Prowlers of the UNSC

The Prowlers of the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) comprise several thousand stealth corvettes that served the organization from their introduction in 2266. The majority were operated by the UNSC Prowler Corps. 
==History==
In 2266, the UNSC Vault of Midnight entered service as the first prowler of the Office of Naval Intelligence. A number of earlier ships had possessed stealthy characteristics or fulfilled intelligence-gathering roles, such as the scout ship Katana and the light cruiser Vigilance, but these fell considerably short as spy ships. The Vault of Midnight was immediately preceded by an experimental corvette - the UNSC Prowler - which debuted a prototype stealth system and a powerful sensor suite. The name stuck, and the Vault of Midnight was ordered as the fleet's first purpose built Prowler. 
Budgetary disputes between the Unified Earth Government (UEG) and the UNSC prevented further prowlers from being ordered until after the Naval Compromise of 2290. The Silent Service-class prowlers began entering service in 2296. These new ships formed the backbone of the Prowler Corps in the Sol system for the next hundred years. 
Colonial instability in the 2370s, which would ultimately lead to the Inner Colony Wars, caused ONI to demand the construction of new interstellar-capable prowlers, which developed into the Blackfin-class in 2379. The 2380s brought no relief or de-escalation to colonial strife and piracy was similarly on the rise; part of the UNSC response to the inability of the Colonial Military Administration (CMA) to deal with these issues was to order a new flight of Blackfin prowlers and authorize the construction of a new class of heavy prowlers. In 2387, the first of the Nightmare Engine-class heavy prowlers were commissioned and deployed to Colonial Space. These larger prowlers included the UNSC Thief Taker General, which served as a sort of flagship for the Prowler Corps outside the Sol System. 
The success of both the Blackfin and Nightmare Engine prowlers in anti-piracy and counterrevolutionary operations lead to the authorization of the powerful Shadow Traveler-class in the 2390s. The Shadow Traveler-class began a tradition of sizable specialized prowlers as mobile headquarters for the Prowler Corps. 
With the satisfactory conclusion of the Inner Colony Wars, the UNSC began decommissioning the Blackfin and Nightmare Engine prowlers and replacing them with the Nightshade-class and Revenant-class, respectively. The UNSC Preservation's Blade, a modified Revenant heavy prowler, was commissioned as the Corps' flagship in 2450. 
The Insurrection provided the necessary pressure on the UNSC to order a new generation of prowlers, resulting in the Razor-class of 2499. Notably, more Razor-class prowlers were ordered from 2495 to 2513 than all prior prowlers combined. The Point Blank-class began entering service in 2510, fulfilling the role of ONI command ships. The Razor-class would be supplemented by the Eclipse-class prowlers in 2515 and later by the Sahara-class heavy prowlers in 2520. 
Both the Eclipse and Sahara prowlers continued to be built during the Human-Covenant War. A number of prototype prowlers were commissioned alongside them, but the first substantial additions came only in the late 2540s: the Endless Night-class heavy prowlers in 2545 and the Winter-class prowlers in 2549. The last large prowler to be commissioned during the War was the modified Endless Night-class UNSC Witch Hammer in 2551. 
The UNSC suffered enormous prowler casualties during the war and postwar efforts were centered on the production of Winter-class prowlers. 
