Akira Class

In 2363 a new class of ship entered service. The ship was to carry more firepower then anything before her, yet still remain fast and maneuverable. The ship features a unique catamaran nacelle design and no less than 15 torpedo launchers. The USS Akira is one of the few Starfleet vessels which is heavily biased toward the combat role. The ships carry an extremely heavy torpedo armament of 15 torpedo launchers. Seven of these are mounted in the large roll bar pod, 5 facing forwards; the remaining eight are located in the saucer section, two of which face directly out to port and starboard, a unique feature in a Starfleet vessel. Although she has a formidable torpedo armament she has awfully few Phaser arrays for her size.

Another special feature of the Akira class is the hangar bay arrangements. There are two large shuttle bays in the saucer section, one at the forward edge of the saucer section and one at the rear. These allow large numbers of launch and landing operations to be handled simultaneously. During peacetime this allows the Akira to evacuate large numbers of small survey craft, or ferry evacuees on board at a high rate. During the Dominion war the ships often served as fighter carriers. In this role a load of twenty fighters and a dozen utility craft is more usual. The USS Akira entered service in 2363, and a rapid production run put nearly a hundred others into the fleet over the next few years. Most were assigned to units on the outer Federation territories, performing patrol and presence missions as well as the normal mapping and exploration duties which any Starfleet vessel is expected to handle.

In modern times, the Akira is a relatively slow vessel at warp speed.

Ships of the Class

USS Montreal (NCC-56552) USS Charleston (NCC-56764)