Stellar Trek's Chatham shipyards were largely ignored during the Jihad, thanks to the fact that they only built unarmed JumpShips rather than weapons of war that could have helped the Combine fight the Word of Blake. They found that selling their construction was very difficult though, and they were forced to shut down because of the destruction. After the war, the company began building JumpShips again though, and also began working on another project in a seperate shipyard built specifically for the purpose. They wanted into the WarShip market. It took them several years to work out a design and a shipyard capable of building it, but when they were done they had their new market.
         The first Ashiko frigate was rebuilt from a crippled Vengeance carrier, and to this day the new construction looks similar enough to be easily mistaken for one of the carriers. Naval lasers and missiles ring the ship, capable of engaging enemies from any direction, and banks of smaller weapons force even squadrons of fighters to be wary. They also carry two squadrons of fighters themselves, increasing their ability to maintain patrols in strength. Finally, a large fuel bunkerage allows the Ashiko to remain on station for long periods of time. Unfortunately, the Ashiko lacks more than the minimum of cargo capacity, forcing them to move to port at regular intervals or to rendevous with supply ships. This limits their ability to stay out on long patrols without resupply, but other than that the Ashiko has proven itself to be a good patrol craft for the Combine. They are a very common sight in and beyond Draconis space because of this.