Saratoga-class light cruiser
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Production information
Manufacturer:	Hyundai Heavy Industries (2152 CE - 2154 CE) Davo-Hamish Shipyards
Model:	Saratoga
Class:	Cruiser
Operator(s):	Systems Alliance Navy Systems Coalition Navy
Succeeded by:	Athens-class
Generation:	First
Technical information
Length:	510m
Width:	61m
Height/depth:	78m
Max acceleration:	20 kilometers per second
Engine unit(s):	Element Zero Drive Core
Power plant:	2 Element Zero drive cores
Shielding:	Kinetic Barrier
Hull:	108cm of Titanium-A2 Ablative Heavy Armor
Sensor systems:	LIDAR Radar Spectroscope
Targetting system:	Shipwide VI
Armament:	4 GARDIAN 60 Javelin torpedoes 30 port side 30 starboard side 10 Chimera-Class Defense Guns 5 port side 5 starboard side 300 Pilum-class anti-ship missiles 150 port side 150 starboard side 8 Scutum CIWS
Crew:	1,900
Skeleton crew:	120
Usage
Commissioned:	25 September 2152 CE
Decommissioned:	11 March 2195 CE
Role(s):	Attacking enemy ships/orbital fire support
Era:	Asari Cycle Pax Galactica Era Human Cycle Reformation Era
Affiliation:	Systems Alliance (2152 CE - 2191 CE) Systems Coalition (2191 CE - 2195 CE)

The Saratoga-class light cruiser was a classification of cruiser that served in the Systems Alliance Navy from 2152 CE to 2191 CE, and the Systems Coalition Navy from 2191 CE to 2195 CE. Part of what is collectively known as the first generation of the Alliance Navy, the Saratoga-class was the first space-based light cruiser the Alliance ever produced, and that humans ever put to space. The Saratoga-class was something of a political anomaly: while the Alliance Navy's initial purpose was to escort colonial expeditions and protect against celestial elements, not to wage war, the Saratoga-class was built with the armaments and armor of a proper warship, complete with what was, at the time, the latest in military technology that was available. Much like the Kursk-class light frigate, the Saratoga-class light cruiser was one of the Alliance's more successful first generation designs, so much so that it served in the Alliance Navy for the entirety of its existence, and even briefly in its successor, the Coalition Navy. The ship's ruggedness, simple design and battle prowess made it an ideal choice for the kind of war it was designed to wage, and it enjoyed moderate success during the First Contact War. After the war, the Saratoga-class went through the necessary modifications to bring it into line with the Alliance's more modern fleet standards, allowing it to compare to the cruisers being fielded by the numerous Council militaries and, more importantly, the battlecruisers of the once-powerful and belligerent Batarian Hegemony.

The Saratoga-class performed just as well during the Skyllian Blitz, although the Saratoga-class came up in short in post-war performance reports when compared to its more powerful compatriot, the Geneva-class heavy cruiser. The Eden Prime War proved the final nail in the coffin for the Saratoga-class, as its performance during the Battle of Armstrong and Battle of the Citadel when pitted against the superior firepower of the geth ships proved to be abysmal, with more ships destroyed of the Saratoga-class than any other class in both battles. By early 2184 CE, the Athens-class was chosen and approved to replace the Saratoga-class, although production of the new ship class proved to be slow due to the Alliance focusing on bringing the heavily damaged Fifth Fleet back up to full strength. This meant that the Saratoga-class spent a great deal more time in service than was intended, with the class only beginning the process of decommissioning by March of 2186 CE. When the Reaper War hit, the destruction of the Davo-Hamish Shipyards and the loss of many other Alliance facilities, personnel and resources forced the Alliance to cancel all plans for the decommissioning of the Saratoga-class, instead implementing minor upgrades meant for the Athens-class vessels in order to allow them to serve adequately during the war. This meant that, with the exception of the Geneva-class, the Saratoga-class was the only class of ship in the Alliance Navy to not only remain in service past its decommissioning date, but to also serve in tandem with its successor class, of which there were substantially fewer. The Saratoga-class was used throughout all theaters of the war that the Alliance was involved in, and many were present at the final Battle at Earth, although their performance was just as abysmal during those conflicts as it had been during the Eden Prime War, but multiplied tenfold.

After the war, the Alliance acknowledged the urgency in which the replacement of the Saratoga-class was necessary. When Jafer-Nocsky Shipbuilders won the contract to exclusively produce ships for rebuilding the Alliance Navy, they quickly recovered the hulks and derelicts of destroyed Saratoga and Athens-class ships lost during the final battle and went to work scrapping them and using the recovered steel and other materials to build a replacement fleet. When the Alliance was succeeded by the Coalition, this work continued, and by 2194 CE, enough Athens-class ships had been built to finally retire the Saratoga-class. Finally, in 2195 CE, the final Saratoga-class ship was decommissioned.

The class was named after the city of Saratoga in the former United North American States on Earth.