There are many situations where stealth is an advantage. A sneak ship is a vessel that has been designed to make it as difficult to detect as possible. Sneak ships are primarily used by the militaries of Main Sequence species. They are mainly used for surveillance and intelligence work. They are also useful for interdiction, ambush, and support for commando operations. In addition sneak ship stealth has made the ships popular with certain criminal elements --notably pirates, gene-raiders, smugglers, and sooners. Sneak ship stealth has also made the ships popular with law enforcement. They are particularly useful to GIM wardens for staking out gene-raiders and sooners.
Sneak ships reduce the risk of detection by minimizing size, emissions, reflection, and wave propagation --especially in the pseudo-fluid media of D and A level hyperspace. Active stealth technology is also very important. Small size and the need for low emissions mean that power and space are always scarce on a sneak ship. In a pitched engagement a stealth ship is always at a disadvantage relative to a more standard fighting ship of comparable mass and technological complexity.
The level of technology deployed is a critical determinant of sneak ship effectiveness. If the opposing force has even modestly more advanced detection (and targeting) equipment, sneak ships generally forfeit any advantage gained from stealth, becoming underpowered, underarmed, clay pigeons.
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Though Terragens gain some advantage from radically unorthodox design, the Confederation is simply not able to construct an effective sneak ship without help. Nevertheless, the Terragen Confederation deployed a large fleet of sneak ships during the Siege of Earth and continues to deploy a large sneak ship fleet in support of the Calafian War. The vast majority of the Terragen sneak ship fleet consists of 'obsolete' Synthian equipment granted, leased, or sold to the Terragens on very generous terms. Some ships are under the command of the Corps of Progressive Alien Volunteers and are believed to be crewed largely by Synthian and Tymbrimi clan members with small numbers of Earthlings from Venus and Atlast.
Built to at least Galactic Unified Institute of Standards and Inter-Species Trade Technical-Economic Index 12 8/32 standards, these Synthian made vessels are still quite competent by Galactic norms. The Synthians have used the opportunity to advance their operational sneak ship fleet well into TEI 13 with some elite vessels pushing the edge of TEI 14. It is widely suspected that Synthians provided intelligence and logistical support to the Savage Allies during the Siege of Earth and that they continue to do so in the Calafia Conflict.
See TgAASF Lamprey class sneak ship
Clan Tymbrimi has a respectable stealth fleet. However, Tymbrimi battle doctrine emphasizes making the battlefield minimally predictable and maximizing the Tymbrimi ability to respond to the resulting chaos thereby using Tymbrimi adaptability to best advantage. Stealth therefore has a role in the Tymbrimi force structure, but largely as an auxiliary to fast battleships equipped with probability weapons as their main armament. A Tymbrimi battle group, or patrol ship designed to work alone, is usually built with a design philosophy similar to that behind the Swiss Army knife.
The Kanten are lightly militarized, still relying on their membership in the Linten Clan for strategic security. They have a handful of sneak ships that are fully integrated into the Linten defense structure. Kanten sneak ships are designed for either long-range surveillance or mine sweeping.
The Thennanin themselves have no sneak ships because they are psychologically incapable of serving on the cramped underpowered little boats for any length of time. Though other Clan members could crew sneakships, tradition and inertia have made total sneak ship assets a small component of the Clan's overall fleet structure. Lesh and Terragen forces have provided sneak ship support for the Thennanin in joint exercises.