Combat space patrol

Combat spce patrol (CsP) WAS a type of defensive mission for starfighters in which they guarded a designated site, either a fixed station in space, starships in transit, or less commonly support craft such as troop transports.

It typically entailed starfighters flying some sort of spherical pattern around the defended object, while looking for incoming attackers. CSP patterns often included aircraft positioned at both high and low altitudes, so as to shorten response times when the attack is detected.