Defiant class escortDefiant class escortIn 2365 the entity known as Q introduced the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise to the Borg. Alarmed by the technological advancement and ruthless disregard for all other lifeforms demonstrated by the Borg, Starfleet decided to design a new generation of ships, the first true warships in Starfleet for several generations. The testbed for the technologies to be used in this fleet was the U.S.S. Defiant.
The initial tests were not promising, the small ship was equipped with engines so powerful that it was in constant danger of blowing itself to pieces. With the Borg threat seemingly diminished following the events at Wolf 359 it was decided to cease work on the project, the prototype vessel was mothballed. Many of the technologies developed went on to be incorporated in other designs such as the Sovereign class.
In 2370 the gamma quadrant power, the Dominion, announced their interest in Federation affairs by destroying the Galaxy class explorer U.S.S. Odyssey. The first line of defence against any Dominion attack would be the space station Deep Space 9. The commanding officer of that station was Benjamin Sisko and he had worked on the Defiant project at Utopia Planitia. He persuaded Starfleet to assign the U.S.S. Defiant to DS9.
In a rare moment of co-operation the Romulans installed a cloaking device in the Defiant on the condition that it only be used in the gamma quadrant. (A condition that has been broken on numerous occasions since.)
Sisko and his Chief of Operations, CPO Miles O'Brien managed to solve the majority of the problems with the Defiant design and added a few extras such as ablative armour. The success of the Defiant against Dominion, Maquis, Cardassian, Klingon and later Borg forces was enough to persuade Starfleet to start full scale production of the class.
| NX-74205 | U.S.S. Defiant |
| History: | assigned to Deep Space 9 in 2371. Destroyed by Breen in 2375. |
| Notes: | DS9 "The Search" through to "The Changing Face of Evil", app. |
| "And all I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer her by." - John Masefield | |
| NCC-74210 | U.S.S. Valiant |
| History: | Assigned as training vessel. Destroyed in 2374. |
| Notes: | DS9 "The Valiant" app. |
| "We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained and new rights to be won." - John F. Kennedy | |
| NCC-75633 | U.S.S. Sao Paulo |
| History: | Assigned to Deep Space Nine in 2375. Renamed U.S.S. Defiant. |
| Notes: | DS9 "The Dogs of War" app. The registry NX-74205 seen in DS9 "What You Leave Behind" should be put down as an error. |
| "Give me liberty or give me death..." - Patrick Henry | |
Two additional Defiant class vessels were with the fleet seen at the end of "Call to Arms". At this time their names and registries are not known.
Two more (at least one of which had the Defiant name and registry just about visible) were seen in the Voyager episode "Message in a Bottle".
The LUG RPG supplement Ship Recognition Manual, Volume 1: The Ships of Starfleet also lists the U.S.S. Gallant NCC-74206 (destroyed by Cardassian forces in 2372).
The LUG RPG supplement The Dominion War Sourcebook: The Fires of Armageddon mentions the U.S.S. Victorious NCC-66012 and the U.S.S. Nemesis NCC-72495. Both registries are lower than that of the Defiant herself.
The Decipher RPG supplement Starships lists U.S.S. Gallant NCC-74206, U.S.S. Incessant NCC-75636, U.S.S. Redoubtable NCC-75634 and the U.S.S. Stalwart NCC-75635.
The novel The Return by William Shatner and J.G. Reeves-Stevens features a Defiant class vessel, the U.S.S. Monitor. Considering the highly problematic state of this novel continuity-wise, I don't think that any such vessel exists.
Last updated July 7th 2004. © Stephen Pugh <steve@pugh.net>
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