Paris-class heavy frigate

The UNSC heavy frigate is a form of light capital warship operated by the UNSC Navy. It saw use during the UNSC's twenty-seven year-long war with the genocidal theocracy known as the Covenant.

History
Prior to the Insurrection of the late 25th century, the concept of a "heavy" frigate was considered a gross misuse of the UNSC's funding. In the years following the coup d'etat on Eridanus II and the rebels' capture of the, there was much more support for a shake-up of the UNSC's relatively lax and ill-defended fleet. These upgrades would take effect during the disastrous Operation: TREBUCHET.

Design
The heavy frigate is essentially a more heavily-armored variant of the standard UNSC frigate, equipped with more point-defense guns to provide stronger support in battle situations. The heavy frigate lacks the small hangar present on the standard frigate, but its additional firepower means that it can easily handle Covenant fighter craft and can hold its own against small Covenant warships, as shown when the heavy frigate UNSC Savannah engaged the much larger Covenant corvette Ardent Prayer during the Fall of Reach. Heavy frigates are also capable of atmospheric maneuvering and are occasionally used by the UNSC for ground-support operations.

Trivia
The design of the heavy frigate appears to have been closely adapted from concept art for the for Halo 3. Whereas the frigates in Halo 3 differ from the initial design in a variety of ways, including a bulkier hangar bay, the heavy frigates closely resemble the concept art for the Andraste.