Editing Federation Starships

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With six new vessels being turned out a year since 2355, the pride of the Fleet is the Akira Class Heavy Cruiser. New vessels off the line sport a forty attack craft in its through deck hangar as well as fifteen torpedo tubes, making the Akira Class the most lethal fighting vessel ever to serve in the Federation, more so than even the Prometheus Class Tactical Assault Cruiser and the new Defiant Class Escort vessels. Fast, maneuverable, and sturdy, sixteen of these ships alone were lost to the Dominion War. Presently, one hundred and five are serving throughout Federation Space, and no end is presently scheduled in the production life of the Akira Class.

The Ambassador Class series began construction in 2315, fifteen years before the Excelsior Class contract expired. They were originally intended to replace the Excelsior as the foremost Explorer Type vessel. Forty two vessels were built as Explorers, including the flagship USS Enterprise-C. However, when the First Cardassian War broke out in 2347, the Class was reclassified as a Heavy Cruiser, equipped with additional tactical systems, and structurally upgraded to counter the Cardassian Threat with eighteen ships built to the new specifications. At the end of the recent Dominion War, forty-nine Ambassador Class starships are still on operational status.

The Constellation class was fielded during the 2280's as a modern counterpart to the Constitution class. Like the Constitution Class, the Constellation's requirements, issued in 2272, called for a vessel capable of long duration exploratory, scientific and diplomatic missions. The new ship was to be able to perform this role over the longer ranges called for now that the Federation had acquired new members beyond its previous borders. In addition, the Constellations combat capability was to put it ahead of any current or projected vessels in the Romulan and Klingon Empires.  

A few Constellation class vessels remain in service today.

In 2269, the USS Enterprise was selected to be the first ship to undergo such a refit and went into spacedock in Earth orbit for eighteen months of work. Never in Starfleet history (up until that time) had any vessel been so comprehensively updated, essentially a new vessel was built onto the bones of the old, replacing virtually every major system. The Enterprise was rushed out of Spacedock in 2271 to face the threat presented by the entity known as V'Ger, which was destroying everything in its path as it advanced towards Earth. She succeeded in averting the danger and then proceeded with her shakedown cruise.  

Two of the class were lost fighting the Borg, one at Wolf 359 and the other in Sector 001 a few years later. In 2335, four of the remaining eight Constitutions’ were mothballed while a second major refit of the class was designed. Of the other four, they were all active at the beginning of the Dominion war. Two are still in operation, including the class leader, the USS Constitution.

Classified as an escort, the Defiant project was unofficially a plan to build a fleet of Federation warships to combat the Borg. The Defiant proved to be a powerful design. In fact, it was so powerful, with its warp core at full power, it nearly blew itself apart. After the Borg threat lessened, the Defiant project was cancelled and the USS Defiant remained uncompleted. The Defiant project was restarted in 2371, after the success of the USS Defiant in defending Starbase Deep Space Nine. There are currently more Defiant-Class starships under construction.

Originally dubbed the "Great Experiment," the Excelsior project was to be the first transwarp powered starship. Unfortunately, transwarp proved to be a failure and the ships were built with normal warp drives. A slightly modified Excelsior-Class has upgraded impulse, ramscoop and sensor technology. The Excelsior Class is one of the most successful Federation starship class, serving from 2287 to the present.

One of the finest Starships ever designed the Galaxy class was to replace the Ambassador and Oberth-Class starships as the primary instrument of Federation exploration. The Galaxy-Class starship was the first to feature a saucer section which could separate at will and reattach itself without a starbase layover. The Galaxy-Class project was conducted at Utopia Planitia Shipyards, orbiting Mars.

In the year 2369, Starfleet charged Utopia Planitia Shipyards and Avalon Shipyards to design and/or modify a vessel with both strong exploratory and defensive powers while the Sovereign project was still under development. Avalon began design and construction of what would later be called the Keltoi class of vessels, whereas Utopia Planitia built off of the existing Galaxy class Star frame.  

