Sovereign Class

Type: Enhanced Deterrence Explorer (Battleship)

The Sovereign class starship was introuced in the late 24th century. The vessel included some of Starfleet's most recent technological advances. The Sovereign project was one of the new defensive technologies initially intended for use against the Borg threat. The prototype USS Sovereign was still in the design phase during the Battle of Wolf 359. Heavily armed, the design philosophy for the Sovereign class was shaped by the discovery of the Borg. The project attempted to push the envelope as far as possible when it came to computer power, shields, armament and systems capabilities. The Sovereign class starship combined the creature comforts associated with the larger Galaxy Class vessels with the tactical power of the new Prometheus Class. As a result the Sovereign Class is as capable a warship as she is an explorer.

The vessel included some of Starfleet's most recent technological advances. Primary amongst these was a large quantum torpedo launcher mounted forward of the navigational deflector above the captain's yacht, which was capable of firing at least four rounds per second. Backup to the quantum torpedoes was provided by photon tubes; four of these were located at the base of the engineering section in pairs which face forward and aft. These launchers can fire up to 12 torpedoes at a time. The warp engines of the Sovereign were of a new design that eliminated subspace distortion effects inherent to standard warp drives without the use of variable geometry nacelles, as found on the Intrepid Class.