LNFg Vigilant

"Thrown into the fire, often alone, often undersupported"

- Rear Admiral Jios

The Vigilant-Class is a 4th Generation Strike Frigate. Built primarily to replace the aging LNFg Pike, and incorporate many requirements of the Naval Modernization Program. Vigilant-Class frigates have a complement of 320 personnel, with 60 required to support the hangar bay.

Designed primarily for independent operations as well as able to complement other existing ships regardless of classification and role, the Vigilant is widely used throughout the Luminarian Navy since its inception. Its versatility and maneuverability both strategically and tactically have made it a favored ship for many rear admirals.

The Vigilant-Class would begin its OPEVAL period during Operation Isomer. Success during many battles has fast-tracked its mass production and as such is the most common frigate in the Luminarian Navy.

Origin
For 3 generations, the LNFg Pike was the frigate heavily utilized by both the Luminarian Empire and the Luminarian Rebellion. The venerable frigate had proved its worth during the colonial wars and the schism. However, it became very clear to the Luminarian Navy that the aging Pike was no longer suitable for the rigors of what would be deemed 4th generation naval combat.

Lessons learned during the initial stages of the Zaretian conflict emphasized the need for rapid, decisive engagements. Zaretian ships armed with sprint drives could quickly reposition on the strategic level. Combined with the numerical superiority the Zaretian Monarchy routinely enjoyed in almost all conflicts meant that defending against a Zaretian offensive was near impossible even with the hastily retrofitted 2nd generation ships. Many aging Luminarian spaceframes were quickly retrofitted with intrasystem subspace drives to provide in-system strategic mobility, but it still paled in comparison with the Zaretian sprint drives. This meant that should the Luminarian Navy lose the initiative, it would result in a swift defeat.

This led to a request for a new modernized frigate lineup from Admiral Aslai with a focus on strategic mobility and rapid decisive engagements, which eventually led to the creation of the Naval Modernization Program.