[[Star Trek Starship Cloaking Devices|Cloaking Device]]: while cloaked, +2D+2 Difficulty to detect ship<br />'''Weapons'''
*'''[[Star Trek Starship Beam Weapons#Pulse Phaser Cannons|2 Type X Pulse Phaser Arrays]]'''
: Fire Arc: forward<br />Location: port sponson, starboard sponson<br />Crew: 1<br />Scale: capital<br />Skill: capital ship gunnery<br />Fire Control: 2D+2<br />Space Range: 1-2/5/15<br />Firing Modes: Standard, Wide-Beam<br />Rate of fire: 5<br />Damage: 5D
The Defiant-class starship, officially an escort vessel, began development around 2367 as a small, highly-powered, heavily-armed warship intended to defend the United Federation of Planets 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; also, design flaws turned up, nearly destroying the Defiant during its initial shakedown cruise.
*'''[[Star Trek Starship Beam Weapons#Phasers|Type X Phaser Array]]'''
The Defiant prototype was pulled out of storage in 2371 when the Dominion threat emerged. After several upgrades by Deep Space 9 Operations Chief Miles O'Brien, the ship was deemed worthy of use and more ships of the class were constructed. (DS9: "The Search, Part I", "Call to Arms" , VOY: "Message in a Bottle")
*'''[[Star Trek Starship Beam Weapons#Phasers|Type X Phaser Array]]'''
: Fire Arc: 3 forward, 2 aft, but are self guided<br />Location: forward in warhead, 2 dorsal, aft port, aft starboard<br />Crew: 1<br />Scale: capital<br />Skill: capital ship gunnery<br />Fire Control: 2D+2<br />Space Range: 1-1/75/203<br />Ammunition: 200 Mark I Quantum 8Torpedoes total<br />Spread: 6<br />Damage: 8D
The Defiant-class starship was a heavily-armed, limited-role Starfleet vessel, developed in response to the Borg threat as originally encountered in 2365, and spurred on by the shocking results of the Battle of Wolf 359 in 2367. With the knowledge that existing weaponry and defenses would be inadequate to meet this threat, it was recognized that a new type of starship was needed to meet the tactical requirements of facing this superior enemy. Shortly after the massacre at Wolf 359 in 2367, Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Sisko joined the development team at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards. (DS9: "The Search, Part I")
*'''[[Star Trek Starship Tractor Beams|2 Class Delta Tractor Beams]]'''
The USS Defiant was the class prototype. It was Starfleet's first dedicated combat vessel, and therefore did not house provision for families or diplomatic missions, nor science labs or recreational facilities.
'''Miscellaneous''':
*Crew Quarters:
:*Spartan: 30
*Decks: 4
*Escape Pods: 26
:*Capacity per Pod: 6
*Year Commissioned: 2371 (Earth Reckoning)
The Defiant-class was a heavily-armored, stripped-down starship and incorporated the latest in Starfleet weaponry and defensive technology and was equipped with a class-7 warp drive. The Defiant was considerably smaller than most other Federation starships. (DS9: "The Search, Part I")
'''Transporters'''
*Personnel: 1
:*Range: 40,000 km
:*Capacity: 3 persons
*Emergency: 1
:*Range: 15,000 km
:*Capacity: 12 persons
*Cargo: 1
:*Range: 40,000 km
:*Capacity: 400 kg
Starfleet eventually decided to put the Defiant-class into full 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; VOY: "Message in a Bottle", "Endgame")
'''Complement''': 3 shuttlebays on Deck 3
*[[Federation Type 10 Shuttlecraft|Type 10 Shuttlecraft]]: 1
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 then assigned to Deep Space 9. Given the USS Defiant's 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 they 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", "What You Leave Behind")
*Shuttle Pods: 4
*Probes: 10
Knowledge of this class was retained well into the 31st century, as demonstrated when Captain Jonathan Archer and Lieutenant Malcolm Reed viewed schematics on the class in the 22nd century while accessing the database belonging to temporal agent Daniels. (ENT: "Shockwave")
'''Description''': The Defiant-class was a type of Federation starship in use by Starfleet in the 24th century. Although officially designated as an escort, the Defiant ships were the first type of starship Starfleet ever created as a dedicated-purpose warship, and they are sometimes referred to as destroyers. (DS9 episode & novelization: The Search; ST video games: Armada, Armada II)
===Technical data===
====Propulsion systems====
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", "One Little Ship") When energy was diverted from the weapons' ready reserves, a Defiant-class ship could achieve the speed of warp 9.5. (DS9: "The Sound of Her Voice")
===Tactical systems===
====Phaser cannons====
A total of four phaser cannon assemblies were located in forward-facing locations on board 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. (DS9: "The Search, Part I", et al.)
