London-class light cruiser

"Missiles are ineffective: repeat, missiles are being safely destroyed at range."
 * "The Bismarck has been disabled. Oh god, those cruisers are just tearing through the frigates!"

- Intercepted chatter, regarding the effectiveness of the London-class in combat.

The London-class light cruiser (: CL) is a relatively-light model of utilised by the  during and after the. Drawn up by to create a line of larger vessels which could be readily-constructed at any SinoViet-operated drydock, the London-class is an incredibly-agile warship that specialises in fending off smaller opponents. Although suffering from weak armour, low endurance and a considerable lack of resilience for a ship of it's size, the London 's rapid-fire arsenal ensures it can fulfil the role of heavy escort adequately.

Whereas most cruisers of the Great War were durable, heavily-armed and capable of conducting missions independent of the fleet, the London-class instead relied on SinoViet's trademarked approach to shipbuilding. Using components that have been adapted from older models of warships, the London-class is capable of being constructed faster then any other cruiser of it's time while also offering a degree of modularity that would have otherwise required a more intelligent design. This novel technique also made upgrading a straight-forward matter, with entire segments of the hull being swapped over with technologically-superior variations in record time.

The London-class cruiser was first introduced in, around the time when the had been all-but-destroyed by the  onslaught. Their production would only steadily increase, mostly due to the fact that replacing the horrific losses of frigates and destroyers was considered a higher priority, though it was also slowed down because the UNSC admiralty felt the design was too expendable to be worth using. Nevertheless, the class served with distinction throughout the war, stemming the loss of more valuable command ships despite failing to turn the tide. Few London-class cruisers remained by the end of the war, though thankfully the sudden decommissioning of thousands of Great War-era frigates allowed this class to embark on a second sprint of production before being replaced by the more prestigious.