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| Vehicle Type: | Enhanced Deterrence Explorer (Battlecruiser) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Statistical Data:
|
Unit Run (To Date): |
NCC-73811 USS Sovereign | NCC-1701-E USS Enterprise NCC-84777 USS Patriot NCC-91986 USS Pathfinder (The class remains in production)
Commissioned |
2372 - present
| Dimensions
| Length: | 680 m
| Beam: | 240 m
| Height: | 87 m
| Decks: | 24
| Mass: | 3,500,000 tons
| Crew: | 700
|
Armament:
|
16 x Type XII Phaser arrays, total output 125,000 TeraWatts | 6 x Heavy Duty Phased Polaron cannons, total output 125,000 TeraWatts 1 x Isokinetic cannon, total output 1,000,000 Terawatts 1 x Rapid Fire Quantum Torpedo turret + 600 torpedoes 4 x Type 4 Burst Fire Photon Torpedo tubes + 600 torpedoes 4 x Standard Photon Torpedo tubes + 600 torpedoes 4 x Type 4 Burst Fire Transphasic Torpedo tubes + 600 torpedoes 1 x Standard Tri-Cobalt Device tube + 10 devices Antimatter spread emitter (*The Phased Polaron Cannons, Transphasic Torpedo, Isokinetic Cannon and Tri-Cobalt Device modifications are specific to NCC-84777, USS Patriot at this time*)
Defense Systems:
| Auto modulated regenerative shield system, total capacity 8,737,500 TeraJoules | Stellardyne Systems Auto modulated Ablative Armour Generator Heavy Duranium/Tritanium double hull plus 14 cm Ablative Armour High level Structural Integrity Field (*The Ablative Armour Generator modification is specific to NCC-84777, USS Patriot at this time*)
Warp Speeds:
| Normal Cruise: | Warp Factor 8
| Maximum Cruise: | Warp Factor 9.9
| Maximum Rated: | Warp Factor 9.99 for thirty six hours
|
Notes: | With the advent of the Dominion war it was felt that the Sovereign-class would need more firepower to compete with Dominion designs. Most especially, the rearward torpedo coverage was felt to be a little lacking. As a result Starfleet decided to proceed with an uprated version of the ship. Three extra aft facing photon torpedo tubes were added, along with two more forward facing tubes, plus a twin launcher aft of the Bridge, a single launcher above the aft hanger deck, a single launcher at the base of the Bridge terracing, and a single launcher near the bow. Additionally, four extra phaser arrays were added to the nacelle pylons. The photon torpedo handling system had to be redesigned, which increased the stowage capacity from 300 to 350. This was considered more than adequate for most threats, although with so many tubes available there was a real danger of running out of torpedoes in a major battle. As well as the increased weapons, the weapon range and accuracy was increased by installing the latest sensor and firecontrol systems, and the shield capacity was increased by about 25%. This gave the Sovereign an excellent capacity to withstand heavy fire in a battle. Some thought was given to increasing top speed, but this was abandoned. The Sovereign-class Enterprise-E was able to test out the new systems in 2379 when it faced the Reman ship Scimitar. Although the Scimitar greatly outgunned the Enterprise, the Starfleet ship did comfortably outperform the Romulan Norexan-class warbirds in the battle. The ship did eventually run out of photons and exhaust its phasers, but it took a considerable degree of battle damage and remained at least partially operational. Should the Romulans continue to produce the Scimitar-class ships, Starfleet will be faced with considerable difficulties. It is possible that an even more uprated version of the Sovereign could be produced, but a completely new and much more powerful vessel may be required. As the Sovereign is still a fairly new design, the general consensus was to improve her weapons systems at this time until design work on the next class of starship could begin. One of the programs that was considered was the development of phased polaron beam weapons. This was a new type of weapons system to the Federation's Starfleet. With the capture of a Dominion warship by Captain Sisko of Deep Space Nine during the war, Starfleet was able to get a first hand look at some of the technology that had been carving pieces out of the Federation forces. They found that some of it could be adapted to their ships. This, combined with a need for greater firepower in its vessels, led Starfleet to dust off the plans for the upgrading of its Excelsior-class fleet and two ships in particular, NCC-42768, USS Lakota and NCC-1986, USS Challenger, were used as testbeds for the development of their phased polaron weapons program. The results were so impressive that Starfleet gave the green light for the upgrades. Both ships saw heavy combat action during the latter stage of the Dominion War, and both were on the frontlines during the Advance on Cardassia which ultimately saw the Federation emerge victorious. After the war, the program was put on hold, with only the Lakota and the Challenger being the recipients of the new weapons. The Lakota had been badly damaged and Starfleet reassigned the vessel to the 'mothball' fleet at Qualor II, and the USS Challenger was declared missing in 2376 after a mission to the Typhon System. So in one fell swoop, both of the testbed vehicles were lost. The next opportunity for Starfleet to try the technology came with the needed refit of the Sovereign-class USS Patriot, NCC-84777. The Patriot was in need of a total refit after her part in stopping an alien invasion of our Galaxy. The ship was sent to Deep Space 13, Atlantis Station for the much needed work. As part of the upgrading, the ship was fitted with six heavy duty phased polaron cannons to add a much needed boost to her offensive punch. Starfleet also decided to use this opportunity to fit her with some other new developments to its weapons arsenal, namely the new transphasic torpedoes with two tubes facing fore and two tubes aft, an ablative armour generator as well as a more powerful automodulated regenerative shield system, and increased hull armour. In addition, her torpedo loads were increased dramatically, and the ship was also fitted to carry the volatile, but extremely potent tri-cobalt devices. Due to the extreme volatility of this weapon, they are kept in transporter stasis until needed. The return of USS Voyager from the Delta Quadrant, in addition to providing the ablative armour generator and transphasic toroedoes, also provided the schematics for an isokinetic cannon, which was also added. The device allows a limited number of bursts which are extremely effective against heavily shielded vessels. The weapon's downside is a lengthy recharge time, and the need for a full system overhaul and recharge after six bursts have been fired. There were a few eyebrows raised at the massive increases to the starship's offensive and defensive capabilities. They were explained away as the need for Starfleet to improve its ability to protect the Federation, especially after the Scimitar incident. | ||||
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