====Phaser beam emitters====
The standard phaser beam emitters aboard Defiant-class vessels served almost as a secondary supplement to the primary phaser cannon array. In all, the Defiant-class was equipped with at least three emitters: one forward and aft, as well as one behind the bridge on the dorsal surface. (DS9: "Paradise Lost", "Shattered Mirror", "The Emperor's New Cloak"; VOY: "Message in a Bottle")
The Defiant-class vessels' deflector arrays could also be refitted into a makeshift phaser emitter, providing one-shot capability in extreme emergency. The phaser emission was generated by the nose/deflector unit. (DS9: "Starship Down")
====Torpedo launchers====
Defiant-class vessels had a total of six torpedo launchers, four forward and two aft. The four forward launchers were located on the hull just ahead of each of the warp nacelles in dorsal and ventral pairs. (DS9: "Defiant", "For the Uniform") The two aft torpedo launchers were tucked in near the back end of the warp nacelles. (DS9: "The Die is Cast", "Paradise Lost") These torpedo launchers allowed the ship to fire both quantum torpedoes and photon torpedoes. (DS9: "Defiant", "The Adversary", etc.)
====Deflector shields====
The Defiant-class was equipped with deflector shields.
During the Dominion War, after the destruction of the first USS Defiant, the Federation fleet was modified to be immune to Breen Energy dampening weapon technology.
====Ablative armor====
At least one Defiant-class vessel, USS Defiant NX-74205, was equipped with ablative armor. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior", "Paradise Lost")
====Cloaking device====
A special amendment to the Treaty of Algeron allowed the USS Defiant to be fitted with a Romulan cloaking device. (DS9: "The Search, Part I", "Defiant")
The Romulans loaned and allowed the limited supervised use of at least one cloaking device. Operation of the cloaking device was to be limited to the Gamma Quadrant and in return, the Federation would provide the Romulans any and all intelligence collected in the Gamma Quadrant and about the Dominion. (DS9: "The Search, Part I", "Visionary") The USS Defiant was the only Federation ship to be seen regularly operating a cloaking device.
===Interior design===
Due to the militaristic nature of the Defiant-class starship, the interior design was the most spartan in Starfleet. The Defiant class had five decks.
*Deck 1: main bridge, captain's ready room, transporter room 1, 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 cargo management unit maintenance.
*Deck 4: landing struts, navigational deflector, 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 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 center 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 auxiliary 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.
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 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 was to lighten the load on its sister station, particularly in battle.
'''Overview'''
Some time after the commission of the Defiant-class in 2371, various aspects of the bridge were redesigned. The captain's chair area was redone to remove the fencing and add new consoles, the dedication plaque was moved to the starboard door area, and additional consoles were added to the side stations and the rear wall. (DS9: "Equilibrium")
The Defiant was conceived as Starfleet's first warship in response to the many new threats faced by the Federation in the mid-24th century but primarily the Borg. The vessels were purposed as a compact design, packing a great deal of weaponry into a very small, maneuverable ship. As such, many of these vessels were fielded in battle during the Dominion War. The class has a compact warp core that produces enough energy to power a vessel four times its size. (DS9 episode: "Call to Arms"; DS9 reference: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual; ST reference: Starship Spotter)
Some time in 2373, Starfleet vessels were fitted with new holocommunicator technology. A holographic projector on the bridge could create a holographic simulation of the communique. (DS9: "For the Uniform")
'''History'''
====Medical facilities====
The Defiant-class was one of many new Starfleet classes developed in response to the Borg threat following Starfleet's tragic losses in the Battle of Wolf 359. The class was the first that Starfleet ever developed purely as a warship—but for years following the Borg's early incursions, the expected invasion never materialized—the prototype USS Defiant spent much of its time in space dock in the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards. Rising hostilities with the Dominion spurred the Defiant into full service, assigned to Deep Space 9 in 2371 and fitted with a Romulan cloaking device to defend the station from Dominion attack and conduct undercover operations in the Gamma Quadrant.
