In the 2200s, Humanity was still largely confined to the city of New Cambridge on the planet Hawking. There were small outposts scattered about the planet, but they were largely automated due to the constant presence of the local Grawla. These settlements were often lightly or entirely undefended as it was worried that antagonizing the local Grawla could lead to problems far worse than the occasional theft of stuff. These stations were serviced either by small robotic boats or aircraft that were usually unarmed.

The Xenophon was developed in 2310 to fill the need of a surface combatant for the Hawking Gendarmerie. Heram Wazu had proposed at the time that additional defensive measures could be handled more efficiently from a naval platform than from the static systems in place at New Cambridge. The American Union would be rather cold on the idea, deciding against procuring the design in large numbers though the Hawking Gendarmerie would choose to procure the design in small numbers using their own funds.

After the New Years Revolution in 2320, a larger number of the hulls were procured by the Hawking Gendarmerie and The Magnetic Assembly for use now that they were no longer bound by the sluggish performance of the American Union.