diff --git a/.github/actions/setup-solo-stack/action.yml b/.github/actions/setup-solo-stack/action.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 77c844b0..00000000
--- a/.github/actions/setup-solo-stack/action.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,127 +0,0 @@
-name: Setup Solo Stack
-description: Deploy a Solo Falcon stack for local Hedera network tests.
-
-inputs:
-    solo-version:
-        description: Solo CLI version used for Falcon deploy.
-        required: false
-        default: '0.72.0'
-    network-tag:
-        description: Consensus / network node container image tag (--release-tag).
-        required: false
-        default: 'v0.72.0'
-    mirror-tag:
-        description: Mirror node chart/image version (--mirror-node-version).
-        required: false
-        default: 'v0.151.0'
-    relay-tag:
-        description: JSON-RPC relay image/chart tag (--relay-release).
-        required: false
-        default: '0.76.2'
-    external-address:
-        description: Bind address for Solo kubectl port-forwards.
-        required: false
-        default: '127.0.0.1'
-
-outputs:
-    deployment_name:
-        description: Solo deployment name.
-        value: ${{ steps.solo_deploy.outputs.deployment_name }}
-    namespace:
-        description: Kubernetes namespace used by the Solo deployment.
-        value: ${{ steps.solo_deploy.outputs.namespace }}
-
-runs:
-    using: composite
-    steps:
-        - name: Generate falcon-values config file
-          shell: bash
-          run: |
-              cat > .github/falcon.yml <<EOF
-              network:
-                --release-tag: "${{ inputs.network-tag }}"
-              setup:
-                --release-tag: "${{ inputs.network-tag }}"
-              consensusNode:
-                --force-port-forward: true
-                --node-aliases: "node1"
-              mirrorNode:
-                --enable-ingress: true
-                --pinger: true
-                --mirror-node-version: "${{ inputs.mirror-tag }}"
-                --values-file: .github/mirror-node-values.yaml
-                --force-port-forward: true
-              relayNode:
-                --relay-release: "${{ inputs.relay-tag }}"
-                --node-aliases: "node1"
-                --force-port-forward: true
-              EOF
-
-        - name: Setup Kind
-          uses: helm/kind-action@v1.12.0
-          with:
-              install_only: true
-              wait: 120s
-
-        - name: Start Solo stack
-          id: solo_deploy
-          shell: bash
-          env:
-              SOLO_VERSION: ${{ inputs.solo-version }}
-              EXTERNAL_ADDRESS: ${{ inputs.external-address }}
-          run: |
-              set -euo pipefail
-
-              ns_base="sc-${GITHUB_RUN_ID}-${GITHUB_RUN_ATTEMPT}-${GITHUB_JOB}"
-              solo_ns="$(echo "$ns_base" | tr '[:upper:]_' '[:lower:]-' | cut -c1-63)"
-              solo_deployment="$solo_ns"
-
-              echo "deployment_name=$solo_deployment" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-              echo "namespace=$solo_ns" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-
-              npx "@hashgraph/solo@$SOLO_VERSION" one-shot falcon deploy \
-                --values-file .github/falcon.yml \
-                --dev \
-                --deploy-explorer=false \
-                --deployment "$solo_deployment" \
-                --namespace "$solo_ns" \
-                --external-address "$EXTERNAL_ADDRESS"
-
-        - name: Forward compatibility ports
-          shell: bash
-          env:
-              SOLO_NS: ${{ steps.solo_deploy.outputs.namespace }}
-          run: |
-              set -euo pipefail
-
-              kubectl -n "$SOLO_NS" get svc haproxy-node1-svc
-              kubectl -n "$SOLO_NS" port-forward svc/haproxy-node1-svc 50211:50211 &
-              echo "Forwarding svc/haproxy-node1-svc -> localhost:50211 (consensus gRPC)"
-
-              if kubectl -n "$SOLO_NS" get svc mirror-1-web3 &>/dev/null; then
-                kubectl -n "$SOLO_NS" port-forward svc/mirror-1-web3 8545:80 &
-                echo "Forwarding svc/mirror-1-web3 -> localhost:8545 (mirror Web3)"
-              else
-                echo "::warning::svc/mirror-1-web3 not found in $SOLO_NS; skipping 8545 forward"
-              fi
-
-              sleep 3
-
-        - name: Verify Mirror REST API
-          shell: bash
-          run: |
-              set -euo pipefail
-
-              echo "Waiting for mirror node REST API..."
