Once the backbone of the Federated Suns' WarShip fleet, the Davion-class destroyer only achieved its three-century service life following significant modifications, the first Davions went into service in the early 26th century. They served with distinction during the Davion Civil War, but plans to construct more were put on hold after the death of Prince William Davion in 2512 and laid dormant until well after Prince Alexander's rise to power.
         When Prince Alexander did finally come to power, he commenced research into designing a new WarShip that would correct the problems found in the original Davion. The Federated Suns' navy needed a heavier destroyer, a fact made ever so clear by the few naval engagements fought during the Civil War. The new Prince authorized resumption of the Davion program, and the resulting Block II ships proved to be a better ship for their time.
         Massing 60,000 tons more, The Block IIs carried heavier armor protection, significantly more firepower, a full fighter wing and, perhaps most importantly, and the ability to dock two DropShips (often a pair of assault DropShips, either Achilles-class or later on, Vengeance-class were permanently assigned to each Davion)-a feature many fleet commanders found missing on the original. Every Block II was destroyed in the Succession Wars, though they flew the Federated Suns flag well and destroyed many enemies in their time.
         Somewhat amazingly, the Block I ships do outlasted their younger and more powerful brothers, though oddly enough in the service of the Clans. Prince Alexander leased all but three of the surviving Block I Davions to the SLDF during the build-up to the Reunification War, most of which were later purchased by the Star League and redesignated as the Whirlwind-class after receiving weapon upgrades. The ships that survived the Amaris War left with the Clans, and some of those still fly to this day, a lasting tribute to Federated Suns' design capabilities.