The Faststars emerged during the Cylon War and were a direct development of the pre-war fast attack craft that were operated by Colonial Defence Forces. The primary role of the Faststar was to perform hit-and-run attacks against Cylon forces using their speed and agility to avoid getting caught up in a firefight with the more heavily armed Cylon Basestars. These hit-and-run attacks often preceeded direct assaults by Battlestars and other capitol ships.