Defiant Class

The Defiant Class is a small vessel used for escorting cargo ships and scouting missions.

Basic Information
Class: Defiant Flight III

Type: Escort/Scout/Fast Attack Starship with limited Scientific and exploratory capabilities.

Dimensions
Length: 170 Meters

Beam: 130 Meters

Decks: 4

Crew: 40 or so.

Weapons
4 x Pulse Phaser Cannons, 2x Type X Phaser Arrays, 3 x Torpedo tubes (2 forward, one aft. 96 Torpedoes total)

Propulsion
Emergancy Velocity: 9.975

Maximum Cruise: Warp 9

Prefered Cruise: Warp 5

Special Equipment
Romulan/Reman Cloaking Device

History
The Defiant class was developed during the late 2360's to counter the newly discovered Borg threat. Concieved as a small, compact, but well armed warship, Defiant was Starfleet's first true warship, and paved the way for future warship classes.

The original design for the Defiant class was for a small ship with a conventional Starfleet configuration, designed as a high-warp torpedo attack ship. After exhaustive studies, however, Starfleet opted for a smaller, more compact design. Defiant was launched in 2366, and underwent trials out of Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards. During those trials, however, Defiant proved to be so overpowered, she nearly tore herself apart. The flaws discovered with the design, along with the decreased Borg threat in the latter half of the decade, led to Defiant being placed in storage.

Defiant was reactivated in 2371 and sent to Deep Space Nine, under command of Captain Ben Sisko. After a number of modifications by Senior Chief Petty Officer Miles O'Brien, the ship's Chief Engineer, Starfleet deemed the ship worthy of service.

With the start of the Dominion War, Starfleet began building the O'Brien-modified Defiant Class.

Numerous Defiant class Starships fought during the Dominion War, and at least two (USS Defiant NX-74205 and USS Valiant NCC-74210) were lost to enemy action