And if your best cards are out there outside your reach, and they can't answer your call of arm just because of the range, What can you do?
The Enterprise D, an exploration ship?
- Thread starter Brainsucker
- Start date
And if your best cards are out there outside your reach, and they can't answer your call of arm just because of the range, What can you do?
Build dedicated warships, and keep them near the center of Federation space as a reserve force.
As I see it:
Sovereign class = battleship
Akira class = battle cruiser
Defiant class = destroyer.
As I see it:
Sovereign class = battleship
Akira class = battle cruiser
Defiant class = destroyer.
But it also reinforce that the USS Enterprise D is not an exploration ship. Well yes, we can use the word of "explore" to move around the house that we live. But are you really an explorer if you do that? Nope. In your own home, you call it scientific project.
But what about to build dedicated exploration ships? So instead of using a multi role like the Enterprise D, they should send a dedicated ship that the job is only to explore. As exploration missions are always long term and far (outreach from your core world)
I agree Brainsucker, I think that the Galaxy class was a prestige project, green lit when the Federation was fat and happy.
For exploration, I would build something like the Constellation class. It appears to have duplicate systems, such as warp nacelles, which might be helpful if your equipment breaks down far from home.
Maybe the Cheyenne class?
For exploration, I would build something like the Constellation class. It appears to have duplicate systems, such as warp nacelles, which might be helpful if your equipment breaks down far from home.
Maybe the Cheyenne class?
Well, we talk about the Enterprise D era. Specially in her early service time, lol. In the late 24th century (the DS9 and Voyager) era, this problem has been solved. As the Earth was protected by their best ships (Galaxy, Akira, Defiant, Steamrunner, etc).
So, if the Explorer is a futuristic addition to the collection of mission classes, a few step above Cruiser, then it is making sense. Maybe the meaning of explorer in here is not specifically to explore, but more of deep space capability that the ship possessed. Or it is the ship that can reach farthest in the deep space. It's not necessarily doing exploration mission, although it can be use for it. And because it can reach far away from the home, it can also reach deep inside the enemy space. A ship that can be used to invade the enemy territory.
It just like the current model of naval capability in the real world; the brown water, green water, and the blue water navy. And for the futuristic space ships, there are also core space, near space, and deep space.
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That's really an issue of semantics. Exploration is still exploration, an investigation of the unknown, regardless of where it is. It can take place far away or close to home. The Galaxy-class is a true multimission vessel, but that doesn't take away its capabilities as an exploration platform, and probably still one of the best the Federation Starfleet has produced.
I think that in the aftermath of the Dominion War, the cutting edge/latest and greatest ships (those that survived the war) would be kept in or near Federation space.
As for a prestige-project/"cruise ship", I doubt that any new ones would be built for many years. The existing/surviving Galaxy class ships would be it.
As for a prestige-project/"cruise ship", I doubt that any new ones would be built for many years. The existing/surviving Galaxy class ships would be it.
A case could probably be made that Starfleet never intended to build the Galaxy-class in great numbers to begin with. Ten or twelve ships may have been all that were going to produced, especially if Starfleet ship building policies may have start leaning towards smaller ships, IMO.
A short production run is implied if the Galaxy class is:
1. A prestige project
2. Resource intensive
Actually, I think that the Ambassador class was an earlier prestige project, with a similarly short production run.
1. A prestige project
2. Resource intensive
Actually, I think that the Ambassador class was an earlier prestige project, with a similarly short production run.
Reposting:
Saber mark II. I think this ship will be the successor to the Miranda class.
http://www.phoenixium.com/galleryvehicles/saber/saber.htm
With this design you would have a modern vessel, but much more like a coast guard cutter than a cruise ship. If you can mass produce this ship, you could have a large defensive force.
Saber mark II. I think this ship will be the successor to the Miranda class.
http://www.phoenixium.com/galleryvehicles/saber/saber.htm
With this design you would have a modern vessel, but much more like a coast guard cutter than a cruise ship. If you can mass produce this ship, you could have a large defensive force.
