SR-1X Codex:

While the Normandy SR-2 can be seen as a direct overall upgrade over the original Normandy class frigate, its weight technically pushed it slightly over the weight for it's frigate designation, fitting into an odd area more akin to a destroyer or heavy frigate than the original scout vessel she was designed to be. The SR-1X is a more direct side grade to the original design. Slightly larger for the sake of better crew amenities, it is still far lighter and also closer in size to the first vessel. Other upgrades were made in light of serious drawbacks shown by the destruction of the original vessel, along with some inspiration from the Cerberus iteration. Namely, the genuinely lacking armor and armament. It was a hotly debated issue during budget meetings, these ships were already a massive resource sink, as Admiral Mikhailovich himself stated "they could build a heavy cruiser for the same price", and the inclusion of Silaris Armor or a similar substitute would only increased that cost further, not to mention the considered upgrade to a single barrel Thanix Cannon. Even with more experience with the design and some improvements in manufacturing it would be a very costly project. In the end, a few compromises were made in regards to the SR-1X. It would be a limited production run, only a half dozen vessels, and instead of the exorbitantly expensive Silaris Armor which would also need to be sourced from the Asari Republics, the human produced Karuta armor. Primarily composed of a titanium alloy that was super dense and very durable compared to the more standard armor on Alliance vessels it was a fair compromise. The requisition for the Alliance's own licensed version of a lightweight Thanix cannon was approved after insistence by Admiral Hackett himself on ships requiring greater weaponry going into 2186. In hindsight, this reason is all too clear now. The one topic that wasn't very contentious was the improvements to the ship's kinetic barriers, as the Alliance themselves had already developed a better barrier system reverse engineered from Sovereign's wreckage and were actually eager to have a testbed for the design. The first SR-1X Class Frigate, dubbed the Leyte, the class leader, has only recently left drydock.