USS Defiant NX-74205

The Defiant-class starship was officially classified as an escort, but began development in 2366 as a small, highly-powered, heavily-armed starship intended to defend the Federation against the Borg. The USS Defiant (NX-74205) was the first of what was to be a new Federation battle fleet. Starfleet abandoned the project when the Borg threat became less urgent and after design flaws turned up during the Defiant's shakedown cruise.

The Defiant prototype was pulled out of storage in 2371 when the Dominion threat emerged. After several upgrades by Operations Chief Miles O'Brien, the ship was deemed worthy of use and several more ships of the class were constructed.

U.S.S. DEFIANT - BASIC DETAILS

Class	Defiant-Class Escort
Dimensions	545ft Long , 350ft Wide, 50ft Tall
Crew	50 (Max)
Engines	Class M Warp Drive (Cruising - Warp 7; Max Sustainable - Warp 9 (Can go higher for short periods of time.))
Tactical Systems	Four pulse phase cannons, phasers, two torpedo launchers
Defensive Systems	Romulan Cloaking Device, Ablative Armour, Federation Shields

History

The Defiant-class starship was a heavily armed, limited-role Starfleet vessel, developed in response to the Borg threat, which shocked the Federation in 2367 at the Battle of Wolf 359. Subsequently, the development of a new type of starship was initiated by Starfleet in order to compensate for losses to the Borg and to be prepared for future Borg attacks. Shortly after the massacre at Wolf 359 in 2367, Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Sisko joined the developing team at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards.

Design and construction history

The USS Defiant (NX-74205) was the class' prototype. It was Starfleet's first true combat vessel, and therefore did not house provision for families or diplomatic missions, nor science labs or recreational facilities.

The Defiant Project logo:


The USS Defiant departs

Deep Space 9

The Defiant class was a heavily armored, stripped-down starship that was created as the first strike vehicle for use in war, and incorporated the latest in Starfleet weaponry and defensive technology. The Defiant class was also equipped with a class-7 warp drive. As befitted its role, the Defiant was considerably smaller than most other Federation starships.

The initial mission of the Defiant did not change radically until late 2370, when intelligence-gathering efforts had come upon the Jem'Hadar problem. In the final year of spaceworthiness testing (2371), the NX-74205 was redirected to starbase Deep Space 9 to become a mobile defensive platform with orders to defend the station, the wormhole, and the planet of Bajor. (DS9: "The Search, Part I")

Early service years

Once the Defiant prototype had proven itself, Starfleet took the decision to put the Defiant-class into production. By the end of 2373, there were a significant number of Defiant-class ships in operation, and over the next two years they played a vital role in the Dominion War. (DS9 Season 7)

Dominion War

The USS Defiant was destroyed by a Breen warship in 2375, during the Second Battle of Chin'toka. Another Defiant-class ship, the USS Sao Paulo, was assigned to Deep Space 9. Given the USS Defiant' exceptional record under Captain Benjamin Sisko's command, the Chief of Starfleet Operations gave a special dispensation to change the ship's name to Defiant. On this ship, the shield generators were completely reconfigured so that it would not be affected by the Breen's energy-dampening weapon. This new Defiant played a distinguished role in the final battle with the Dominion at Cardassia Prime, and remained stationed at Deep Space 9. (DS9: "The Changing Face of Evil", "The Dogs of War" and "What You Leave Behind")

Technical Data

Physical arrangement

Defiant-class vessels were constructed of standard tritanium and duranium alloys and composites. The bridge had been submerged within a larger Deck 1 than was envisioned for the pathfinder vehicle, and the entire vessel had been shortened to four decks plus allowances for crawlways and cable trunks. The notched forward hull had been equipped with a detachable pod consisting of the vehicle's main sensor and navigational deflector, airlock module, and a last-resort matter-antimatter warhead. The warp nacelles had been brought inboard to a minimum safe distance for field EM, and all EPS weapon-power conduits had been truncated to provide a nearly zero lag time between activation signal and beam launch.

All protected internal systems that required access to the vessel exterior were equipped with articulated or jettisonable hull plates, so that most of the familiar structures were hidden from view, including shuttlebay doors, docking ports, lifeboats and impulse vents.

Propulsion systems

Defiant class ships achieved warp flight through two warp nacelles, which housed multiple pairs of warp coils. The warp core spanned three decks in the aft section of the ship. The Class-7 warp drive was extremely powerful for a ship of this size, and as such, Defiant-class vessels put out a warp signature equivalent to much larger starships. (DS9: "The Search, Part I")

The primary impulse system consisted of three pairs of redundant fusion reactors, space-time driver coils, and vectored exhaust directors. All three main impulse engines were located on both Decks 2 and 3.