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I think to an extent the problem is an outdated concept of defense strategy and an overly limited concept of exploration. First consider that a galaxy class is always exploring. That whole multi mission thing is no misnomer, at any given time she will be carrying out dozens of missions beyond her current primary assignment, playing host to researchers using her facilities to analyse samples, review sensor data, so on and so forth. Exploration does not start and finish with physically travelling to a place, but the long process of learning afterwards. The capability to act as a mobile university campus space is what makes the class an explorer.
From a defence point of view we don't really see starfleet using the defence in depth strategy you suggest. Planetary defense is best handled by static emplacements anyway with fleet assets fulfilling their intended mobile role, directly working together only in cases of dire threat. The federation is huge and scattered, with starfleet using it's powerful vessels in a force projection role, dealing with trouble hotspots and acting in a deterrent capacity. Think of modern superpower deploymemts, wherein assets are deployed often far from home soil to counteract threats at the formative/diplomatic stage rather than idly sitting near home ports. Its simply a far more efficient and dynamic approach suited to large scattered powers with highly mobile and flexible forces. The very fact of facing complete unknowns in the depths of space is arguably the strongest case for multi mission profiles, given that surviving such threats so often requires crews to adapt their technology and understanding rather than simply relying on firepower.
From a defence point of view we don't really see starfleet using the defence in depth strategy you suggest. Planetary defense is best handled by static emplacements anyway with fleet assets fulfilling their intended mobile role, directly working together only in cases of dire threat. The federation is huge and scattered, with starfleet using it's powerful vessels in a force projection role, dealing with trouble hotspots and acting in a deterrent capacity. Think of modern superpower deploymemts, wherein assets are deployed often far from home soil to counteract threats at the formative/diplomatic stage rather than idly sitting near home ports. Its simply a far more efficient and dynamic approach suited to large scattered powers with highly mobile and flexible forces. The very fact of facing complete unknowns in the depths of space is arguably the strongest case for multi mission profiles, given that surviving such threats so often requires crews to adapt their technology and understanding rather than simply relying on firepower.
That's because the homeland's defense out to several hundred miles is aircraft.
And
And in Best of Both Worlds we see that there's a Mars perimeter with defense craft for Earth. OK, the Borg make scrap out of them, but they were there.
And throughout trek we see that planetary defence is handled largely by dedicated units, be they short range craft as in the Mars defence perimeter or static emplacements.
Star ships and their crews are simply too valuable to gave sat in orbit idly for years at a time gaining no experience and contributing nothing worthy. In addition they are clearly less effective as weapons platforms than dedicated defenses anyway.
Starfleets defensive strategy is more proactive and the described defence in depth is simply not what we see happen
The Borg also made scrap out of the fleet of starships sent to stop it, it's just that the pieces of scrap were larger.
If the starbases have phasers like the verteron array (which has sufficient range to precisely shoot Starfleet Command on Earth from Mars) then parking a fleet at primary worlds might not be needed. However, we know Earth either has a dedicated fleet or a fleet nearby on call. The Wolf 359 fleet is called together on fairly short notice and that comprised 30 ships. The fleet which met the Borg Sphere in "Endgame" (not the 7 which escort Voyager after the Sphere's destructino) is almost 30 ships with minutes, instead of hours, to assemble.
I think the galaxy class is obviously a multi role starship. A very big and very powerful one. The federation put everything of their latest technologies and design onto the ship. Thus galaxy is very capable to fill any role given to it. The federation rely on the galaxy class for their deep space exploration, high risk scientific mission, dangerous first contact incident ,even to the brutal large scale war with high expectation. So she is both explorer and battleship. (Though galaxy to be a battleship mentioned during the series). Soo expensive, that they need to build other more cheaper, smaller, and dedicated ship such as nebula, akira, and intrepid as their work horse.
