The Department of Experimental Concepts and Applications (DECA) was a 23rd century body of Federation Starfleet, a department within the Advanced Starship Design Bureau in service in the 2270s decade. (STO website: Unveiled: The 15th Anniversary Starship Bundle)
History and specifics[]
Around the year 2271, DECA, the ASDB and Captain M. Uribe undertook a starship modernization program called the Total Modification Programme. Following the incident surrounding the return of the transformed Earth space probe V'ger in 2273[1], an era marked by interstellar conflict, natural disasters and change took hold of the galactic stage. Starfleet's ASDB and DECA's surge of innovation to answer these challenges was expressed in the TMP. This program involved Starfleet shipwrights redesigning iconic starships into new iterations. The Kerala- and Pioneer II-class were reinterpreted spaceframes based on the 2250s-era Shepard- and 2260s-era Pioneer-class, respectively and upgraded materials, computers and weapons. The program also introduced brand-new designs like the Ark Royal- and Shangri-La-class to match the threat posed by the ascendant Klingon Empire. The program successfully launched these four classes during a time of strife and they operated successfully. Another related class was the Theseus-class destroyer. (STO website: Unveiled: The 15th Anniversary Starship Bundle)
