These stations had initial success in maintaining the peace and protecting rimward Imperial worlds in the aftermath of the Clone Wars, but were frequently taken over by pirates and criminal groups, forcing Kuat Drive Yards to produce more heavily armed and protected models.
The Cardan I was only lightly armed with two light turbolaser batteries and two light point-defense ion cannons. To assist defense, they also carried a squadron of starfighters and two shuttles.
The Cardan I could hold off small capital ships and starfighters, and sometimes accompanied defense with corvette-sized capital ships, Ton-Falk-class escort carriers, and other small ships of their own.
The Cardan I was able to produce TIE/LN starfighters, TIE/IN interceptors and TIE/sa bombers. These starfighters could be built in limited numbers, and only one squadron could actually be stored in the hangar of the space station.