By the start of the twenty-sixth century, the Terran Hegemony was turning to a strategy of "aggressive peacemaking" as a means of dealing with the rest of the Inner Sphere. Part of that policy required the Hegemony Armed Forces to maintain a technological (if not numerical) superiority against all opponents. Even as Hegemony diplomats sought to bind the other Great Houses with trade and peace treaties, the HAF continued to develop ever more deadly weapons systems to back them up. Unfortunately, the rapid pace of development also meant that equipment could be out of date before it even entered service.
         Construction of the first Baron-class Destroyer was started in 2515, but was halted when flaws were discovered in all three of the revolutionary Palenkov-Reese engines. Although the faults were correctable, it took two years to do so and the drive performance was significantly reduced. Unsurprisingly, the Baron-class Destroyer would ultimately prove disappointing after these fatal delays. As a result, Star League member States were presented with over half of the extent vessels in 2582, while the remainder served the SLDF. Although the Baron-class Destroyer would see action in the Reunification War, their performance remained lackluster.
         The design was not a complete failure, however, for it possessed generously sized fuel bunkers and extra accommodation for thirty passengers. High-ranking Star League diplomats, officials and officers often employed these Destroyers as armed transports, especially when traveling in the Periphery. Insurgents might have the resources to go after a JumpShip, but a half-million tons of Destroyer was another matter.
         The SLDF decommissioned the Baron-class in 2720, selling them to member states, where they served until eliminated by attrition in the Succession Wars. The DCS Yedo, the last Baron-class Destroyer, was vaporized by the battlecruiser LCS Invincible at the Hesperus system's nadir jump point in 2853.