how many ship class does Starfleet need?

[Deks]

I guess my issue is more they can built Excelsiors and Mirandas to last 100+ years but replace the newer ships so quickly. That and the Earth centric nature of Starfleet starships

Maybe humans in Trek design their ships with versatility in mind so they can merge numerous technologies that come from all UFP member species.

Apart from that, I also find it ridiculous that Miranda's and Excelsiors have lasted 100+ years, but the Galaxy class was mostly absent past the Dominion War, and the Enterprise's were replaced like they were nothing (and now the same thing with VOY - we are already up to B in early 25th century - though granted we don't know if the A was destroyed, and at least we know the original was retired for its historic journey through the DQ).

We have seen however that the Sovereign class ships are still around and kicking in the early 25th century in good numbers, so they'd be just over 30 years old designs by that point and SF generally just seems like it retrofitted 23rd century class ships with 25th century technology for the most part (the telltale sign is in the nacelles the USS Titan and Intrepid had).

 

[David cgc]

A decent-enough explanation is that ships that are capable enough to be given legendary names are also more likely to be sent on dangerous missions where they might not return. You've got a problem you can't solve, throw an Enterprise (or Voyager) at it and let them figure it out. Do that enough times, even the best luck will run out.

I like to think that after the war, the Galaxies were refit for those ten-year missions they were supposed to go on after, basically, a fifteen-year class-wide shakedown cruise. The Ross was developed to fill the gap after the local fleet became a little too dependent on Galaxies being closer to home, a leaner version of the design that didn't have the same extreme endurance, but would be just fine in and around the Federation where it was never more than a year from a Starbase. There were probably still a dozen or more Galaxy-class ships in service in PIC, they were just years beyond the border, possibly acting as mobile headquarters for small fleets of ships doing long-range surveys and exploration, all that season one Writers' Bible stuff the Enterprise-D never actually did.

 

[publiusr]

When Galaxy's keel was laid down....you had the opposite situation to what we saw in TUC.

Peacetime stagnation

 

[Sirion]

The Starfleet in Star Trek has a wide variety of spacecraft. Here are some of the most well-known types:

Exploration ships: Constitution-class (USS Enterprise original), Galaxy-class (USS Enterprise-D), Sovereign-class (USS Enterprise-E), among others.

Combat ships: Defiant-class (USS Defiant), Akira-class, Prometheus-class, among others.

Scientific ships: Nova-class, Oberth-class, Intrepid-class (USS Voyager), among others.

Transport and supply ships: Excelsior-class, Nebula-class, Ambassador-class, among others.

Medical support ships: Olympic-class, Hope-class, among others.

These are just a few examples of the types of ships that make up the Starfleet in the Star Trek universe. It's worth noting that there are many other classes and variations of spacecraft in the extensive universe of the series and fan-fiction ,
The galaxy is very large.

 

[Mres_was_framed!]

The Starfleet in Star Trek has a wide variety of spacecraft. Here are some of the most well-known types:

Exploration ships: Constitution-class (USS Enterprise original), Galaxy-class (USS Enterprise-D), Sovereign-class (USS Enterprise-E), among others.

Combat ships: Defiant-class (USS Defiant), Akira-class, Prometheus-class, among others.

Scientific ships: Nova-class, Oberth-class, Intrepid-class (USS Voyager), among others.

Transport and supply ships: Excelsior-class, Nebula-class, Ambassador-class, among others.

Medical support ships: Olympic-class, Hope-class, among others.

These are just a few examples of the types of ships that make up the Starfleet in the Star Trek universe. It's worth noting that there are many other classes and variations of spacecraft in the extensive universe of the series and fan-fiction ,
The galaxy is very large.

I was momentarily inclined to start enjoying the debate on where you placed some ships, such as suggested the Ambassador class should be an Explorer (or better stated a cruiser), but actually your choices do sort of reflect what we actually see those ships doing, not what they are claimed to be off screen. The Ambassador is one of my favorite classes, so I would like to imagine it exploring, but in the show it it usually accompanying other ships or transporting important personnel. The crew of the Enterprise-E acted as if they thought they should be exploring but instead were usually shown in battle.

 

[MikHutch]

I always thought the flagships were multipurpose

 

[Space Socialist]

Back to the original question, Starfleet would need more ship types than we see during TNG, but much fewer than we see in STO or Picard.

 

[valkyrie013]

Depends on technology, and how fast it develops.
Usually done in waves, sometimes, like the galaxy, you have a development of a grand ship, and then you have the derivatives like the Nebula, New Orleans, etc. that are based on the same technology being developed, but in a smaller package.

