UED Solaris (BP)

The following information has not been confirmed by Volition and is therefore not canon for the FreeSpace universe.

UED Solaris
Class:	UED Solaris
First Appearance:	Sunglare
In Service:	Post-Capella
Faction:	United Earth Federation
Commander:	Admiral Robert Byrne
Fate:	Survived War in Heaven
Squadrons:	170th Fighting Navajas

This article is about the lead ship of the class. For the ship class itself, see UED Solaris.

The lead ship of the Solaris class is currently assigned to Home Fleet, where it serves as flagship under Admiral Byrne. Solaris has the sole distinction of never having fired her armament at a hostile target outside of live-fire exercises. Admiral Byrne's stated strategy is to use her as the Federations' main strategic deterrent, using the threat of her jumping in on GTVA Destroyers to keep the Alliance forces in Sol on constant alert. His detractors, however, claim that this defensive stance has already cost the Federation dearly, especially in the aftermath of the assault on Artemis Station.

This, in combination with 1st Fleet being notably conservative regarding the implementation of class upgrades to its ships, has had a detrimental effect on Solaris' estimated combat efficiency. While 1st Fleet still estimates her to be at least the equal of any GTVA Destroyer in the Sol theater, Analysts attached to 2nd and 3rd Fleets have voiced serious concerns about the basic assumptions underlying 1st Fleet's evaluation procedures.

Nameplate

Her nameplate design is based on a Hindu ornamental Starburst, overlaid with an outline of Earth's continents.

Name Origin

Named for the classic science fiction novel by Stanislaw Lem, which was notable for portraying truly unknowable aliens.