After some mixed success with it's first generation of singleton class warships (USM, Solaris et cetera) in the late 2080s the DDS selected two types for it's second generation : Pulsar and Starsystem. The Pulsar was designed as the backbone of the fleet, a very powerful heavy cruiser able to beat anything else in space. The first Pulsar cruiser entered service in 2094 and eventually 17 were built when production ended in 2102 (though production was not continuous during these years). Being at the forefront of DDS operations has meant nearly half of the Pulsars have been lost in action and currently there are 9 in service.
The Pulsar is a solid chunky design built around a highly powerful engine and reactor bank. Initial fire power were 3 large laser cannons though in subsequent years the Z-cannon and latterly transphasic missile launchers have become the major weapons. The Pulsar also has a number of secondary weapons though in practice these have not proven to be that useful and a mooted future update considered removing some of these weapons. The Pulsar is designed for survivability, the command module can detach from the rest of the ship should the ship receive critical damage. The sheer size and bulk of the ship means that weapons have to penetrate some way before they can reach the reactors.
The Pulsar has received 2 major updates. The first, ILU, added the Z-cannon and later the MULE improved systems and performance all across the ship. MULE kept the fleet viable until the mid-part of the 2110s when it was originally planned to rebuild them again (Pulsar Life eXtension PLX) for service into the 2120s however the PLX was cancelled as a cost saving and the fleet will be phased out early in the 2110s.
One problem with the Pulsar is it is a G2 design and later DDS technologies such as Open Architecture and FIDO are difficult to fit to the Pulsar because it's core architecture is of an older generation. While engines and weaponry continue to be updated the Pulsar is falling behind later designs such as the Quasar, Panther and Isometric because of the age of it's architecture. The cost of maintaining the Pulsar is also huge and was a major reason for the decision to phase it out of service. Maintaining a Pulsar is said roughly to be around 170% of the cost of maintaining a Quasar with further costs on top of that because of having to maintain and store non-standard components.
That is not to say though that the Pulsar role has not continued to evolve. During the Utrek War the Pulsar was turned into a formidable nuclear bomber and extensive communications & control equipment was gradually being added to the fleet also. Although still one of the most formidable warships in the known galaxy it's primary role is now as a strike bomber and command ship. Occasionally there are thoughts of keeping at least a handful of Pulsars in service maybe even in an orbital command post role but the DDS are determined to not let sentiment divert them from the truth that the Pulsar is a ship that belongs to an earlier time and after nearly 2 decades of service it will be finally time to end it's story.