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.
The Star Trek Roleplaying Game Player's Guide contradicts this by stating the the warship design was started in 2366, after the "initial contact" with the Borg.
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")
By the time the situation escalated into full-scale war, several Defiant-class starships had been put into service and performed admirably. The original USS Defiant was destroyed by a Breen energy dampening weapon in 2375.
====Main engineering====
Following the Dominion War Starfleet developed a ship based on the lessons of the Defiant-class, the first and so far only vessel of this type, the USS Incursion is fitted with a holographic masking system and is operated by Starfleet Intelligence. (ST video game: Away Team)
Main engineering on the Defiant-class was situated on Deck 1 with the lower section on deck 2. The Master Situation Monitor was located in the starboard wall bulkhead. The warp core was placed on an elevated platform in the center of the room opposite the control consoles. Ships of the Defiant-class were equipped with a class-7 warp drive.
'''Specifications'''
====Crew quarters====
Defiant-class vessels crewed 50 officers and crew, with room for a maximum of 150 in evacuation situations. The Defiant vessels weighed 355,000 metric tons, measured 170.68 meters in length, 134.11 meters in width and 30.1 meters in height. The Defiant had a warp core power plant rated at over 1,500 cochrane units in output, feeding two warp nacelles. The warp drive was rated for a maximum output of warp factor 9.982 for 12 hours. The ships of the Defiant-class were also fitted with two impulse engine fusion reactor plants and thrust emitters.
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.
The vessels have ablative armor to absorb enemy weapons fire and were fitted with beam weapons consisting of four pulse phaser cannons, capable of firing from numerous phaser arrays along the hull. Defiant ships also are equipped with two launchers, capable of firing either photon torpedoes or quantum torpedoes from numerous emplacements along the hull. In an extreme situation the Defiant-class's nose section, which contained the vessels stock of torpedoes, could be separated as a last resort to act as a large projectile. (DS9 reference: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual)
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.
The Defiant-class was one of the few classes of Starfleet starships capable of planetary landing and lift-off, and as such, had four sets of landing gear in its ventral hull to facilitate this. (DS9 reference: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual; ST - Tales of the Dominion War short story: "Safe Harbors")
====Mess hall====
The compact type-10 shuttlecraft was designed alongside the Defiant-class and two can be held in its shuttle bay.
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 had 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")
In the later 24th century, the Defiant-class was slated to continue production at the ASDB Integration Facility at Antares Fleet Yards shipyards, on Antares IV. (DS9 reference: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine dedication plaque)
====Transporter rooms====
Like other Federation and starfleet ship designs, the Defiant-class was fitted with intercooler systems to cool the warp and impulse engines and the power transfer grid. The plasma intercooler was fitted with safeties which could be taken offline at the discretion of the ship's chief engineer. Both Miles O'Brien and Nog had performed this action, in order to coax better performance from the engines, aboard the USS Defiant and the USS Valiant, respectively. (DS9 episode: "Valiant")
Defiant-class ships were equipped with two transporter rooms, one located on deck 1 and the other on deck 2. (DS9: "Past Tense, Part I", "The Die is Cast", "The Way of the Warrior")
Fire Arc: forward Location: port sponson, starboard sponson Crew: 1 Scale: capital Skill: capital ship gunnery Fire Control: 2D+2 Space Range: 1-2/5/15 Firing Modes: Standard, Wide-Beam Rate of fire: 5 Damage: 5D
Fire Arc: 3 forward, 2 aft, but are self guided Location: forward in warhead, 2 dorsal, aft port, aft starboard Crew: 1 Scale: capital Skill: capital ship gunnery Fire Control: 2D+2 Space Range: 1-1/75/203 Ammunition: 200 Mark I Quantum 8Torpedoes total Spread: 6 Damage: 8D