-              for i in $(seq 1 30); do
-                response=$(curl -sf http://localhost:38081/api/v1/accounts 2>/dev/null || true)
-                if echo "$response" | grep -q '"accounts"'; then
-                  echo "Mirror REST API is up."
-                  exit 0
-                fi
-                echo "Attempt ${i}/30: not ready, retrying in 10s..."
-                sleep 10
-              done
-
-              echo "ERROR: Mirror REST API did not become available."
-              exit 1
diff --git a/.github/workflows/support/scripts/setup-solo-stack.sh b/.github/workflows/support/scripts/setup-solo-stack.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..00f8e4f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/support/scripts/setup-solo-stack.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+#
+# Deploys Solo Falcon one-shot on Kind. Expects repo root as cwd and Kind tooling
+# already installed (e.g. via helm/kind-action). Writes deployment_name and
+# namespace to GITHUB_OUTPUT when set (GitHub Actions).
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+NETWORK_TAG="${NETWORK_TAG:-v0.72.0}"
+MIRROR_TAG="${MIRROR_TAG:-v0.151.0}"
+RELAY_TAG="${RELAY_TAG:-0.76.2}"
+SOLO_VERSION="${SOLO_VERSION:-0.72.0}"
+EXTERNAL_ADDRESS="${EXTERNAL_ADDRESS:-127.0.0.1}"
+
+cat >.github/falcon.yml <<EOF
+network:
+  --release-tag: "${NETWORK_TAG}"
+setup:
+  --release-tag: "${NETWORK_TAG}"
+consensusNode:
+  --force-port-forward: true
+  --node-aliases: "node1"
+mirrorNode:
+  --enable-ingress: true
+  --pinger: true
+  --mirror-node-version: "${MIRROR_TAG}"
+  --values-file: .github/mirror-node-values.yaml
+  --force-port-forward: true
+relayNode:
+  --relay-release: "${RELAY_TAG}"
+  --node-aliases: "node1"
+  --force-port-forward: true
+EOF
+
+NS_BASE="sc-${GITHUB_RUN_ID:-local}-${GITHUB_RUN_ATTEMPT:-1}-${GITHUB_JOB:-solo}"
+SOLO_NS="$(echo "${NS_BASE}" | tr '[:upper:]_' '[:lower:]-' | cut -c1-63)"
+SOLO_DEPLOYMENT="${SOLO_NS}"
+
+if [[ -n "${GITHUB_OUTPUT:-}" ]]; then
+  {
+    echo "deployment_name=${SOLO_DEPLOYMENT}"
+    echo "namespace=${SOLO_NS}"
+  } >>"${GITHUB_OUTPUT}"
+fi
+
+npx "@hashgraph/solo@${SOLO_VERSION}" one-shot falcon deploy \
+  --values-file .github/falcon.yml \
+  --dev \
+  --deploy-explorer=false \
+  --deployment "${SOLO_DEPLOYMENT}" \
+  --namespace "${SOLO_NS}" \
+  --external-address "${EXTERNAL_ADDRESS}"
+
+echo "Waiting for mirror node REST API..."
+for i in $(seq 1 30); do
+  response=$(curl -sf http://localhost:38081/api/v1/accounts 2>/dev/null || true)
+  if echo "${response}" | grep -q '"accounts"'; then
+    echo "Mirror REST API is up."
+    exit 0
+  fi
+  echo "Attempt ${i}/30: not ready, retrying in 10s..."
+  sleep 10
+done
+
+echo "ERROR: Mirror REST API did not become available."
+exit 1
diff --git a/.github/workflows/support/scripts/solo-kubectl-port-forward.sh b/.github/workflows/support/scripts/solo-kubectl-port-forward.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..257c20b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/support/scripts/solo-kubectl-port-forward.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+#
+# Starts background kubectl port-forward processes so localhost matches the
+# expectations of `@hashgraph/sdk` local-node consumers (127.0.0.1:50211 →
+# consensus via HAProxy) and the mirror Web3 endpoint (127.0.0.1:8545 →
+# svc/mirror-1-web3), consistent with hiero-sdk-js solo-lib.js.
+#
+# Required environment:
+#   SOLO_NAMESPACE — Kubernetes namespace from the Solo deploy step
+#                    (e.g. steps.<id>.outputs.namespace).
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+NS="${SOLO_NAMESPACE:?SOLO_NAMESPACE is required}"
+
+kubectl get svc haproxy-node1-svc -n "${NS}"
+kubectl port-forward -n "${NS}" svc/haproxy-node1-svc 50211:50211 &
+echo "Forwarding svc/haproxy-node1-svc -> localhost:50211 (consensus gRPC for local-node)"
+
+if kubectl get svc mirror-1-web3 -n "${NS}" &>/dev/null; then
+  kubectl port-forward -n "${NS}" svc/mirror-1-web3 8545:80 &
+  echo "Forwarding svc/mirror-1-web3 -> localhost:8545 (mirror Web3)"
+else
+  echo "::warning::svc/mirror-1-web3 not found in ${NS}; skipping 8545 forward"
+fi
+
+sleep 3
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index 375fabee..6a3d9363 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up Node.js
         uses: actions/setup-node@1e60f620b9541d16bece96c5465dc8ee9832be0b # v4.0.3
         with:
-          node-version: '20'
+          node-version: 22
 