==[[image:indef.jpg |150px|left|]]  [[Indefatigable Class]]==

The Indefatigable Class ship is a Tri-vector Assault vehicle, it separates into three fully-capable sections while in Vector-Assault mode. All three sections maintain power, supplies and crew for operations of up to 1 year in the event that the other sections are destroyed in combat, and all contain the necessary command functions (bridge, engineering, etc) to retain full autonomy. However, the Saucer Section does not possess Warp capability.

The Intrepid Class Starship is designed primarily as a science/scout ship. This class is designed with variable geometry warp nacelles, to eliminate damage to subspace while at warp. Beginning with the Voyager, the Intrepid line was the first to incorporate bio-neural technology into the computer systems. Intrepid-Class ships were also among to first to have and emergency medical holographic programs.

The Keltoi class is renowned for its reliability in combat; she is a departure for Starfleet in her design and layout. The USS Keltoi, the prototype of the class, spent several months on the Cardassian border. In a mission to defend a Federation subspace relay, the Captain of the Keltoi, held for several days against several waves of Cardassian ships. Severely damaged in her efforts, the Keltoi was decommissioned, and shortly after, the Keltoi development project was approved.

The Meredith Class Starship was conceived to operate as a mobile command centre for Starfleet's top brass, able to lead assaults and act as a Fleet Carrier. This starship class has a formidable defensive capacity as well as firepower and fighter capabilities.

In the year 2273 a new class of ship entered service in Starfleet. Designed to be a smaller but capable counterpart to the Constitution class, the USS Miranda entered service at the same time its larger cousin was undoing major refit. There was a very high degree of commonality between the two classes, with the nacelles and most of the primary hull being almost identical. The smaller size of these ships was largely accounted for by a lower level of habitability for the crew and a reduction in the number of science labs from fourteen to ten. Moving all of its torpedo tubes to the 'roll bar' above the ship helped keep these reductions to a minimum. Even so the Miranda's were full Explorer type ships, fully capable of conducting long duration research missions. Their considerable armament also made them an important addition to the defense of the Federation.

Today the Miranda's operate in a similar capacity, and although they are not front-line combat units in themselves they are still to be seen operating in major fleet actions in support of the modern vessels. Recently several Miranda class vessels have begun to show signs of serious stress fractures in their hulls, investigations are underway with all ships in the class, and although the results are yet to be announced it is thought that the problem is likely due to the age of the hulls. If so, the Miranda class is likely to be forced into retirement sometime over the next few years.

The Nebula Class was designed with an emphasis on flexibility.  This is made possible by the raised equipment pod, which can be easily modified to carry scientific or tactical equipment pallets, or a combination of both configurations.  Fifty three vessels were in service as of 2376, and an open ended construction contract is still on the table at the Utopia Yards. Though categorized as an Explorer, the Nebula Class can excel at virtually any task Operations can think of, from limited survey missions to deep strike missions into the Dominion Alliance.

The New Orleans class has been the premier Starfleet frigate for nearly four decades. Sporting three outboard equipment modules, this vessel can be quickly and easily adapted to any scientific or military mission the Sector Command deems necessary. This class has the ability to incorporate a total of six torpedo tubes, which can be installed, one forward and one aft in each module.  

A wide variety of sensor equipment can also, of course, be installed. One hundred fifty New Orleans class ships have been constructed over a thirty year period, and nearly a hundred of those are still in service. A number of these ships have played pivotal roles in Starfleet history, namely the Rutledge at Setlik III during the Second Cardassian War and also at the Battle of Archanis in 2373. The Kyushu was at Wolf 359 and the Peacekeeper during the Dominion War in 2375.

By the 2350s the Miranda Class was beginning to show its age. In 2357, the Norway Class Development Project was tasked by Operations to produce a vessel with the endurance and flexibility the Miranda's had demonstrated. The Norway Class is now in full production at Spacedock 1's vast orbital construction yard, putting out 15 new vessels per year. As of 2376, there are 105 ships of this class, filling the multi-rolled niche retiring Miranda Class vessels are leaving behind.

