Intrepid Class

In 2370 a new class of ship entered service in Starfleet. The ship would be, when commissioned, the fastest class of starship in service within any fleet. She would be classed as a frigate/light explorer/scout ship. She would also be well-armed, manoeuvrable, well protected, and posses a sensor suite comparable to the Galaxy Class'. The ship featured a unique warp nacelle design, which allowed the nacelles to pivot up when in warp flight, thereby improving the warp field. The class was also the first to use bioneural gel packs in the computer systems. Starfleet's shipbuilding policy of the last century had emphasized ever larger, more capable designs. These designs were capable of carrying out a wide variety of missions within a single hull, and many times with multiple missions happening simultaneously. However, this has led to a gradual fall in the numbers of vessels that can be fielded. Where the Excelsior Class numbered in the hundreds, the Ambassadors were limited to a production run of twenty-six, and the Galaxy Class to six ships initially. While the exploration capacity of these classes was still sufficient to meet the tasks demanded of them, the lack of numbers had led to certain restrictions in flexibility. Losses among the Galaxy Class had also emphasized that placing "all the eggs in one basket" was not necessarily the wisest choice.

The Intrepid design was fielded partly to correct this situation. The design requirement, issued in 2358, called for a vessel in the 360-meter range with a volume some 15% that of a Galaxy Class. Although the limited size meant that the vessel would have much lower overall capabilities than the Galaxy Class, this was to be, in some part, offset by the use of the latest technology. The ship’s computer system would be the most advanced model in service; the increased automation this afforded combined with a new generation of sensor equipment would allow the Intrepid Class almost 70% of the scanning and analysis capabilities of a Galaxy Class starship. Diplomatic functions would be more problematic. Hosting such functions requires supporting large numbers of extra personnel, and the Intrepid Class simply would not have the room for this. Her diplomatic capabilities are therefore limited to relatively small events generally involving Federation negotiations with a single party.

The Intrepid's combat role was also somewhat limited by her size; unable to carry large numbers of torpedoes or high power phaser banks, Starfleet settled on a scouting and support mission for the ship. Fitted out with type-IX phaser arrays and single fire torpedo tubes standard. The Intrepid would be capable of engaging vessels the size of a Light Cruiser or Destroyer one-on-one. Her high speed and manoeuvrability, combined with the advanced sensor system, would also make her a perfect platform to conduct long-range reconnaissance missions ahead of fleet operations. Within a major fleet battle the Intrepid would also act in support of larger ships, harrying enemy fleet units and drawing fire away from larger Federation ships.

The new type 9 warp core installed on these vessels made them the fastest vessel in Starfleet's inventory at the time. With a max warp speed of 9.975 the Intrepid Class quickly became one of the fastest ships in the quadrant, although more recent ships have bested this, the class is still one of the faster ships in Starfleet. One feature unique to the Intrepid Class, among Federation Starships of this size, was the ability to land on a planetary surface. This feature had been incorporated after several incidents in which transporters and shuttlecraft have been unable to operate through exotic environmental conditions during evacuations or other surface related operations.