Stalwart-class light frigate

The Stalwart-class light frigate is an escort ship type in service with the UNSC Navy. Ships of this class are used primarily in fleet escort duties, providing screens for larger capital ships, as well as in planetary defense scenarios.

Design
Stalwart-class frigates are 478 meters long, 152 meters wide, and 112 meters tall; they have a mass of about 3,950 metric tons. Stalwarts have the same basic hull design as their larger Paris-class counterparts, including two engine cores and a split-level front hull. The bridge is located on ship's dorsal surface. A large cargo bay protrudes from the aft-ventral surface. Several hangar bays are arranged toward the front of the vessel.

Armament and complement
Stalwarts are armed with a single Magnetic Accelerator Cannon, (contained in the top part of the hull), and thirty pods of Archer missiles. Point defense guns are mounted along the hull. They can carry a modest complement of Marines, as well as attendant ground and air vehicles. Such vessels have twelve SOEIV launch tubes for deploying Orbital Drop Shock Troopers.

Ships of the line

 * (FFG-142)

Trivia
During the development of Halo: Reach, the UNSC frigates featured in the game were known as the Stalwart class. Halo: The Essential Visual Guide reveals that the type featured in Halo: Reach is the Paris-class heavy frigate, while the Stalwart class' name was repurposed for the frigates that appear in Halo 2.

List of appearances

 * Halo 2
 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx