Prowler

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The prowler is a variety of stealth-capable corvettes within the UNSC Navy. Most prowlers are crewed by Office of Naval Intelligence personnel serving under the Prowler Corps, with only a few ships operated by FLEETCOM.

Although most prowlers are classified as corvettes, the term can be used to refer to a stealth ship of any size; the stealth cruiser Point of No Return was noted as being the largest prowler-class vessel ever built.

Role
Prowlers are used to gather electronic intelligence. Their primary role is to stay hidden while safely gathering such intelligence, avoiding direct combat due to its light weapons and armor. Because of their tactical value and potential to change the outcome of any given combat situation, every UNSC battle group has at least one prowler assigned to its ranks. The prowler's only combat role, besides active combat monitoring and recording, is discreetly laying cloaked fields of HORNET nuclear mines in orbital regions.

Stealth systems
A prowler's stealth systems mask the ship from both visual and sensor detection. The outer hull is coated with stealth ablative coating, which hides the ship's radar signature and doubles as active camouflage when working in concert with the ship's texture buffer. Other systems on the ship include ablative baffles and various counter-electronic systems.

The active camouflage systems of Covenant War-era prowlers were crude in comparison to Covenant active camouflage. For example, the 's active camouflage systems were fairly unstable, making the ship waver to and from visibility uncontrollably especially when exposed to rapidly changing backgrounds, such as the clouds of a gas giant. However, over the course of the war, research into Covenant technology allowed the UNSC to develop more effective forms of cloaking.

Known prowler classes

 * Stealth cruiser
 * Stealth cruiser
 * Stealth cruiser
 * Stealth cruiser
 * Stealth cruiser

List of appearances

 * Halo: The Fall of Reach
 * Halo: First Strike
 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
 * Halo: The Cole Protocol
 * Halo Wars: Genesis
 * Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
 * The Mona Lisa
 * The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole
 * Halo: Fall of Reach
 * Invasion
 * Halo: Glasslands
 * Halo: The Thursday War
 * Halo 4
 * Spartan Ops
 * Halo: Initiation
 * Halo: Escalation
 * Halo: Mortal Dictata