- For other uses, see Broadside.
In starship classification, the broadside battlecruiser was a 23rd century Federation starship type, a battlecruiser classification in Starfleet service in the 2270s decade. This classification was the brainchild of Captain M. Uribe of the Advanced Starship Design Bureau. (STO website: Unveiled: The 15th Anniversary Starship Bundle)
History and technical specifications[]
The Total Modification Programme-era ships.
The USS Kerala firing its broadside combat module.
The Kerala class was developed under the Total Modification Programme by Starfleet Advanced Starship Design Bureau and Department of Experimental Concepts and Applications based on the trials the Shepard-class battlecruiser USS Kerala (NCC-1255) suffered during the Battle of the Binary Stars at the start of the Federation-Klingon War in the year 2256[1]. The TMP started in 2271 and was affected by the V'ger incident in the Sol star system. Captain Uribe of the ASDB designed the Kerala class as a broadside cruiser, unlike the usual forward-facing armaments doctrine of most Starfleet ships. The class, lead by the prototype USS Kerala (NCC-2255), was equipped with the broadside combat module, a console-operated special weapon that fired a series of pulse phasers in rapid succession from the ship's broadside arcs. Additionally, starships exhibited specific traits based on their design. The Kerala excelled at broadside beam support, a trait that enabled the class to fire an additional phaser at a random opponent. In the 25th century, the Kerala class was reclassified as a temporal battlecruiser. (STO website: Unveiled: The 15th Anniversary Starship Bundle)