 

[blssdwlf]

The Starfleet in Star Trek has a wide variety of spacecraft. Here are some of the most well-known types:

Exploration ships: Constitution-class (USS Enterprise original), Galaxy-class (USS Enterprise-D), Sovereign-class (USS Enterprise-E), among others.
...
Transport and supply ships: Excelsior-class, Nebula-class, Ambassador-class, among others.

I really don't see Excelsior-class or even Nebula and Ambassador-class ships as just Transports. They should be grouped in with the TOS Consitution, Galaxy-class, etc.

FYI, If you were to look at all the TOS episodes you would find that the Constitution-class TOS Enterprise didn't do that much exploring.

 

[Ithekro]

Repurposed starships before they designed the longer ranged Runabouts?

 

[MikHutch]

Do the makers of the shows generally have purpose of each class in mind when designing each class?

 

[Jedi Marso]

The number of classes (designs) you need also depends on the modularity of the designs in a particular generation of ships.

For example, take the Galaxy Class- the leading edge of starfleet at the beginning of TNG.

What if the Galaxy Class could be configured differently for different missions- an 'open architecture' layout to reconfigure space for different uses and allow integration of evolving technologies? You've got the Enterprise-D, which is the Explorer configuration. Now remove all the civilians and a bunch of the science labs, etc, and replace them with troop berthing, physical training facilities, combat simulators, fighter squadrons, etc, and you've got a military vessel. Clean out most of the interior of the saucer section and replace it with massive cargo transporters and storage, along with berthing for colonists, and you have a colonization and/or supply vessel. Do the same but with medical facilities and science labs, and you have a hospital ship that can handle planet-wide pandemics.

We never really saw this in the show, but it could have been done. And while the Galaxy Class spaceframe would not neatly fill every needed niche for a starship, this modular approach could significantly reduce the number of classes (designs) you need overall.

 

[blssdwlf]

Do the makers of the shows generally have purpose of each class in mind when designing each class?

I'm sure the designers have something in mind but what is shown or spoke of on screen is much more limited.

 

[Unicron]

The number of classes (designs) you need also depends on the modularity of the designs in a particular generation of ships.

For example, take the Galaxy Class- the leading edge of starfleet at the beginning of TNG.

What if the Galaxy Class could be configured differently for different missions- an 'open architecture' layout to reconfigure space for different uses and allow integration of evolving technologies? You've got the Enterprise-D, which is the Explorer configuration. Now remove all the civilians and a bunch of the science labs, etc, and replace them with troop berthing, physical training facilities, combat simulators, fighter squadrons, etc, and you've got a military vessel. Clean out most of the interior of the saucer section and replace it with massive cargo transporters and storage, along with berthing for colonists, and you have a colonization and/or supply vessel. Do the same but with medical facilities and science labs, and you have a hospital ship that can handle planet-wide pandemics.

We never really saw this in the show, but it could have been done. And while the Galaxy Class spaceframe would not neatly fill every needed niche for a starship, this modular approach could significantly reduce the number of classes (designs) you need overall.

I admit, I've often found the over-armed FASA stats for the Galaxy to be amusing compared to the canon configuration of the D. But I could easily see such a Galaxy variant being the YE version, or being built for conflicts like the Dominion War. I'd tend to think Starfleet incorporates a degree of basic modularity into most classes, to allow for routine upgrades and class-specific experimentation. YE Yar said her Enterprise could carry 6,000 troops, and YE Picard said it could outpace the Klingon K'Vorts under ideal conditions.

The Nebula class is considered a battlecruiser within the engine of Starfleet Command 3, rather than the line cruiser that it commonly is in other sources, but it makes sense to me in light of the design's inherent modularity. It's quite possible that Starfleet could build specific batches within a design that have special mission focuses, and so the different roles from various sources could be viewed as under a single umbrella for the class. The USS Phoenix was the only Nebula to have the original rounded pod, while the Melbourne wreckbash for the W359 graveyard had the strange tiny nacelles.

 

[MikHutch]

I'm sure the designers have something in mind but what is shown or spoke of on screen is much more limited.

I just feel like some of these ship designs would benefit from it being more overt on screen

 

[Imaus]

Nope. That's just how it was during TOS. A starship was considered by and large a special type of vessel back then and was separate class of its own from other ships in the fleet. Heck, even Scotty said as much when he appeared in TNG's "Relics."

SCOTTY: You know, I served aboard eleven ships. Freighters, cruisers, starships...

That idea came later in Trek, particularly from TNG onwards. Now, if you want to talk about the term outside of Trek, that's a different subject altogether that should be in the Sci-fi & Fantasy Forum.

