Sovereign class starship

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This article is on the Sovereign class used by Starfleet in the Star Trek fictional universe. For information on the Sovereign-class of ship used by the Galactic Empire in the Star Wars universe, see Super Star Destroyer.

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E), a Sovereign class starship

In the fictional universe of Star Trek, the Sovereign class of starships was the most advanced and powerful group of ships in Starfleet from the mid-2370s onward. The Sovereign class design is similar to traditional Federation starship design with a ellipse-shaped saucer section directly attached to the engineering section. The main bridge, lifeboats, sensors, a shuttlebay and dorsal phaser arrays are at the top of the saucer section while the ship's ventral phaser arrays, a captain's yacht and additional lifeboats occupy the ventral side of the saucer. The sleek engineering section features the main navigational deflector, two large warp nacelles, forward torpedo launchers and an additional shuttlebay.

With 24 decks and measuring 689 meters in length, it was longer but less massive than the Galaxy class that preceded it as the Federation's flagship class. As of 2379, the Sovereign class starship Enterprise remains the flagship of Starfleet.

Numerous encounters with advanced threat forces during the 2370s, namely the Borg and the Dominion, prompted Starfleet to emphasize the class' battle potential over exploration capabilities, making it the most powerful starship in Starfleet in its day. The Sovereign class was equipped with type-twelve phaser arrays (the most powerful available for starship use at the time), quantum torpedoes, and standard photon torpedoes.

As with the Galaxy class before it, Sovereign class vessels underwent at least one major upgrade only a few years after entering service, namely to increase the quantity and coverage of the ship's weaponry. This refit occurred sometime between the events of Star Trek: Insurrection and Star Trek: Nemesis.

Like the Galaxy class, the Sovereign class was capable of separating into two independent components to increase survivability.

In real life, the Sovereign class was designed by Rick Sternbach, Herman Zimmerman and illustrator John Eaves for Star Trek: First Contact.

Specifications

• Production facility: San Francisco Fleet Yards, Earth
• Type: Explorer/Heavy cruiser
• Dimensions:
  • Height: 88.39 m
  • Length: 685.80 m
  • Beam: 243.84 m
• Decks: 24
• Displacement: 3,205,000 metric tons
• Accommodation: 855 standard
• Propulsion:
  • One matter/antimatter reactor powering two twenty-six-coil non-destructive warp engines
  • Two impulse engines
• Performance: Warp 9.7 cruise; maximum speed unknown
• Weaponry:
  • 12 type XII phaser arrays (original); 16 type XII phaser arrays (refitted)
  • 4 photon torpedo launchers, 2 forward, 2 aft (original); 8 photon torpedo launchers, 3 forward, 5 aft (refitted)
  • 1 quantum torpedo turret launcher (firing rate of 4 torpedoes per second per one second volley)
• Defenses:
  • Automatically modulated regenerative deflector shields
  • Heavy duranium/tritanium double hull
  • Ablative armor
• Auxiliary vessels:
  • Personnel shuttlecraft stored in two shuttlebays, including at least one Type-11 shuttlecraft
  • 1 warp-capable captain's yacht, embedded in the ventral area of the saucer
  • Possibly other types of craft

Known Sovereign class starships

A three-quarters view of the starboard aft of a Sovereign class starship

• USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E)
  • Commanded by Captain Jean-Luc Picard, the Enterprise-E was launched on stardate 49027.5 from the San Francisco Yards and patrolled the Romulan Neutral Zone for one year. Circa stardate 50893.5, the Enterprise fought in the Battle of Sector 001 before being transported back to 2063 where she was partially assimilated by the Borg attempting to prevent first contact. In 2375, the Enterprise-E prevented the relocation of the Baku people from their planet in the Briar Patch in sector 441. Circa stardate 56844.9, the Enterprise was ordered to Romulus to meet with new praetor, Shinzon, who built the Reman warbird Scimitar. The Enterprise was severely damaged while fighting the Scimitar in the Bassen Rift in sector 1045.
• USS Sovereign (NCC-75000, ex-NX-75000)
  • The starship Sovereign was the pathfinder of its class.
• USS Poseidon (NCC-46559-A)
  • The USS poseidon is the flagship of Liberty Fleet

External links

• Sovereign class at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek WikiWiki
• STARTREK.COM - Sovereign Class
• "Sovereign class" at the Neutral Zone Starship Database