Designed as a more militarized successor to the famous CR90 corvette, the Assassin-class shared the familiar "hammerhead" styling, but it was more streamlined for greater hull strength. In addition to a stronger hull, the Assassin had more resilient shields and heavier firepower. Though it shared a similar 4-3-4 engine layout, it had eight large outer engines and three small inner engines as opposed to the CR90's eleven nearly identical engines.