Description: The Defiant-class was a type of Federation starship in use by Starfleet in the 24th century. Although officially designated as an escort, the Defiant ships were the first type of starship Starfleet ever created as a dedicated-purpose warship, and they are sometimes referred to as destroyers. (DS9 episode & novelization: The Search; ST video games: Armada, Armada II)
Overview
The Defiant was conceived as Starfleet's first warship in response to the many new threats faced by the Federation in the mid-24th century but primarily the Borg. The vessels were purposed as a compact design, packing a great deal of weaponry into a very small, maneuverable ship. As such, many of these vessels were fielded in battle during the Dominion War. The class has a compact warp core that produces enough energy to power a vessel four times its size. (DS9 episode: "Call to Arms"; DS9 reference: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual; ST reference: Starship Spotter)
History
The Defiant-class was one of many new Starfleet classes developed in response to the Borg threat following Starfleet's tragic losses in the Battle of Wolf 359. The class was the first that Starfleet ever developed purely as a warship—but for years following the Borg's early incursions, the expected invasion never materialized—the prototype USS Defiant spent much of its time in space dock in the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards. Rising hostilities with the Dominion spurred the Defiant into full service, assigned to Deep Space 9 in 2371 and fitted with a Romulan cloaking device to defend the station from Dominion attack and conduct undercover operations in the Gamma Quadrant.
The Star Trek Roleplaying Game Player's Guide contradicts this by stating the the warship design was started in 2366, after the "initial contact" with the Borg.
By the time the situation escalated into full-scale war, several Defiant-class starships had been put into service and performed admirably. The original USS Defiant was destroyed by a Breen energy dampening weapon in 2375.
Following the Dominion War Starfleet developed a ship based on the lessons of the Defiant-class, the first and so far only vessel of this type, the USS Incursion is fitted with a holographic masking system and is operated by Starfleet Intelligence. (ST video game: Away Team)
Specifications
Defiant-class vessels crewed 50 officers and crew, with room for a maximum of 150 in evacuation situations. The Defiant vessels weighed 355,000 metric tons, measured 170.68 meters in length, 134.11 meters in width and 30.1 meters in height. The Defiant had a warp core power plant rated at over 1,500 cochrane units in output, feeding two warp nacelles. The warp drive was rated for a maximum output of warp factor 9.982 for 12 hours. The ships of the Defiant-class were also fitted with two impulse engine fusion reactor plants and thrust emitters.
The vessels have ablative armor to absorb enemy weapons fire and were fitted with beam weapons consisting of four pulse phaser cannons, capable of firing from numerous phaser arrays along the hull. Defiant ships also are equipped with two launchers, capable of firing either photon torpedoes or quantum torpedoes from numerous emplacements along the hull. In an extreme situation the Defiant-class's nose section, which contained the vessels stock of torpedoes, could be separated as a last resort to act as a large projectile. (DS9 reference: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual)
The Defiant-class was one of the few classes of Starfleet starships capable of planetary landing and lift-off, and as such, had four sets of landing gear in its ventral hull to facilitate this. (DS9 reference: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual; ST - Tales of the Dominion War short story: "Safe Harbors")
The compact type-10 shuttlecraft was designed alongside the Defiant-class and two can be held in its shuttle bay.
In the later 24th century, the Defiant-class was slated to continue production at the ASDB Integration Facility at Antares Fleet Yards shipyards, on Antares IV. (DS9 reference: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine dedication plaque)
Like other Federation and starfleet ship designs, the Defiant-class was fitted with intercooler systems to cool the warp and impulse engines and the power transfer grid. The plasma intercooler was fitted with safeties which could be taken offline at the discretion of the ship's chief engineer. Both Miles O'Brien and Nog had performed this action, in order to coax better performance from the engines, aboard the USS Defiant and the USS Valiant, respectively. (DS9 episode: "Valiant")
