First appearance | "The Search" |
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Affiliation | United Federation of Planets Starfleet |
Launched | 2366 |
General characteristics | |
Maximum speed | Warp 9.5 |
Auxiliary craft | Shuttlecraft |
Armaments | Phasers Photon torpedoes Quantum torpedoes |
Defenses | Deflector shields Cloaking device Ablative armor |
Propulsion | Warp, Impulse |
Power | Class 7 Warp Drive |
Length | 170 meters |
Width | 90 meters |
Height | 25 meters |
The Defiant-Class is a fictional class of starship in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and the feature film Star Trek: First Contact. The Defiant-class was designed by James Martin under the direction of Herman Zimmerman and Gary Hutzel and introduced to the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in its third season.
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The Defiant class vessel is one of Starfleet's most advanced ship designs, conceived in response to the Borg threat. In the Episode "The Search", the Defiant Class is officially designated as an "escort" ship, which Captain Sisko noted was due to Starfleet policy of not operating warships.
Starfleet's Advanced Starship Design Bureau at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards began the project in 2366. Benjamin Sisko was also part of the project. After the Borg threat was deemed lower, research and production for these vessels slowed. Engineering problems – particularly in regard to the small ship's overpowered engines – led Starfleet to mothball the project. However, in 2371 Starfleet put the class into full-scale production as a response to the Dominion War.
The design is a semi-saucer fore with a squared-off aft section and measures 120 meters in length with 4 decks, making it much smaller than most Federation starships. A short, rectangular extension houses the navigational deflector and the main docking port at the bow. The 1.5 megacochrane warp nacelles are housed on either side of the ship. Unusual for Starfleet vessels, the Defiant class' nacelles are not parallel; their axes intersect less than a ship-length aft of the starship. The Defiant class was also described as "overpowered" for her size during her trials.
Another trait distinguishing this class is that it was specifically designed for war, boasting among its armaments distinctive phaser pulse cannons seemingly unique to the class. Ablative hull armor, added to the design after its launch, allows Defiant class ships to take a considerable beating even after the incapacitation of its active deflector shields. (DS9 "The Way of the Warrior", "Paradise Lost"))
The ship has few of the creature comforts that are normally found on most Starfleet vessels and has small racked bunk-styled quarters. The infirmary is small and the design does not include science labs. The standard crew complement for the Defiant class is forty-six personnel.
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