This diminutive starship is part of a new family of Starfleet vessels. Aggressively designed, the small ship is known for its durability. The Nova Class is also slowly gaining a reputation for their usefulness in completing extremely successful missions to new areas of space, bringing back detailed data on individual systems or space anomalies to Starfleet. The Nova has a minimal weapons array for its size but its scientific capabilities make it a first rate explorer and science vessel.

The Oberth class has had a distinguished Starfleet career dating back for over a century. They were a capable platform from which to conduct scientific research and exploration. Oberth's had some crucial advantages, they were easy to construct, maintain, and run. The design was highly modular, the whole vessel was made up of sections of 50, 150, or 300 tons which were simply bolted together, gamma welded, and sealed.  

In the 2340's all units received new Phaser banks and shielding systems. The Oberth class is now expected to remain in service at least until the beginning of this century.

The Olympic class stems from a Starfleet requirement issued in 2360 for a new class of medical vessel to replace the aging McCoy class. The new ship was to be an improvement on the McCoy in every respect; it would incorporate a complete Starbase level mobile hospital capable of catering for up to 1,250 patients, compared to the McCoy’s 500. The warp and impulse drives, computer systems, etc. were also to be up to the latest standards.  

The early careers of the Olympic Class were relatively uneventful, although the USS Olympic herself rescued several hundred survivors from the immediate aftermath of the battle against the Borg at Wolf 359.

The Saber Class is small, fast, nimble and heavily armed. Some in Starfleet have objected to its class designation, arguing the Saber Class is closer to an Escort Type vessel than a Light Cruiser. In 2347 the Starfleet was reorganized, and the old Destroyer Type vessels were renamed "Escort Type", to satisfy a then-growing trend of pacifism in the Fleet Command structure.  

The Saber Class, indeed, fills the role of a Destroyer, or, an Escort. Escort Type vessels in Starfleet are not intended to be multi-role, but have only one true purpose: Defense. However, due to the Saber's design flexibility and status as a multi-role starship, the designation Light Cruiser still remains.

Classified as an explorer, the Sovereign-Class is also equipped with some of the most powerful weapons in Starfleet. These ships are rumored to feature the saucer/engineering hull design like the Galaxy-Class which can separate and reconnect the sections. The Sovereign-Class starship also has integrated technology from the Intrepid-Class project, such as bio-neural circuitry and emergency holo systems.

The Spectre Class starship is primarily designed for exploration, however alternative configurations are available.

Constructed at [[Earth Station McKinley]], using [[phase cloaking]] technology originally developed for the ill fated [[USS Pegasus]] under the now infamous [[Captain Erik Pressman]], who was imprisoned for betraying the [[Treaty of Algeron]] which forbade the Federation from building [[phase cloaking]] technology at that time.

The Steamrunner Class began production at the same time the Akira Class did. And, like the Akira Class was to be the next Fleet wide Heavy Cruiser, so was the Steamrunner to be the next Frigate. Its four rapid-fire torpedo tubes replace the need for multiple weapons pods the New Orleans has depended on.  

Big, powerful, and down-right ugly, the Steamrunner Class has been in the midst of every major military action in the past three decades. Twenty alone were lost to the Dominion over the course of the War. To date, 162 Steamrunner Class frigates are deployed across the Federation, and ten additional hulls are laid out each year, six at Utopia Planitia, and four at Groomridge.

In 2271 the first of the original Miranda Class ships began a complete refit, similar to its larger cousin the Constitution had earlier in the decade. Of the 350 in service, 60 were refit. One, the USS Miranda, was decommissioned and added to the Starfleet Museum and the others were mothballed. The refit was so extensive that Starfleet decided to re-designate the refitted vessels as a new class.  

If so, the Soyuz/Miranda class is likely to be forced into retirement sometime over the next few years.

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