The Defiant fires its pulse phaser cannons.

Tactical systems

Pulse phaser cannons

A total of four pulse phaser cannon assemblies were located in forward-facing locations onboard Defiant class vessels. The cannons were located above and below the nacelle root attachments on the main body on both port and starboard sides of the ship. Due to the ship’s extreme maneuverability, yard engineers deemed it unnecessary to mount aft-facing cannons onboard vessels of this class.

Torpedo launchers

Earlier production line Defiant class vessels had a total of five torpedo launchers, three forward and two aft. During the Dominion War, it was found that Defiant class starships were better suited to engage in hostile encounters with their phaser cannons, and the awesome number of torpedo launchers only served to use up the relatively small stockpile that the ship could handle.

Along with the Sovereign class, Defiant class vessels were the only starships in the fleet normally outfitted with quantum torpedoes. But like all Starfleet vessels, the launchers onboard a Defiant-class starships were capable of firing standard photon torpedoes as well.

Deflector shields

The USS Defiant in combat.

The Defiant class carried a total of four shield generators located throughout the vehicle space frame. The forward-most generator was located along the vehicle centerline within the warhead section. Two additional generators were located further within the hull from the warp nacelles, port and starboard, while the final generator was located on the centerline just above the main impulse engines and forward of the deuterium storage tanks on Deck 1.

Ablative armor

Defensive energy shields were not the only protection the Defiant class has against enemy fire; the hull was also plated with ablative armor.

The Defiant's outer body was coated with ablative armor hull plating, a top-secret technology that had been in development for a number of years. Ablative armor provided an extra layer of defense for the vessel against enemy fire if the shields failed. It worked by forming a protective layer over the hull surface that helped disperse large amounts of incoming phaser blasts. Ablative armor dissipated phaser fire, minimizing the damage to the ship.

Warhead

With the addition of the warhead component aboard the Defiant-class, yet another radical departure has been made from Starfleet's standard policy concerning tactical operations. Designed as a single-use last-ditch explosive component, usage of the warhead weighs as heavily upon a ship's commanding officer as the possible order to initiate self-destruct.

Housed at the forward-most portion of the ship, the warhead contained the ship's main navigational deflector, forward torpedo launcher and magazine, forward airlocks, and dedicated impulse engines for independent powered flight. Access to this area was provided by two walkways on Decks 2 and 3 where miniaturized versions of the standard airlock provided sealable entry between the main vehicle and the warhead. A dedicated control room was located on Deck 2 and allowed for both user operated and automatic control of the warhead.

Typically used when the vessel was totally disabled, it should be noted that once the warhead was launched it could not be reattached to its parent craft without the assistance of a starbase equipped to handle small starships. Once the order was given, the warhead section would separate from the parent spaceframe by means of four explosive bolts that served to provide the initial forward momentum for the pod before it engaged its own engines. Once free from the ship, the warhead would automatically arm all remaining torpedoes present in the launcher storage area. Computer projections indicated that the entire warhead vehicle would be destroyed in the resulting collision between it and its target. Due to space restrictions, no escape pods were present in the warhead section, meaning any crewmembers aboard tending to the vehicle would perish in the resulting explosion. Without its main deflector dish, the Defiant class vessel would thus be unable to engage in high-warp speed travel. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual)

Cloaking device

The Defiant class was unique in a number of ways, not least because it was the only Federation vessel fitted with a cloaking device.

The Romulans loaned a cloaking device to the USS Defiant in exchange for the intelligence Starfleet had gathered on the Dominion. It was soon found that the cloaking device had drawbacks as it could be penetrated by certain types of antiproton beams. The Defiant was especially vulnerable as it put out a high power signature that was difficult to mask fully. However, it worked well enough to provide a major tactical advantage over Jem'Hadar ships. (DS9: "The Search, Part I")

Interior Design

Defiant-class schematics.

Due to the militaristic nature of the Defiant class starship, the interior design is the most spartan in Starfleet. The Defiant class has four decks.

• Deck 1: main bridge, captain's ready room, transporter room 1, pulse phaser cannons (2), upper main engineering, plasma exhaust vents, upper sensor array, officer and crew quarters, deuterium storage.
• Deck 2: lower main engineering, main impulse engines, computer core, targeting sensors, mess hall, warp coils, sickbay, medical and science laboratory, transporter room 2, officer and crew quarters, warhead control room.
• Deck 3: main impulse engines, warhead impulse engines, shuttlebays 1-3, antimatter storage, cargo bays 1-4, airlocks (2), aft torpedo magazine, warp coils, shuttle and workbee maintenance.
• Deck 4: landing struts, navigational deflector, pulse phaser cannons (2), forward and aft torpedo magazines, aft torpedo launchers (2), forward torpedo launcher (1), lower sensor array, shuttlebay 1-2 exterior doors and elevator system, main tractor beam emitter.