*UNSC Katana, stealthy scout ship
*UNSC Vigilance, stealthy light cruiser
*UNSC Prowler, experimental stealth corvette
*(2266) UNSC Vault of Midnight, prowler
*(2296) Silent Service-class prowlers
*(2379) Blackfin-class prowlers
*(2387) Nightmare Engine-class heavy prowlers
*(2387) UNSC Thief Taker General, heavy prowler
*(2396) Shadow Traveler-class command prowlers
*(2429) Nightshade-class prowlers
*(2431) Revenant-class heavy prowlers
*(2442) UNSC The Space Between, experimental prowler and communications relay ship
*(2450) UNSC Preservation's Blade, command prowler
*(2499) Razor-class prowlers
*(2510) Point Blank-class command prowlers
*(2515) Eclipse-class prowlers
*(2520) Sahara-class heavy prowlers
*(2521) UNSC Point of No Return, command prowler
*(2545) Endless Night-class heavy prowlers
*(2549) Winter-class prowlers
*(2551) UNSC Witch Hammer, heavy prowler
==List==
===A===
*UNSC A Road of Good Intentions
**Shadow Traveler-class command prowler (2409 — 2511)
*UNSC Aladdin
**Heavy prowler
*UNSC Apocalypso
**Prowler (—2552) † 
*UNSC Applebee
**Prowler (—2552) † 
*UNSC Astral Challenger
**Blackfin-class prowler (2385 — 2430)
*UNSC Astral Invader
**Blackfin-class prowler (2388 — 2436)
*UNSC Athens
===B===
*UNSC Beneath a Cold Moon
**Shadow Traveler-class command prowler (2399)
*UNSC Beyond the Black
**Point Blank-class command prowler (2519)
*UNSC Blackfin
**Blackfin-class prowler (2379)
===C===
*UNSC Circumference
**Prowler (—2552) † 
===D===
*UNSC Dread Emperor
**Revenant-class heavy prowler (2433)
*UNSC Dusk
===E===
*UNSC Eclipse
**Eclipse-class prowler (2515)
*UNSC Edge of Oblivion
**Endless Night-class heavy prowler (2549)
*UNSC Edge of Umbra
*UNSC Endless Night
**Endless Night-class heavy prowler (2545)
*UNSC Examination of Conscience
**Revenant-class heavy prowler (2435)
===G===
*UNSC Grin Sinister
**Revenant-class heavy prowler (2441)
===H===
*UNSC Harvest of Sorrows
**Nightmare Engine-class heavy prowler
*UNSC Hunting Under The Long Dark
**Nightmare Engine-class heavy prowler
===I===
*UNSC Imperceptible
**Point Blank-class command prowler (2517)
*UNSC In Desert and Wilderness
**Shadow Traveler-class command prowler (2404)
*UNSC Insidious
**Revenant-class heavy prowler (2437)
===L===
*UNSC Lands of the Undying
**Shadow Traveler-class command prowler (2413)
*UNSC Lark
**Prowler (—2552) † 
*UNSC Lord of Monster Island
**Endless Night-class heavy prowler (2547 — 2552) †
===M===
*UNSC Merciless
**Shadow Traveler-class command prowler (2407)
*UNSC Midnight Ocean
**Nightmare Engine-class heavy prowler
*UNSC Murmurs in the Dark
**Blackfin-class prowler
*UNSC Mysterious Ways
**Revenant-class heavy prowler (2439)
===N===
*UNSC Nightmare Engine
**Nightmare Engine-class heavy prowler (2387)
*UNSC Nightshade
**Nightshade-class prowler (2429)
===P===
*UNSC Point Blank
**Point Blank-class command prowler (2510)
*UNSC Point of No Return
**Modified Point Blank-class command prowler (2521)
*UNSC Preservation's Blade
**Modified Revenant-class command prowler (2450)
===Q===
*UNSC Quick and Dirty
**Nightshade-class prowler
**Sahara-class heavy prowler
===R===
*UNSC Razor
**Razor-class prowler (2499)
*UNSC Razor's Edge
*UNSC Red Horse
*UNSC Revenant
**Revenant-class heavy prowler (2431)
===S===
*UNSC Sahara
**Sahara-class heavy prowler (2520)
*UNSC Shadow Traveler
**Shadow Traveler-class command prowler (2396)
*UNSC Silent Service
**Silent Service-class prowler (2296)
===T===
*UNSC The Space Between
**Unique experimental prowler (2442)
*UNSC Thief Taker General
**Modified Nightmare Engine-class heavy prowler (2387)
*UNSC Tokyo Rules
===V===
*UNSC Vanishing Point
**Point Blank-class command prowler (2514)
*UNSC Vault of Midnight
**Unique prowler (2266)
**Shadow Traveler-class command prowler (2402)
===W===
*UNSC Wink of an Eye
*UNSC Winter
**Winter-class prowler (2549)
*UNSC Witch Hammer
**Modified Endless Night-class heavy prowler (2551)
==See also==
*Ships of the United Nations Space Command