The Ethar-class was an advanced Roccho Navy patrol cruiser class designed and manufactured by Qi'natc Starship Productions. Development of the class officially began a couple years after the start of the Astachez Civil War, in 48,939 ACT, with the Navy's procurement office seeking a capital ship which could avoid some deficiencies in the Eerie-class, also designed by Qi'natc some four decades before the conflict. The Navy had taken note of the Eerie-class' substandard maintenance accessibility and crew facilities, a consequence of many advanced technologies with little available volume, which had led to high upkeep and discomfort among crews. Additionally, while the Eerie-class had excellent combat capability, especially for a ship of its size, its reactor output was insufficient for sustained use of its combat systems at full power draw, necessitating the ships operate systems below spec. Initially Qi'natc had intended to update the existing hull design to make space for an expanded reactor and additional crew accommodations, but following two years of work the design team informed company management that the Eerie-class hull could not be modified to such an extent without compromising its performance. Thus, the decision was made to develop a completely new class. The Navy also took the opportunity to outline a modified set of desired technical specifications, based on the original procurement contract for the Eerie-class. Development would conclude in 48,958 ACT with the completion of the Ethar and 246 additional ships assembled in the Qi'natc Qu'in Sera Shipyard complex in Talaisi. 6,521 of the class would be produced at Qu'in Sera, with an additional 2,297 built at Stykeer Station in Qi'natc's assigned manufacturing sector.

The Ethar-class was noticeably larger than its predecessor, with a length of 228 meters compared to the Eerie-class' 205. This gave enough space for a QI 550i/1604 Asci reactor core, designed by Osapho PDS, a Qi'natc subsidiary. This reactor was able to supply enough power for all of the Ethar's systems, unlike the Eerie-class, with additional output available in case. The class had an additional twenty Vastech D42/IE-0240s point defense cannons, sixteen of which were the N405 turreted model, and four additional Lezekka CorT5-05 light laser cannons, with the former significantly improving the defensive capability of the ship. The design did have two less anti-fighter turrets than the Eerie-class, but total coverage was increased by positioning two turrets in near the thrusters along the centerline of the ship, which alongside four PD cannons to the sides of the thrusters gave the Ethar-class the ability to intercept incoming missiles and strike craft at any angle. Besides its weapon systems, the ship's sensors, communications equipment, FTL system, maintenance access, and other critical systems were all updated with the latest technologies, including a NC-015/A multi-function tracking array, a modified NC-010 system licensed from Cuax Technologies, connected to all of the class' point defense and anti-fighter cannons to share data from other capital ships and the Ethar's own sensors and optimize target acquisition and firing. The Ethar-class would demonstrate significant combat capability through the second half of the Astachez Civil War, with production continuing well into the 49,000s.