       - name: Install Foundry
         uses: step-security/foundry-toolchain@01e2d127ea061e2ce8fa34340de71ca8518f093e # v1.2.1
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up Node.js
         uses: actions/setup-node@1e60f620b9541d16bece96c5465dc8ee9832be0b # v4.0.3
         with:
-          node-version: '20'
+          node-version: 22
 
       - name: Install Foundry
         uses: step-security/foundry-toolchain@01e2d127ea061e2ce8fa34340de71ca8518f093e # v1.2.1
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up Node.js
         uses: actions/setup-node@1e60f620b9541d16bece96c5465dc8ee9832be0b # v4.0.3
         with:
-          node-version: '20'
+          node-version: 22
 
       - name: Install Foundry
         uses: step-security/foundry-toolchain@01e2d127ea061e2ce8fa34340de71ca8518f093e # v1.2.1
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up Node.js
         uses: actions/setup-node@1e60f620b9541d16bece96c5465dc8ee9832be0b # v4.0.3
         with:
-          node-version: '20'
+          node-version: 22
 
       - name: Install Foundry
         uses: step-security/foundry-toolchain@01e2d127ea061e2ce8fa34340de71ca8518f093e # v1.2.1
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up Node.js
         uses: actions/setup-node@1e60f620b9541d16bece96c5465dc8ee9832be0b # v4.0.3
         with:
-          node-version: '20'
+          node-version: 22
 
       - name: Install Foundry
         uses: step-security/foundry-toolchain@01e2d127ea061e2ce8fa34340de71ca8518f093e # v1.2.1
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up Node.js
         uses: actions/setup-node@1e60f620b9541d16bece96c5465dc8ee9832be0b # v4.0.3
         with:
-          node-version: '20'
+          node-version: 22
 
       - name: Install Dependencies
         run: npm ci
@@ -359,7 +359,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up Node.js
         uses: actions/setup-node@1e60f620b9541d16bece96c5465dc8ee9832be0b # v4.0.3
         with:
-          node-version: '20'
+          node-version: 22
 
       - name: Install Foundry
         uses: step-security/foundry-toolchain@01e2d127ea061e2ce8fa34340de71ca8518f093e # v1.2.1
@@ -397,7 +397,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up Node.js
         uses: actions/setup-node@1e60f620b9541d16bece96c5465dc8ee9832be0b # v4.0.3
         with:
-          node-version: 20
+          node-version: 22
 
