Defiant class

The Defiant-class was a type of Federation starship in use in the 24th century, the first starship Starfleet ever created purely for warfare, though officially identified as an escort.

Overview
The Defiant was a compact design, packing a great deal of weaponry into a very small manoeuvrable target. The class has a compact warp core that produces enough energy to power a vessel four times larger than the class. The vessels have ablative armour to absorb enemy weapons fire and were fitted with powerful pulse-phaser cannons and torpedo launchers. In an extreme situation the Defiant classes nose section which contained the vessels stock of torpedoes could be separated as a last resort to act as a large projectile. (ST reference: )

The compact Type-10 shuttlecraft was designed alongside the Defiant class and two can be held in the a Defiant classes shuttle bay.

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 Starfleet ever developed purely as a warship but following the Borg's early incursions the expected Borg Invasion never materialised and 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 and the USS Defiant was assigned to Deep Space Nine in 2371 and fitted with a Romulan cloaking device to defend the station from Dominion attack and conduct undercover operations in the Gamma Quadrant.

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. (ST reference: )

Following the Dominion War Starfleet developed a variant 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. (TNG video game: Away Team)

Known vessels
USS Ajax • USS Alaska • USS Albatross • USS Aldebaran • USS Armstrong • USS Ark Royal • USS Avenger • USS Baracus • USS Barracuda • USS Baton Rouge • USS Bennington • USS Boxer • USS Champion • USS Cheyenne • USS Cobra • USS Concord • USS Condor • USS Cormir • USS Corvus • USS Crockett • USS Dauntless • USS Defiant • USS Defiant • USS Drake • USS Eagle • USS Eclipse • USS Falkirk • USS Fargo • USS Formidable • USS Franklin • USS Gallant • USS Galahad • USS Gauntlet • USS Gawain • USS Grainer • USS Grant • USS Halberd • USS Harmony • USS Havoc • USS Helena • USS Horizon • USS Hornet • USS Hurricane • USS Illustrious • USS Incessant • USS Iwo Jima • USS Javelin • USS Kant • USS Kingfisher • USS Law • USS Lee • USS Leyte • USS Logan • USS Loki • USS MacGoohan • USS Man-o-War • USS Matador • USS Maya • USS Medvedev • USS Merrimack • USS Michigan • USS Mongoose • USS Monitor • USS Monitor • USS Monsoon • USS Morgana • USS Moscow • USS Myrmidon • USS Narcissus • USS Neptune • USS Nomad • USS Pendragon • USS Pleiades • USS Portmeirion • USS Potemkin • USS Python • USS Quillon • USS Ramses • USS Ranger • USS Raven • USS Redoubtable • USS Relentless • USS Renegade • USS Revere • USS Rockford • USS Rome • USS Saladin • São Paulo (I) • USS São Paulo • USS Savannah • USS Scorpion • USS Sioux • USS Sirocco • USS Snake Eyes • USS Spitfire • USS Stalwart • USS Stromming • USS Tenacious • USS Thor • USS Ticonderoga • USS Titan • USS Treplev • USS Triumph • USS Triton • USS Tsunami • USS Turin • USS Valiant • USS Valiant • USS Valorous • USS Vanya • USS Victoria • USS Victorious • USS Vigilant • USS Voltaire • USS Warspite • USS Wasp • USS Wolverine • USS Zeppelin



Incursion type

 * USS Incursion (NX-74808) (NX-74808)

Mirror universe

 * The following Defiant''-class starships were built in the mirror universe.


 * Defiant
 * Capital Gain

Apocrypha
The RPG The Dominion War Sourcebook: The Fires of Armageddon, published by Last Unicorn Games after they had lost their Star Trek licence listed two other Defiant-class starships: USS Victorious (NCC-66012) and the USS Nemesis (NCC-72495).