range in size from 300 to 600 meters long and massing 250 to 750 thousand tons.
CRUISERS:
Not an actual designation besides warships of the type, but a catchall term for vessels designed to travel long distances and for long voyages, Cruiser describes everything from Passenger Liners (also called Passenger Cruisers), Exploration Cruisers, some large Yachts, Deep Space Transports, and some Survey Ships, but the main meaning of Cruiser when used in official terms is the Cruiser type warships used across the galaxy.
Military Cruisers are designed for long patrols and to act as the main combatants in space battles and small skirmishes, engaging at long range with their spinally mounted Mass Accelerators. The Cruiser is the main warship seen beyond legally settled systems, serving as a deterrent against attacks against worlds lacking the defenses on their own to repel a large attack.
Citadel Cruisers are restricted by the Treaty of Farixen, making any vessel with a Mass Accelerator longer than roughly 610 (609.3) meters or any vessel with a Mass Accelerator longer than roughly 325 (324.982) meters and a mass over roughly 1,229,000 tons a Dreadnought and thus limited in number (treaty uses Asari units of measure, with a Tralint equal to roughly 4.062 meters and a Urent equal to roughly 12.229 tons). Terminus groups are not limited by the treaty's restrictions, but resource limitations and practicality restrict their Cruisers to 2 million tons in the largest vessels, with most being far smaller. Those larger Cruisers, called Grand Cruisers, are commonly used by the most well equipped pirates and raiders (those usually openly supported by a government, or are government forces acting as pirates), as they can defeat any other Cruisers, forcing any power facing them to expend Dreadnought to hunt them down, or entire formations of Heavy Cruisers.
The Treaty also limits the total mass of Cruisers beyond roughly 920 thousand tons a race can have, though non Council races are allowed more in this area compared to the Council Races due to the value of Cruisers in peacetime (a 3 to 6 to 10 ratio instead of 1 to 3 to 5). This is due to these larger Cruisers being considered viable battle line units for fighting alongside Dreadnoughts. Cruisers under 920 thousand (921,750) tons are unregulated besides the mass accelerator length.
Assault Cruisers are vessels usually ranging from 300 to 600 meters long and 300 thousand to 1.5 million tons that, alongside powerful, if limited compared to a basic Cruiser of their size, combat prowess, carry a military formation and all its equipment and support as a primary purpose. These vessels are commonly used for planetary assaults when orbital control is contested, and as quick reaction vessels due to being better armed, faster, and more protected than a normal troop transport, which are usually little better than passenger liners or cargo ships (or even were such craft before being pressed into service). The Hierarchy keeps a number of Assault Cruisers in reserve in case it needs them for planetary assault, but a greater number are in use with the Legions, allowing them to deploy in contested areas or even respond to multifaceted threats without support from other units.
FREIGHTERS:
A middle of the road transport option between the fast and (relatively) expensive per ton Schooners and the slow, cheap Barges, Freighters are capable of FTL speeds, though relatively slow compared to most other ship types. This allows them quick travel in Relay Systems and access to systems lacking a Relay. They are rather rare outside of more developed regions due to their high maintenance requirements compared to Barges and Schooners. It is not uncommon for one of these vessels to be armed in some way, though usually not too heavily outside of the Terminus Systems.
Freighters used primarily for the transport of people are called Passenger Liners, and are usually somewhat faster than their cargo carrying counterparts.
These vessels range widely in size, though are generally 500 to 1,400 meters long and hundreds of thousands to millions of tons.
SIDGE SHIPS:
A rather odd ship type, Sidge Ships are less warships and more mobile gun platforms, even more so than Dreadnoughts. Equipped with Cruiser, Dreadnought, or even Super Dreadnought scale mass accelerators on a ship of far lesser mass than most ships of those types, their main role is to bombard enemy warships and immobile targets at far beyond their ranges.
Lacking almost anything besides the main weapon in the ways of offensive or defensive systems, Sidge Ships are highly vulnerable to attack, particularly from Dreadnoughts, Fighters, and Frigates.
Sidge Ships are commonly used in Mass Relay defense, their extreme range allowing for ships to be destroyed while attempting to run blockades or assaulting a Relay.
The use of Sidge Ships is somewhat rare in Citadel space, the Treaty of Farixen making them impractical in their larger forms for any force wishing to field a full Dreadnought fleet. In the Terminus though, they thrive as an important part of the battlefield. The Hierarchy operates a modest force of Cruiser scale Sidge Ships in its Relay Defense and Sidge Squadrons.
