In YC 116, Mordu’s Legion intelligence reported to command that the Guristas pirates were developing new and advanced strike craft capabilities using unknown technologies. In response to these reports, Mordu’s Legion accelerated a program of ship development that was itself a response to trends in capsuleer tactics and warfare. The crash development and manufacturing effort resulted in a new family of fast strike ships integrated with one another to provide tactical flexibility and firepower across ship class lines.

Caldari ships have never been renowned for their speed. With this in mind, Caldari Navy engineers set about designing the Osprey Navy Issue. The fastest Caldari cruiser in existence and a formidable missile boat, this vessel gives Navy personnel and State loyalists alike greater opportunities to conduct true skirmish warfare than ever before.

Notorious across New Eden, the Pacifier-class frigate has made its name as CONCORD's premier fast-attack frigate, capable of laying waste even to the Angel Cartel's legendary Dramiel-class high-performance frigates. Originally based on a hybridization of the Punisher and Rifter frigate hulls, CONCORD's Directive Enforcement Department became concerned early in the Drifter Crisis that the design could no longer meet its needs. The Pacifier joined other ship classes in the DED inventory as part of CONCORD Aerospace's "Force Majeure Program" to develop enhanced variants. While CONCORD Aerospace successfully upgraded the Pacifier and other DED vessels with hyper-advanced technology, the program became a severe drain on CONCORD's resources. Consequently, the Inner Circle authorized a limited release of the Pacifier, stripped of CONCORD's advanced rapid-deployment and electronic warfare suites, to the capsuleer market via authorized dealers.

As with other Sansha ships, not much is known about the origin of this design. Its form -- while harshly alien in shape -- bears the mark of extremely advanced physics research, lines and corners coalescing to form a shape whose resilience and structural integrity are hard to match. Coupled with advanced hardpoint technology and an extremely efficient powercore, the Phantasm's legendary status is well-deserved.

The Consortium Issue variant of the Pioneer was developed for use in ORE’s Upwell Consortium projects. It is a stronger vessel than the base hull from which it was adapted, for the tougher scenarios Upwell’s nullsec work tends to invite. This version of the Pioneer was designed in partnership with other Upwell member corporations. Inside top-secret research sites housed in unlisted locations, top designers from multiple corporations came together to help iterate on ORE’s original design. Its combination of expanded shield defense, an expanded drone bay, and superior salvage capabilities have turned the already extremely capable Pioneer into a relentless powerhouse of industry.

In the time-honored tradition of pirates everywhere, Korako ‘Rabbit' Kosakami shamelessly stole the idea of the Scorpion-class battleship and put his own spin on it. The result: the fearsome Rattlesnake, flagship of any large Gurista attack force. There are, of course, also those who claim things were the other way around; that the notorious silence surrounding the Scorpion's own origins is, in fact, an indication of its having been designed by Kosakami all along.

The Navy Issue Raven represents the best the Caldari have to offer on the battlefield: an all-out assault vessel with tremendous electronic warfare capabilities. Commissioned by Caldari Navy Special Operations Command in YC 104 in response to a campaign of coordinated Gurista attacks which threatened to decimate the populations of several planets in the Obe system, this hefty warship has since proven its worth many times over.

The Firetail is modeled off a fighter frigate known as the Shamrock, a design used by a small, now-extinct pirate faction known as Lazari Dromitus. The blueprint found its way into the hands of Matari military forces after a raid on Lazari Dromitus's headquarters succeeded in killing its leader, thus beheading the organization and scattering its remnants to the four winds. It has since been improved upon and upgraded, and the Firetail is now a mainstay in most Republic Fleet patrols.

This ship's design represents a radical turnaround in Caldari philosophy, particularly when compared to that of its regular Scorpion-class counterpart. Abandoning the concept of an electronic warfare platform, this vessel's creators instead set their sights on direct combat, with superior shielding and offensive capabilities giving this monster the undeniable upper hand in a vast range of tactical situations.