Main Bridge

The main Bridge.

The bridge layout of the Defiant was compact, but nonetheless accommodated the familiar engineering, tactical, science, conn, and ops stations.

The main Bridge acted as the nerve centre of the vessel, and the entire module was sunken into a much larger Deck 1 than on most Federation starships to provide added protection during combat situations. Access to the bridge was provided by two doorways at the back, located on both port and starboard sides. Just forward of the starboard entryway was the location of the ship's dedication plaque, as well as an auxilary computer access panel.

The port side of the bridge housed the Engineering and Tactical I stations, while the starboard side featured the Science and Tactical II consoles. Because of its nearly exclusive role as a combat vessel, stations aboard Defiant-class vessels were designed with speed in mind.

The center of the bridge featured the lone captain's chair, which was on a raised platform and had a clear view of all bridge stations, as well as of the main viewscreen. On both sides of the command chair were separate control panels, allowing the occupant access to virtually every system aboard the ship.

The Conn station.

The primary Tactical console.

Between the command chair and the viewscreen was an integrated flight control and operations panel, capable of performing the joint duties of those stations' larger counterparts on other Federation starships. Like all of the bridge stations on Defiant, the Conn had been designed for maximum speed and efficiency of commands input by the operator, allowing the craft to be handled almost like a fighter when under the hands of a skilled pilot.

The Engineering station allowed for a direct link to the impulse and warp engines, as well as monitoring of the other various systems vital to the operation of the ship. This single station was capable of mirroring all the readouts and consoles located in Main Engineering, allowing the Chief Engineer or another engineering officer to issue commands from the bridge.

Mirroring the Engineering station on the port side of the bridge was the Science station. Normally occupied by the ship's chief science officer, the panels and readouts on this station allowed direct access to the ship's sensor systems. Capable of taking high resolution scans of both natural and artificial phenomena, this station played a vital role during reconnaissance missions.

Flanking both sides of the viewscreen were two Tactical stations, which had primary access to the ship’s powerful pulse phaser cannons, torpedo launchers and various other special ordinance packages. Working closely with Conn, the officers stationed at these consoles were responsible for firing the various weapons aboard Defiant-class vessels during combat operations. The purpose of the Tactical II station is to lighten the load on its sister station, particularly in battle.

Medical facilities

The Defiant sickbay.

The main Sickbay was located on Deck 2 between the mess hall and science labs. Containing four biobeds, this room served as the primary crew support facility during emergency situations. The room was equipped with limited surgical facilities and was primarily intended to stabilize patients until they could be delivered to a nearby friendly starbase medical facility. Six stasis units were located just across the main corridor from the sickbay facility, allowing for patients to be stabilized in the event that their ailment could not be cured aboard the ship.

In its limited role as a reconnaissance starship, the Defiant class was equipped with two dedicated science and medical labs for field testing and investigations. These rooms mirrored their counterparts on larger Federation starships by making use of scaled down devices that could commonly be found on those ships. (DS9: "Broken Link")

Crew quarters

Captain Benjamin Sisko in his Ready Room.

The primary crew-support systems included twenty-two main cabins and ten contingency cabins, each equipped with a minimum of two bunks. These cabins could be outfitted with as many as six bunks, allowing for a potential total crew of 192. Each cabin was equipped with one replicator port and one standard computer terminal. Overall, crew quarters aboard Defiant class vessels were the most spartan when compared to other ships in the fleet.

With emphasis towards the tactical systems being the foremost priority in the vessel designers' minds, crewmembers had to share their quarters with at least one other crewmate during normal times of operation. Only the ship's commanding officer was given his own room on Deck 1, which doubled as an informal Ready Room.

Mess hall

Ships of the Defiant-class lacked any sort of recreational facilities, and the only place for informal gathering were the two mess hall areas located on the port side of Deck 2. Like all the equipment and materials aboard the ship, the mess hall was spartan and compact. At the head of the room were three open slots that served as dispensers for the replicators. A counter extended from the underside and was used for the placement of trays, mugs and eating utensils. Seating inside the mess hall was provided by four metallic tables arranged in a semicircle at the wider end of the room. These tables were approximately one meter square, and each has four stools connected to its legs. In addition, the mess hall doubled as a makeshift meeting area that could be used to conduct crew briefings and mission profiles. A tall screen panel located on one of the walls could be used as a visual aid to display tactical graphics. (DS9: "Valiant")