       - name: Install Foundry
         uses: step-security/foundry-toolchain@01e2d127ea061e2ce8fa34340de71ca8518f093e # v1.2.1
@@ -410,11 +410,27 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install Dependencies
         run: npm ci
 
-      - name: Set up Solo stack
-        id: solo_stack
-        uses: ./.github/actions/setup-solo-stack
+      - name: Setup Kind
+        uses: helm/kind-action@ef37e7f390d99f746eb8b610417061a60e82a6cc # v1.14.0
         with:
-          solo-version: ${{ env.SOLO_VERSION }}
+          install_only: true
+          node_image: kindest/node:v1.32.5@sha256:e3b2327e3a5ab8c76f5ece68936e4cafaa82edf58486b769727ab0b3b97a5b0d
+          version: v0.29.0
+          kubectl_version: v1.32.5
+          verbosity: 3
+          wait: 120s
+
+      - name: Deploy local Hiero network (Solo / Kind)
+        id: solo_stack
+        run: bash .github/workflows/support/scripts/setup-solo-stack.sh
+        env:
+          SOLO_VERSION: ${{ env.SOLO_VERSION }}
+        timeout-minutes: 15
+
+      - name: Solo kubectl port forwards (50211 / 8545)
+        run: bash .github/workflows/support/scripts/solo-kubectl-port-forward.sh
+        env:
+          SOLO_NAMESPACE: ${{ steps.solo_stack.outputs.namespace }}
 
       - name: Run Forge build on Foundry HTS example
         run: forge build
@@ -439,7 +455,7 @@ jobs:
           test $TOKEN_CODE != "0x"
         working-directory: examples/foundry-hts
 
-      - name: Destroy Solo stack
+      - name: One-shot Falcon destroy
         if: always()
         run: |
           npx @hashgraph/solo@${{ env.SOLO_VERSION }} one-shot falcon destroy \
@@ -472,7 +488,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up Node.js
         uses: actions/setup-node@1e60f620b9541d16bece96c5465dc8ee9832be0b # v4.0.3
         with:
-          node-version: '20'
+          node-version: 22
 
       - name: Install Foundry
         uses: step-security/foundry-toolchain@01e2d127ea061e2ce8fa34340de71ca8518f093e # v1.2.1
@@ -485,16 +501,32 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install Dependencies
         run: npm ci
 
-      - name: Set up Solo stack
-        id: solo_stack
-        uses: ./.github/actions/setup-solo-stack
+      - name: Setup Kind
+        uses: helm/kind-action@ef37e7f390d99f746eb8b610417061a60e82a6cc # v1.14.0
         with:
-          solo-version: ${{ env.SOLO_VERSION }}
+          install_only: true
+          node_image: kindest/node:v1.32.5@sha256:e3b2327e3a5ab8c76f5ece68936e4cafaa82edf58486b769727ab0b3b97a5b0d
+          version: v0.29.0
+          kubectl_version: v1.32.5
+          verbosity: 3
+          wait: 120s
+
+      - name: Deploy local Hiero network (Solo / Kind)
+        id: solo_stack
+        run: bash .github/workflows/support/scripts/setup-solo-stack.sh
+        env:
+          SOLO_VERSION: ${{ env.SOLO_VERSION }}
+        timeout-minutes: 15
+
+      - name: Solo kubectl port forwards (50211 / 8545)
+        run: bash .github/workflows/support/scripts/solo-kubectl-port-forward.sh
+        env:
+          SOLO_NAMESPACE: ${{ steps.solo_stack.outputs.namespace }}
 
       - name: Run e2e Validation Tests
         run: npm run test:e2e
 
-      - name: Destroy Solo stack
+      - name: One-shot Falcon destroy
         if: always()
         run: |
           npx @hashgraph/solo@${{ env.SOLO_VERSION }} one-shot falcon destroy \