EDO-01MSC Terra class light cruiser

Class: Terra
Ships of the line: n/a
Unit Type: Light cruiser
Manufacturer: Earth Defense Organization
Operator: Earth Defense Organization
First deployment: AC 217
Length: 173 meters
Height: 67 meters
Wingspan: 137 meters
Equipment and design features:
Propulsion: 4 x Standard chemical engine
Fixed Armaments: 15 x double-barrel beam cannon
Mobile Suits: 4
Launch catapaults: 1

As part of the Earth Sphere's rapid remilitarization, plans called for a very small, very inexpensive warship, capable of carrying at least five mobile suits, and being very simple to produce in large numbers. The closest that engineers could get was a tiny, swift cruiser capable of carrying four mobile suits in its internal hangar. The Terra design was put into production, as the craft proved to be extremely nimble, capable of quick hit and run strikes easily augumented with its paltry four mobile suits. These ships would handle the bulk of the Earth Defense Organization's patrols and scouting, as their small size made them difficult to detect and hit, while their agility and speed allowed them to outmanuver virtually every other military vessel in use at the time.