Look what I had found. She is a Valiant class and has sister ship name Reliant. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Defiant_(YT-804)
Finally! A real-life Reliant other than this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1974.reliant.robin.arp.jpg
Anyone know if the crew appreciate their namesake? Are the crew of the real USS Valiant also a bunch of douchebags?
Absolutely! The HMS Defiant in the 1962 film Damn the Defiant! was an invention of the film producers, there are no records (I've seen some of them) that there was ever a ship in her majesty's navy with that name. Most likely the TOS Defiant was inspired by the aforementioned film, maybe just because of the mutiny allusions associated with the name. For in-universe applications this US Navy tug boat is a first step, but I hope the TOS Starship Defiant will have other predecessors with that name and not just a tug boat. Bob
It's interesting because the primary definition of "reliant" means dependent on something or someone else, not normally high on a list of military virtues. I assume people take it as short for "self-reliant," but it seems that's a fairly recent thing. I blame Lee Iacocca, myself.
Perhaps it's not meant to describe the vessel, but the faith the users have in the vessel (as in they rely upon it).
I've thought that for a long time.... I wonder if it's going to be outfitted with a cloaking device.......
Perhaps ... but the explanation could take into account the history of vessels named HMS Reliance and the possibility of semantic change.
Apparently one of the non-primary definitions of reliant is "confident", which I can see being high on a list of military virtues. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/reliant