The divide between Dreadnoughts and Sidge Ships can be thin at best, arbitrary at worst. It is not uncommon for a bulky Sidge Ship or thin Dreadnought to have their classification change depending on the force observing it. A particularly notable case of this is with the Pride of Dekuuna, the flagship of the Courts of Dekuuna Navy, and a Dreadnought that is very long and thin, being equipped with a pair of mass accelerators far larger and longer than most Dreadnoughts of its modest 2.5 million ton mass.
Sidge Ships range in size from a few hundred thousand tons and a few hundred meters to several million tons and beyond a kilometer long.
DREADNOUGHTS:
When the Rachni flooded into known space like an unending swarm, when the Krogan rebelled and tore a bloody scar across the stars, when the Hierarchy began to unify the disparate colonies of the Turians into one, when the Great Terminus League fell to ruin and the Five Kingdoms rose to try and take its place, the great fleets of the galaxy clashed with one centerpiece, one almighty sovereign of the battlefield, the Dreadnought.
Dreadnoughts are designed more around their spinal Mass Accelerators than the other way around. Their main guns reach anywhere between 70 and 90% of a Dreadnough's length, hundreds or even over a thousand meters long.
In any space battle, the role of the Dreadnought is to provide extreme range fire, using their main weapons to attack smaller ships far outside their effective ranges and with such force that a single shot can penetrate any non-Dreadnought. This comes at the cost of endurance. The large size of Dreadnoughts limits their surface area compared to their heat generation, limiting their combat endurance compared to smaller warships.
Dreadnoughts are extremely expensive and valuable, with only a few built by larger factions and those in existence limited to only the most important battles.
Groups that lack the resources to build full size Dreadnoughts make diminutive vessels, usually called second and third class Dreadnoughts. These vessels lack the ability to take on first class Dreadnoughts on their own, but are effective against Cruisers and can fight full Dreadnoughts, even winning if numbers are on their side.
Most modern first class Dreadnoughts are nearing or beyond 1 kilometer in length and between 3 million and 6 million tons in mass, while most second class Dreadnoughts are 800 to 900 meters in length and mass 1.8 to 3 million tons. Third class Dreadnoughts are even smaller, smaller than many larger Cruisers when it comes to tonnage and length, only holding the title due to their designs and the proclamations of those more minor powers who have them in their service.
Super Dreadnought is less a designation and more a title for those vessels that far exceed the size of most Dreadnoughts of their times. The first vessel called a Super Dreadnought in their time was the Asari Dreadnought Prosperity Eternal 200 years before the Rachni Wars, with the vessels being twice the mass of most first class Dreadnoughts of its time at 850 meters long and 2 million tons. The only vessel commonly accepted today as a Super Dreadnought is the Destiny Ascension, a colossal Asari Dreadnought with a length of 1800 meters and 45 million tons, which took more money than half the modern Hierarchy Dreadnought fleet and almost a century to build.
The Hierarchy's practice of naming vessels after ships of the same type that just left active service has led to the title "The Eternal Fleet" being ascribed to the Dreadnought force of the Hierarchy, with some names in constant service for centuries or millennia, sometimes in the same position (as is the case with the Indomitable, the same of the Krogan DMZ Patrol flagship since the end of the Rebellion).
The Assault Dreadnought is a Turian invention first created in the earlier days of interstellar colonization. Massive vessels, acting more like mobile bases than warships, Assault Dreadnoughts carried massive amounts of armament surpassing everything but a full Dreadnought, alongside the capability to support an invasion nearly singlehandedly. Assault Dreadnoughts were first used by the independent Turian worlds to attack one another, using the independence the Assault Dreadnought provided to allowing conflict even with the limited FTL speeds of the time (caused by the minimal amount of eezo in Turian space and the lack of faster prothean drives to reverse engineer). When the Hierarchy was created and it started planning for the Unification War, each of the 9 new Legions were given an Assault Dreadnought to serve as their flagship and main base. From then on, each Legion created by the Hierarchy was given an Assault Dreadnought, a tradition that was only stopped partially by the Treaty of Farixen. When the treaty was being created, the other Council Races did not like the Assault Dreadnoughts, and wished for them to be banned by the treaty. The Hierarchy managed to instead create a place for them in the treaty. They originally wanted the Assault Dreadnought as a hole allowed in the treaty, but the other races wouldn't allow it. Insted, an exemption was made for vessels which used up a large percentage of their mass for carrying cargo, equipment, or troops, allowing them to carry mass accelerators equal to the maximum for Cruisers, even if they surpassed the accepted Cruiser tonnage. The Hierarchy accepted this, with the condition of allowing all existing Assault Dreadnoughts that did not fit into the exemption to exist under a legacy clause. The Asari really agreed to this (thinking it was only a short term loss for them until the ships were retired, while getting them what they wanted forever more) and convinced the Salarians to agree. Everything continued on until the first of the legacy Assault Dreadnoughts began growing old enough that the Hierarchy would usually retire them, but the Hierarchy did not. Instead, the Hierarchy put them into a "modernization program", which saw the vessels scrapped and practically new vessels built, using some of the materials gained from the older vessels and retaining the name. This caused some tension, but in the end, the thing blew over and the Hierarchy operated 18 Assault Dreadnoughts with the same main guns as their Dreadnoughts (though fewer in number) to this day, alongside another 18 vessels built under the Farixen restrictions.
