Sahara-class heavy prowler

The Sahara-class heavy prowler is a class of stealth vessel in service in the UNSC Navy.

Design details
The Sahara is one of the most common and well-known prowlers in UNSC service, and stands among the ranks as one of the largest and most heavily-armed. They have a length of 922 ft, a beam of 509 ft and a height of 203 ft - massing in overall at 71000 MT This places it as larger and more massive than the navy's and s, though smaller than the  and.

The class contains a modularly-configurable command bridge on the fore of the vessel, with at least one vessel of the class - - using a configured lambda-pattern bridge equipped with specific mission intelligence analysis stations.

Like most prowlers, the Sahara-class is equipped with stealth systems that mask the ship from both visual and sensor detection. These systems include hyperferrite signature-disruption panels, coated with multi-layer ablative optical camouflaging. Alongside these, Sahara-class vessels such as Port Stanley (which had been upgraded with numerous enhancements of Forerunner origin) additionally boasted baffled fusion drive systems - though whether these upgrades were applied to the entire class is unknown.

The ship has a ventral launch bay fitted with hook systems used to deploy EVA maneuvering vehicles.

Sensors
The Sahara-class is fitted with both passive and active sensor systems for reconnaissance operations. The active sensors are located in a large dish mounted on the vessel's dorsal surface used for narrow-band signal manipulation, and parallel passive phased-scanners for long-ranged threat detection.

Armament
Since prowlers usually avoid combat, besides active combat monitoring and recording, the armaments and weapon systems on a Sahara-class prowler is limited. They are armed with several XEV9-Matos nonlinear pulse cannons, allowing the prowlers to protect themselves if they are attacked. Sahara-class prowlers are usually equipped with at least one M947 Shiva Nuclear Delivery System. The main armament of the prowler is its M441 Hornet Remote Explosive System. With the naval mines, the prowlers lay out minefields in space for enemy ships to unknowingly enter.

Ships of the line

 * PRO-49776 - Used to conduct Operation: WARM BLANKET in 2544.
 * - Transported Dr. Catherine Halsey to the in 2558.
 * (PRO-46328) - Used by Kilo-Five in the summer of 2553.
 * - The lead ship of the class.
 * - Used by Rear Admiral Serin Osman in December 2553.
 * - Present during the Battle of Onyx.

Operational history
Sahara-class prowlers entered service with the UNSC Navy in 2520, and have become the most common and well-known class of prowlers. In 2526, each of the three squadrons of Task Force Yama were led by a heavy prowler. In 2553, after the Human-Covenant War, the Sahara-class prowler was used as transportation for the Office of Naval Intelligence black ops team known as Kilo-Five. In 2558, the Sahara-class prowler was used to transport Dr. Catherine Halsey, incarcerated by ONI for war crimes, to the. In May 2558, SPARTAN-IVs Naiya Ray and Gabriel Thorne used a Sahara-class prowler to investigate a biological agent, created by several Kig-Yar, on Ven III.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
 * ''Halo Legends
 * The Package
 * Halo: Glasslands
 * Halo: The Thursday War
 * Halo 4
 * Spartan Ops
 * Halo: Mortal Dictata
 * Halo: Escalation
 * Halo Mythos
 * Halo: Retribution
 * Halo: Silent Storm
 * Halo: Lone Wolf
 * Halo: The Television Series
 * Solace