FSD: Starship Database - Defiant-class

The Defiant-class is a heavily armored, limited-role Starfleet vessel developed due to the threat of the Borg. Work on the Defiant Project began in 2366 by Starfleet's Advanced Starship Design Bureau (ASDB) at Utopia Planitia and constructed at the Antares Fleet Yards. The study vechicle, designated the Pathfinder NXP-2365WP/T, was designed to be a fast torpedo attack ship. The ASDB planned to arm it with six torpedo launchers, four in the primary hull and two in the engineering hull.

Admiral Batelle Toh was overall responsible of the Defiant project, with a number of junior-officers responsible for the day-to-day operations. From 2367 to 2369, Lieutenant Commander Sisko, a veteran of the Battle of Wolf 359, worked on the Defiant at Utopia Planitia. It was decided to compact the platform by pulling in the warp nacelles closer to the engineering hull, minimizing the sensor cross-sectional area and vulnerable appendages and reducing the size of the Defiant's profile, making it a much harder target to hit. The Defiant featured multilayered ablative hull armor, a new innovation that could resist repeated weapons fire. Under the ablative armor, the hull was composed of a castrodium/neutromium composite. The Defiant is armed with the best tactical systems available such as quantum torpedoes and pulse phaser cannons. The former prototype USS Defiant was even equipped with a Romulan cloaking device.

The Defiant was designed to be considerably faster and more heavily armed than standard Starfleet vessels. Engineers were able to increase the power of the warp and impulse engines to 30 percent by running a plasma conduit through the primary phaser coupling which also nearly doubled phaser power. The Defiant standard cruise velocity was warp 7 and could reach up to warp 9, though it could exceed that speed for short periods of time in an emergency. The Defiant had only four decks. A detachable pod at the front of the ship contained the main sensor, navigational deflector, and a matter-antimatter warhead. Unlike other starships the crew members onboard didn't have their own quarters, but instead small cabins with bunks and shared a room with somewhere between two and six people. The mess hall on deck 2 was the only communal area, and a wardroom for the senior staff. The Defiant's computer systems consisted of twin isolinear processing cores, which incorporated a delayed-venting heat storage block for stealth activities. The communications package featured all standard RF and subspace systems, and a modified system that could send and receive narrow-beam encrypted signals. In 2373, Starfleet installed a holographic communications system into the USS Defiant.

Landing pads were built for the Defiant, although it was not specifically designed for atmospheric flight, simulations show that it could withstand landing and liftoff from a planetary surface. The Defiant was equipped to carry up to four shuttlepods and one Type-10 shuttlecraft which was located in the shuttlebays on decks 3 and 4, directly under the bridge. There was also six-person and eight-person escape pods capable of keeping the crew alive for eight months.

The Defiant-class was designed as a warship, officially designated as an escort, to provide defense against the Borg. The Dominion War provided yet another useful reason for the class, and proved it to be invaluable in battle. With the war over, the future of this class appears uncertain since a warship is no longer needed. Though the threat of the Borg may keep this class in limited production meanwhile the current Defiant-class vessels will remain in service.

The Defiant was named after the ship from "The Tholian Web" (TOS). The model was designed by James Martin under the direction of Herman Zimmerman and Gary Hutzel. It was built by Tony Meininger. Interior sets superivised by Herman Zimmerman. The Defiant was originally to have been named the Valiant. When the ship was renamed Defiant prior to filming of "The Search, Part 1" (DS9), some concept drawings for the ship suggested it was a Valiant-class vessel. This notion was dropped after a revision of the script made it clear that the Defiant was the first starship of its type.

Related Links:
Designing the Defiant-class, Defiant Problems (EAS).