Each Hierarchy Assault Dreadnought is named after their Legion, holding the singular version of the Legion's name (an example is the Sword of Palaven, the flagship of the 4th Legion, the Swords of Palaven).
CARRIERS:
When humanity came onto the galactic stage, they brought with them a new type of warship, the Carrier. While Fighters have been in use for milenia, vessels solely dedicated to carrying and supporting them were never used. This changed with the deployment of the Einstein class and the heavily Fighter focused Alliance Fleet in the First Contact War, which showed the value of Fighters as a strike weapon.
There are a few types of Carriers: Support Carriers, Light Carriers, Fleet Carriers, Escort Carriers, Assault Carriers, and Cruiser Carriers.
Support Carriers are less a specific Carrier type and more a role that is sometime filled by a dedicated design, but also by older or surplus Carriers if needed. Support Carriers are meant to support the small craft carried by a fleet by providing advanced repairs (which cannot be done on many non-Carriers and even some Carriers), spare parts storage (allowing warships to only carry the amount the navy thinks will be needed in the immediate future), and storing spare airframes to replace lost craft. They range greatly in size, from converted Schooners a few thousand tons in mass, to colossal ships of millions of tons. Support Carriers are somewhat unique as they predate first contact with humanity, having been used almost as long as small craft.
Carriers are vessels designed to carry and support a large Air Group of Fighters and other support craft, including the capability of supporting their Air Groups long term using dedicated facilities and, sometimes, full manufacturing facilities. Only the Alliance, Hierarchy, and some Republics operate full Fleet Carriers. Fleet Carriers are usually slightly smaller than Dreadnoughts, with most being 600 to 1000 meters long and 1 to 4 million tons.
Light Carriers are an attempt to get the capabilities of a Fleet Carrier in a smaller, and thus cheaper, package. This comes at the cost of Air Group size and sometimes reduced support capabilities. Most Light Carriers are several hundred meters long and tens of thousands to just under 2 millions tons.
Escort Carriers were originally built to combat more offensive minded Carriers, deploying large numbers of Interceptors to support its parent formation. Escort Carriers became very popular after their invention due to providing a way for navies to protect their older vessels from Fighter attack without either replacing them or upgrading them, both expensive endeavors compared to the cost of the average Escort Carrier. They also proved adept at convoy escort, their large complement (sometimes including actual Fighters alongside its Interceptors) allow for low cost coverage of convoys without stripping a better Carrier off the front lines. Most Escort Carriers are a few hundred meters long and 200 to 600 thousand tons.
Cruiser Carriers are an attempt to supplement the Fighter and Interceptor power of Cruiser focused formation. These vessels are usually based on a Cruiser hull with additional hanger facilities to support a large Air Group. Cruiser Carriers are several hundred meters long and hundreds of thousands to nearly 2 million tons.
The Assault Carrier acts as a massive launch platform and base for planetary invasions, carrying everything such an invasion would need. While this has some similarities with the Assault Dreadnought and Cruiser, Assault Carriers lack much in the way of offensive weaponry, relying on the protection of other ships. The lower cost of Assault Carriers compared to the former two ship types (while retaining much of the effectiveness in ground support) makes it popular with many militaries. They range in scale from 300 meters and 100 thousand tons, to over a kilometer long and millions of tons.
ARC SHIPS:
Colossal vessels designed to operate for long periods of time or even indefinitely without significant support. Most Arc Ships are used for the creation of colonies, acting as Gardener Ships by building up colonies across a system or multiple systems. A few vessels are used as colonies themselves, home to thousands or even millions of restless souls, unwilling to stay on worlds or space stations, wandering known or unexplored space.
The quarians once used massive Arc Ships, which they called Live Ships, to build up their colonies and produce food and manufactured goods for more isolated colonies, creating both on the move. These ships proved to be the salvation of the quarian people, as five such vessels formed the core of the quarian exodus from their homes during the Geth War. Time has not been kind to the Live Ships however, with two of them lost in the intervening centuries and those remaining on their last legs.
Arc Ships vary wildly in size, with some as small as 100 to 300 meters and tens to hundreds of thousands of tons, while others are thousands of meters long and tens to hundreds of millions of tons, more mobile space stations than spacecraft.