Starfleet Starships

Starfleet is the first and last line of defense for the United Federation of Planets. It is its primary defense, exploration and research force! This role requires Starfleet to obtain a large force of different starships, some for exploration and discovering new worlds and civilizations and others for warfare if all diplomatic eforts fail. We will give you an overview of all the ship classes Starfleet deploys for its missions throughout the universe. Enjoy!

The Akira class is designed to combat the Borg in any future encounter and it is heavily armed with as many as three to fifteen torpedo launchers. Ships of this class are large vessels composed of a saucer-shaped primary hull with a low-slung navigational deflector and two beams rising from the top heading aft that attach to an arch that supports two warp nacelles at its ends and a weapons pod that fires photon torpedoes. The Akira class was first battle tested during the second Borg invasion where it proved invaluable to destroying the Borg cube. The Akira's second combat role came during the Dominion War where it accounted for a good percentage of Federation firepower. Having proven its capabilities the Akira class is sure to remain a vital part of Starfleet.

The Galaxy class was designed to be a multi-purpose mission platform, intended to replace all older classes. It possesses the most advance general purpose scientific and exploration resourses available and this makes it ideal for long term exploration missions independent of Starfleet resources. The Galaxy class was also equipped with state of the art weapon and defensive systems when it was launched in the mid 24th century, along with saucer separation capability, which allowed the star drive section to serve as a mobile weapons platform and it was used sometimes for leaving the civilian population of the ship behind when the stardrive section goes into combat. The Galaxy class was at that time the main choice for defending the Federation borders and showing the flag as a deterrent for any possible hostile moves from enemy neighboring species. The most notable Galaxy class starship ever commissioned is the legendary Federation flagship USS Enterprise-D, which was commanded by Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

When it was first conceived on the drawing board the Sovereign class was intended to carry out the same mission profile as the Ambassador and the Galaxy classes of starsfips. As new threats immerged such as the return of the Romulan Empire and the Borg, the Sovereign class design was updated to incorporate elements of a battleship. After the first Borg invasion the Sovereign class was rushed into service far earlier then planned and this allowed the class to play a pivotal role in the Dominion War and Reman incident. The bridge, impulse engines, main shuttlebay, lifeboats, and phaser arrays are on the dorsal surface of the saucer section while additional phaser arrays, lifeboats, torpedo launchers, and the captain's yacht occupy the ventral side. The engineering section features the main navigational deflector, two large warp nacelles, the warp reactor, and torpedo launchers. The ship is armed with both photon torpedoes and quantum torpedoes. The starship USS Enterprise-E is the most notable starship of this type.

The Defiant class is Starfleet's first true warship, though it is officially designated as an escort class. Starfleet's Advanced Starship Design Bureau led by Admiral Batelle Toh was responsible for the project and the developement of a new powerful starship. It is one of Starfleet's most advanced ship designs, conceived in response to the Borg threat. Designed from the ground up as an extremely maneuverable weapons platform featuring quantum torpedoes and rapid fire pulse phasers, the Defiant class is Starfleet's premier class of warship. With the coming of the Dominion threat the USS Defiant, most notable starship of this class, was stationed at Deep Space 9 to hold the Dominion at bay until reinforcements could arrive to strengthen their defenses.

The Intrepid class was designed to fulfill the roles of an exploration and science vessel along with a light combat capability. It is also one of the fastest and most agile ships in the Federation fleet. This starship class was created to take on some of the Galaxy's exploration and science missions. Unlike the Galaxy class ships, the Intrepid is not heavily armed but is equipped well enough to defend itself. Combined with its speed and maneuverability this characteristic makes it ideal for border patrol against lightly armed forces such as enemy raiders and the Marquis. It is an ideal type of vessel for operating in locations that a massive Galaxy class would not be able to operate. The USS Voyager, a Federation starship that was lost in the Delta quadrant, belongs to the Intrepid class.

The Steamrunner class is a Federation warship, designated as an escort vessel, like the Defiant class but slightly less powerful. The Steamrunner class also features a new hull design with the nacelles built into the structure embedded in the saucer. Two impulse engines are located between the nacelles with one on each side of the ship. The main bridge and the dorsal phaser array are also embedded into the saucer while the primary hull's ventral side is dominated by the ship's ventral phaser array and lifeboats. The Steamrunner class served during the Dominion War and Borg incursions and at least one ship of this type was lost in the explosion of the Borg cube during the Battle of Sector 001.

The Saber class starship is a type of starship, a long range scout/combat vessel, produced and used by Starfleet in the 24th century. The basic form of the ship is that of an elliptic saucer hull. From the tips of the ellipse there are two nacelles, each housing a warp engine run aft. Between them there is an extension of the hull which is slightly longer than the nacelles and runs aftward, housing the engineering section, and in an underslung construction on its ventral side, the navigational deflector. The ship's phaser strips and lifeboats occupy the dorsal saucer. Two impulse engines are located between the engineering hull and the engines, one on each side of the Saber class ship.

The Nebula class was originally designed as a transport for a separated non warp capable Galaxy saucer section that became separated form its star drive section. During the design the ship's purpose was changed to include its own saucer section to make it a compete ship. The Nebula is intended to supplement the Galaxy class and to be created in greater number then the Galaxy. The construction of the Nebula class was spearheaded under the authority of the Yoyodyne Division, and ranged in construction dates from as early as 2363 to as late as 2367. The Nebula class was present in several major Federation engagements against the Borg, including the Battle of Wolf 359 and the Battle of Sector 001. They were also present in numerous Dominion War battles, including the Second Battle of Chin'toka and Battle of Cardassia.

The Prometheus class was designed as a prototype for multi vector assault technology, as an outgrowth of the Sovereign and Defiant class projects. In designing this ship, Starfleet equipped it with all the latest technology tested with other classes including newest weapons, regenarative shields, powerful engines and ablative armour. This class also includes a new and inovative multi vector assault design, where the ship is capable of separating into three seperate components that can be coordinated to attack a single threat or act independently to fight multiple enemies if needed. The Prometheus is also the fastest ship in the Starfleet, capable of reaching speeds greater then Warp 9,9. The vessel is also equipped with holographic projectors on every single deck, allowing its emergency medical holographic program EMH Mark II free range of movement throughout the entire ship, unlike previous EMHs that were restricted to sickbay and the ship's holodecks. This ship is likely named after Prometheus, a character in Greek mythology who stole the fire from the Gods and brought it to humans. As the Prometheus class goes into full scale production it should be considered an outstanding threat for any ship of the galaxy.