UNH Ion Frigate

Long-range Fire Support

When the Reconciliation was unveiled, speculation immediately began on the replacement for the aging Firelance III Frigate. The Daiamid finally decided to take control of several Kiith-level enhancement programs and place it under the purview of the UNH. The admiralty of the UNH immediately became embroiled in its most divisive project to date, with several hundred contributing design officers and many thousands of scientists all attempting to steer the project their own way. Kiith nationalists also often tried to manipulate the design to make use of their particular Kiith's specialties, whether it was Kiith Nabaal's lightened compression Ion weapon, or Kiith Paktu's ducted exhaust maneuvering system.

After one year the product was being castigated by outside critics as well as the frustrated designers. The proposed single-beam layout was lambasted for a lack of vision and hide-bound traditionalism. Those proponents of multiple-weapon designs, including a Kadeshi-inspired triple fixed beam and a variant of the Reconciliation with light ion turrets replacing the kinetic turrets were criticized for unrealistic expectations of nascent technology. Cooler heads began to prevail, and in the end the single, fixed, mothership-class beam wrapped in strategically placed armor and engines proved to be the most effective and cheapest option. Extensive field testing showed that this proposal, dubbed "Blaze", could use off-the-shelf technology in a new configuration to save enormous costs in implementation. Shared technology with both the existing Reconciliation frigate and Tempest destroyer allowed production of the Blaze class to begin almost immediately after the design was finalized, enabling a complete replacement of the Firelance III within only a few years time.

The current Blaze is a single heavy energy artillery emplacement with numerous redundant vents and cooling systems installed. These systems can barely keep pace with the massive cannon bulging out of the interior of the frigate; the heat sinks will actually glow cherry-red on firing. Armoring has been reduced for the sake of slightly increased maneuverability and significantly increased firepower and range; this weapon system is capable of devastating larger ships, living up to it's heritage as a giant killer. It has also been criticized in some circles as being a glass cannon, dangerously vulnerable to return fire and strike craft assaults. Standard doctrine includes corvette escort to protect against enemy bombers and larger capital ships drawing opposing ion fire to capitalize on the huge range of the main gun.