In the wake of the massacre at Wolf 359, the
United Federation of Planets began to develop purpose-built warships for the first time
it’s history, as part of a defensive initiative against future Borg incursions.
Work on the first of these designs - known as the Defiant Class, was completed in 2370,
after numerous delays due to technical concerns and reluctance by Starfleet officials to promote
the development of combat vessels.
In spite of these issues, the project pressed on, and the Defiant was followed by a full
wave of anti-borg warship classifications commissioned in late 2372.
The Norway Class medium cruiser is perhaps the most well-rounded of the 2372 warship
cadre, offering an effective balance of durability, speed and firepower.
As is typical among this first wave of combat vessels, the Norway presents a narrow, compact
targeting profile, and features only a small number of external viewports to eliminate
structural weaknesses.
The Norway’s structure is centred around its large, wedge-shaped primary hull, which
features layers of ablative armor in addition to most of the ship’s weapon emplacements.
In total, the standard Norway Class carries six type-ten phaser arrays, nine directional
phaser emitters and two photon torpedo launchers.
The Saber Class Escort was intended to supplement the highly outdated Miranda Class Light Cruiser
as a reliable patrol craft and fleet support vessel.
The Saber was fiercely manoeuvrable and featured a highly unique spaceframe which made targeting
the ship’s critical systems extremely difficult.
The Saber’s armament was largely oriented forward to take maximum advantage of the small
ship’s manoeuvrability, and included four type-ten phaser arrays, as well as a pair
of photon torpedo launchers.
Outside of their primary fleet escort role, Saber Class vessels were also popular with
the Starfleet Corp of Engineers, where they were often employed as tugs, minelayers and
technical support craft.
Designed specifically to work in tandem with the Saber Class, the Steamrunner Class Heavy
Frigate was envisioned as a durable, long-range torpedo platform.
Though the ship only features two individual torpedo tubes, each is linked to a huge magazine
of 250 warheads, and can be rapidly reloaded to maintain a powerful barrage.
The ship’s phaser arrays offer full 360-degree firing arcs across both the dorsal and ventral
hull, and layers of armor plating protect the Steamrunner’s nacelles and deflector
array from blast damage.
Outside of engagements with the Borg Collective, the Steamrunner Class was most commonly employed
as a border patrol vessel, responding to minor incursions and criminal incidents across the
perimeter of Federation Space.
The Akira Class Heavy Cruiser draws heavily from Starfleet’s past in its design style,
featuring elements clearly derived from the 23rd century Walker Class and United Earth
NX Class.
One major innovation present on the Akira is the ship’s through-deck shuttlebay, built
into the spine of the vessel’s saucer section.
This bay allows for the storage and rapid deployment of Peregrine Class Attack Fighters,
as well as various other auxiliary support craft.
The Akira’s weapons complement includes an impressive fifteen torpedo launchers, as
well as a prototype Chain Reaction Pulsar weapon, and six type-ten phaser arrays.
Last and perhaps most iconic of the 2372 designs, is that of the Sovereign Class Cruiser.
While certainly designed for defensive combat, the Sovereign Class is also a highly versatile
exploration vessel, carrying many of the facilities normally seen on Galaxy Class Explorers.
This is because the class was originally conceived as a successor to the Galaxy Class, intended
to be the latest advancement in frontier exploration, but the design process was augmented as part
of Starfleet’s Borg Defence initiative.
The Sovereign Class carries sixteen type-twelve phaser arrays, as well as ten torpedo tubes,
and vessels of the class are most often loaded with Quantum torpedoes in addition to standard
Photon warheads.
The construction and commissioning of a Sovereign Class starship was a highly resource-intensive
endeavour, making the vessels a fairly uncommon sight among the fleet, but when completed
– Sovereigns were always assigned to highly important postings, including the position
of Federation Flagship, which was famously held by the USS Enterprise-E from 2372 onward.