The Sharlin class warcruiser was in it's time the largest and most powerful ship in the Minbari fleet. They were manufactured at the Valeria-On-High Orbital Shipyards orbiting Minbar.
The crew compliment of a warcruiser can be varied widely according to the role the ship plays, and despite this, the Sharlin suffers little or no handicap in combat due to the extensive use of advanced computers and AI aboard these vessels.
The wide assortment of weapons systems found aboard these vessels mean that they can be used for a wide variety of missions with no need for retrofitting. The beam weapons can be used to target both capital ships and fighters with ease, and can be used in either a piercing or raking mode to deal maximum damage to a target. In addition to these energy weapons used for space combat, up to 2000 metric tons of missiles can be carried on board that can be launched from any of the ship's four missile launchers, making this vessle ideal for planetary assault missions. It is even believed that the Sharlin can be outfitted with a mass driver weapon (although these have been declared illegal by the Minbari and most other races).
In addition to these weapons the Sharlin also uses the most advanced gravitic drive systems known, allowing high acceleration and manoeuvring capabilities for a capital ship of its size. The power systems on the Sharlin provide virtually unlimited power, allowing for the weapons and jump engines to recharge in a fraction of the time needed by most other vessels.
In combat, the Sharlin seems to be virtually unstoppable, but in recent years a possible weakness has come to light; the gravity drive that is used for propulsion and shielding is projected through the fins found at the rear of the vessel. If these fins can be damaged or blown off, it could theoretically disable the ship for a certain amount of time. This weakness, however, is not easy to exploit, as it would require extremely powerful ships to get to the rear of the ship and penetrate the shielding and armour found on the Sharlin.
Known Ships
- Dogato: Served as Sheridan's flagship during the Battle of Sector 83. [2]
- Drala Fi: Also known as the Black Star, she was the only Minbari warcruiser to be successfully engaged and destroyed during the Earth-Minbari War, without the attacking Earth ship being destroyed in the process.[3][4]
- Enfili: One of the many Minbari cruisers that participated in the Battle of Sector 83.[2]
- Ingata: The cruiser went around on a memorial tour. [1]
- Takari: Cruiser owned by the Religious Caste, Transported Delenn to Minbar in 2261. [5]
- Trigati: Went into self-imposed exile after the Minbari surrender at the Battle of the Line; self-destructed after disabled by fellow warcruiser. [4]
- Solaris: Transported Jeffrey Sinclair to Minbar in 2259. [6]
- Valen'Tha: Cruiser used by the Grey Council. [7]
- Name Unknown: Cruiser owned by the Worker Caste, stood by in Hyperspace while the White Star tested a telepath's ability to jam a Shadow Vessel. [8]
- Name Unknown: Branmer commanded the vessel at the Battle of the Line (Possibly the Ingata). [1]
- Name Unknown: The vessel was searching for the Trigati in hyperspace. The vessel disabled the Trigati at Babylon 5. [9]