Editing New Orleans Class (section)

==GENERAL INFORMATION:==

The New Orleans Class Development Project began in 2334 with the intent of expanding upon the successful Springfield-class design and ushering in a new era of warp propulsion originally conceived for the Transwarp project.  While falling far short of the expected speeds that the Transwarp project promised, new advances in warp geometry allowed computer simulations to postulate that speeds in excess of Warp 9.2 were possible, greatly improving over the Warp 8.9 limit that the Springfield suffered. While retaining the familiar saucer section of the Springfield, the most noticeable addition to the New Orleans spaceframe is the engineering section and redesigned warp nacelles.  Coupled with a revolutionary isolinear computer system and the unique ability to be equipped with mission-specific pods, the New Orleans quickly became a favorite during the mid-24th Century.  

Taking the Springfield design to the next level, an engineering hull was attached to the lower saucer and, unlike the Ambassador and later Galaxy-class, the absence of a connecting "neck" between the primary and secondary hull produced a smaller profile that was more difficult to hit.  This design would see further development with the Nebula and Intrepid-class designs, which also lack the vulnerable connecting segment that was blamed for the loss of several Galaxy-class starships during the Dominion War. With the launch of a hull capable of separating and then reattaching some 20 years away, as well the New Orleans's relatively small size, it was deemed unnecessary to develop the ability to separate the ship in a manner similar to the Excelsior and Ambassador classes.

As projected the class is currently being retired, twenty years short of its original design lifetime. This early retirement is the result of current predictions in overall fleet production. Several hulls that were originally decommissioned or only partially completed prior to the end of the class's production run in 2359 were brought back to full operational status during and after the Dominion War in an effort to reinforce the falling numbers in the Federation fleet.  

With most of the New Orleans-class's original mission objectives taken over by starships developed in the past half-century, it is not surprising to see that the ship has been tailored for more mission-specific applications. The use of the design's pods has allowed for the starship to easily be reassigned for multi-mission applications, making it one of the smallest designs capable of handling an endless amount of customized applications in the medium-sized starship range.