Isn't there a big scene where some Spaceship captain berates kirk for being a Starship captain, even though the guy is a merchant and has to obviously be doing FTL runs?

Nevermind, it was Bread and Circuses:

CLAUDIUS: You're a clever liar, Captain Kirk. Merikus was a spaceship captain. I've observed him thoroughly. Your species has no such strength.
MERIK: He commands not just a spaceship, Proconsul, but a starship. A very special vessel and crew. I tried for such a command.

And it was rated as a class four stardrive survey vessel. But I coulda sworn someone else berated kirk for being this big fancy Starship captain while they plonked around. Maybe Starship in this context refers to any ship that can go off a beaten path while Spaceships can just take you from place to place with little to no redundancy?

 

[Mres_was_framed!]

Do the makers of the shows generally have purpose of each class in mind when designing each class?

I just feel like some of these ship designs would benefit from it being more overt on screen

In short, yes, the writers clearly indicate when their stories call for a freighter, medical ship, science ship, etc., which the model makers would have to use to guide their plans and their designs upon, that is their job. However, because the models got reused, and because those purposes are only stated to the extent needed for a story, that purposes are expanded and blurred together for the same class at times.

Also, since torpedoes and probes launch from the same launchers, a science ship in peacetime can become a gunboat/frigate/destroyer/warship/etc. pretty quickly

What if the Galaxy Class could be configured differently for different missions- an 'open architecture' layout to reconfigure space for different uses and allow integration of evolving technologies?

I'd tend to think Starfleet incorporates a degree of basic modularity into most classes,

To an extent, this might be happening in TOS without it being directly stated. The many ships that look like the Enterprise externally but be different internally, even to the extent of a difference in 227 crew without conflicting with what we see onscreen. That could explain the various NCC numbers also, with 1017 and 1672 being perhaps very different from 1701, but not in a way we can see onscreen.

If the weapons systems on TOS ships are under the painted yellow and black square and sound "hatches" then those ships could even have different weaponry or probe launchers, equipping them for very different missions, all without it being visible at all.

That could even make it possible that, looking strictly at TOS and nothing else, that all all classes of actual Starfleet exploration/defense vessels look the same externally. Presumable I'm not actually a fan taking it that far, but it is possible.

In the Star Trek Technical Manual, Franz Joseph added visible ball turrets that would make the Saladin destroyer and the Hermes scout look visibly different, but since those are classes he added that would negate the possibility of all classes of ship looking the same, anyway, it does really argue the point either way.

 

[MikHutch]

Are any Starfleet vessels dedicated research vessels besides the Oberth & the Nova? It feels to me most are either multipurpose (Const., Galaxy, Miranda, Nebula) or combat (Defiant, Akira, Prometheus).

 

[Sirion]

I think they are designed with a main function but are versatile for various purposes. Building a ship requires consuming many resources, and in order to amortize it, it must successfully fulfill different tasks.

 

[Imaus]

After the Dominion War I think Starfleet is undergoing a crash course program to test out new shields, survivability, weapons, and energy output. The Breen and Dominion showed that the Federation needed A) lots of B) modern ships that can not just go toe to toe with an enemy but C) have a quantitative edge above them.

The Federation was invaded, lost billions, lost hundreds of ships, and I bet quite a few of them know that if it wasn't for the wormhole eating up a fleet of a thousand dominion ships, they would be much worse off.

This is the only way I can in-universe justify the what, 40+ classes seen since the Dominion War in the 'Prime' Timeline? The Federation as a whole would be backing more ships and stronger ships for at least a generation or two after that war.

I bet most classes too have a few actual members (See: world war battleship classes post Dreadnaught that had two, four members each but kept building up the ship-building industry and the officers who could handle bigger and better ships) until they hit a good design they spam out, like the Zheng He, Sovreign, and so on. The Edisons seem to be replacing Mirandas, and Californias...something. It'll peeter out in time.

So it's not like Starfleet NEEDS every class to have a thousand examples, but Starfleet is trying to catch up to above-the-horizon threats like the Breen and older powers like the Dominion (and of course, the Borg), until they reach a comfortable level of security again. After all, who knows what the Delta-Beta border, Beta-Gamma border, coreward and fringes of the Alpha and Beta quadrant are hiding? There could be a dozen more Dominions, Breen, competent Klingons, actual-berserker Borgs out there, the Galaxy is still a big scary place.

But yea looking at real world navies, especially modern ones, Starfleet should have a explorer, a heavy cruiser, a frigate, a corvette, and lotttts of weird aux ships :V