Covert Ops
- See Stealth Bombers for the other stealthy frigate class.
Covert Ops ships are small, fast-warping, lightly armed and armored frigates with bonuses to scanning, stealth, and hacking. They can fit Covert Ops Cloaks and covert cynosural field generators. Covert Ops ships are used in both PvP and PvE.
Covert Ops Frigates
Each of the four empires has a covert ops ship, differing in mid/low slot layout and Racial Frigate bonuses:
Buzzard - 5M-3L slot layout. Scan deviation bonus. Strongest pure scanner/hacker thanks to slot layout and deviation bonus.
Anathema - 4M-4L slot layout. Scan deviation bonus.
Helios - 5M-3L slot layout. Speed bonus when cloaked. Compromise between speed and scanning.
Cheetah - 4M-4L slot layout. Speed bonus when cloaked. Fastest base speed and agility.
The CONCORD 
Pacifier has similar bonuses to scanning and hacking, with large damage bonuses to all weapon types, a bonus to reputation gain, and 5 high slots instead of 3. It is not commonly used due to a high price.
While not technically a Covert Ops ship, the 
Astero is used in the same way as the true Covert Ops ships listed above. The Astero is a great choice for low SP pilots, although it is more expensive than the racial frigates.
Limited-edition Covert Ops ships have been given out as Alliance Tournament rewards:
Fitting
PvE
Covert Ops ships can fill several roles outside of player combat. They are the de facto ship used for relic & data exploration, they are often used as pure scanning ships, and can be a great courier ship thanks to their high warp speed and stealth bonuses.
The Astero is competitive with and fit similarly to true Covert Ops ships. The racial frigates overtake the Astero in scanning effectiveness at level IV Covert Ops.
Exploration
Exploration fitting is a balancing act between scanning bonuses, hacking bonuses, safety, speed, and cost. A typical exploration fit starts with Covert Ops Cloak and Core Probe Launcher I with sisters probes, and then fits the rest depending on skill, area of operation, and preference.
The two scan bonus plateaus are around 85 and 100. 85 scan strength can scan level IV sites and 100 can scan V. Scan bonuses come from Probes, Probe Launchers, mid slots, and rigs.
The bonuses required for hacking are dependent on the pilot. Practiced pilots can generally get through the minigame with Data/Relic Analyzer I and level II Hacking/Archaeology. Pilots worse will need higher skills or module bonuses from mid and rig slots.
Safety while exploring has several options. The Covert Ops cloak is always used; for safety while scanning, traveling, and waiting out suspicious activity. Interdiction Nullifiers and Warp Core Stabilizers are strong options but slow down intra-site speed due to targeting malus. A sub-2 second warp is also an option, but can be hard to take advantage of when getting jumped at a site. The racial covert ops frigates are challenging to fit for 2 second warp. They typically run no tank, a Damage Control at best, relying on speed and stealth.
Speed options include rigs increasing warp speed for faster traveling gate-planet-gate, afterburner or microwarpdrive for faster speed inside a site, and rigs or low slots for faster align time. A survey scanner to avoid low value hack targets can also be used but is controversial in the community.
Finally, cost. Covert Ops frigates can be very effective with mostly tier 1 modules, or can be blinged to high heaven.
Scanning
A pure scanning ship is very easy to fit. Core or expanded probe launcher, covert ops cloak, and some scan bonuses.
Courier
Covert Ops ships have solid cargo holds of around 190 m3 which can be further boosted to make them effective carrier ships for small cargo that can't be handled by a shuttle or interceptor.
PvP
A Covert Ops ship expecting to get into fights is typically fit as a scanner/tackler with emphasis on whichever side the pilot deems important. See fitting for tackling.
Covert Ops ships can also be fit with weapons, warp scramblers, and damage bonuses to prey on untanked exploration fits who do perceive another exploration ship a threat.
History
Covert Ops Frigates (but not stealth bombers) gained the ability to fit interdiction nullifiers when those were introduced on 18 May 2021.[1]
References
- ^ Patch notes: Version 19.04 Release 2021-05-18.1 and newspost Nullification and Warp Module Update – Live Now! for the changes to nullification and Warp Core Stabilizers. This is not a bonused version, so covert ops have a long cool down between uses.
