Defiant class starship - Definition and Overview

The USS Defiant

In the fictional universe of Star Trek, the Defiant class of starship is a variety of space-faring vessel used by Starfleet. The Defiant class vessels are Starfleet's most advanced warships, created in the 2370s in response to the Borg threat. After the borg threat was deemed lower, research and production for these vessels slowed. The basic form of a ship of this class is a hemi-saucer fore and a squared-off aft; from this, a short, rectangular extension attaches at the front of the hull, housing the navigational deflector and an emergency M/A warhead, and two long rectangles housing the engines extend from the sides. Unusually for Starfleet vessels, the Defiant class' warp engines are not parallel, their axes intersecting less than a ship-length aft of the starship. Because of this feature the maximum speed is only warp 9.982

Origins

The Defiant Development Project's logo

The Defiant project was began in 2366 by Starfleet's Advanced Starship Design Bureau at Utopia Planitia and constructed at Antares Fleet Yards. Admiral Batelle Toh was responsible for the project.

Specifications

• Production facility: Antares Fleet Yards, Antares IV
• Type: Escort
• Dimensions:
  • Height: 30.10 m (four decks)
  • Length: 170.68 m
  • Beam: 134.11 m
• Displacement: 355,000 metric tons
• Accommodation: 40 standard; 150 limit
• Propulsion:
  • One matter/antimatter reactor powering two four-coil warp engines
  • Two nuclear fusion impulse engines
• Performance: Warp 9.5 cruise; warp 9.982 for twelve hours
• Weaponry:
  • Four pulse phaser cannon (PPCs)
  • Three torpedo launchers (capable of both quantum and photon torpedo fire)
  • Three type-ten phaser emitters
  • One detachable hull section containing an M/A explosive
• Defenses:
  • Deflector shields
  • Ablative armor
• Auxiliary vessels:
  • One type-ten shuttlecraft
  • Zero to four shuttlepods
  • 26 six-person lifeboats

Known Defiant class starships

• USS Defiant (NX-74205)
  • The pathfinder of its class, the Defiant was assigned to the space station Deep Space Nine in 2371 for protection against the growing threat from the Cardassians and the Dominion. The Defiant was severely damaged while fighting the Borg at the Battle of Sector 001 in 2373. It was lost in 2375 in the invasion of the Chin'toka system during the Dominion War.
• USS São Paulo (NCC-75633)
  • Assigned to Deep Space Nine after the Defiant's destruction and rechristened as the USS Defiant.
• USS Valiant (NCC-74210)
  • Destroyed in 2374 by the Dominion. Used by Starfleet cadets of Red Squad.
• USS Valiant (NCC-75418)
  • Assigned to an area near the Romulan neutral zone in 2379 as defense against the Reman threat.

External links

• "Defiant class" at LCARScom.Net (http://www.lcarscom.net/fsd/starships/defiant.html)
• "Defiant class" at Memory Alpha (http://memoryalpha.st-minutiae.com/wiki/Defiant_class)
• "Defiant problems" at Ex Astris Scientia (http://ex-astris-scientia.org/articles/defiant-problems.htm)