The Pride of Kaldera class Group Defense Frigate (GDF) is the first line of defense for the Heavy Cruiser Battle Groups and the Planetfall Readiness Groups. Designed to track, target and destroy incoming enemy missiles and fighters, the battlegroup relies on the GDF commanders to ensure that the battlespace is clear for maneuver and attack operations. Each vessel is armed with limited offensive capabilities, but these capabilities are rarely used except in cases where the battlegroup has suffered significant casualties, or the threat of hostile interdiction is low. With their superior deep sensing and target correlation abilities, GDFs can also serve as augmentation for the Heavy Cruiser Battle Group's extended range surveillance platforms. Although rarely deployed independently of a Heavy