(R1.923) MOBILE LISTENING POST FREIGHTER (F-LP): Operated by nearly all races, these freighters supplemented the sensors of bases, and sometimes replaced them for temporary periods after they were destroyed or crippled. The Mobile Listening Post was not intended to be a combat unit in its own right. Its job was primarily passive, to sit and watch a given sector of space. Sadly for their crews, when an enemy offensive took shape they became targets to prevent them from reporting on enemy movements. The problem was exacerbated by local fleet commanders, desperate for Electronic Warfare support, dragging F-LPs into combat where they simply did not belong. And whether there was an ongoing war or not, the Orion pirates took a dim view of the operations of such ships in the interiors of an Empire, believing (not without some justification) that the mission for such a deployed unit must be to track their operations and find their bases.
Because of their rather unique mission, it was not unusual for F-LPs to be equipped with an MRS shuttle to use as a scout to check on unusual sightings.
OTHER DATA: Year in Service Y165; Explosion Strength 12; Other Data same as the F-EL.