What excactly is the Intrepid Class???

[Infern0]

If we boil down all the stuff that the writers added and excagerated just for plot convinience, what are we left with?

I was always of the opinion that Intrepids were long range scouts, with a bit better defenses than regular scouts. But not a cruiser/battleship of any kind.

What is your opinion

 

[RyuRoots]

A science ship was always the impression that I got. Sophistocated sensor suites and such (and it's a neat idea that an astrometrics lab could be a standard for the class when VOY got home, I think) while being fast, but not as strong as the bigger ships.

 

[nx1701g]

I read in one of the behind the scenes books that Voyager was supposed to be a light explorer.

 

[caisson2delta]

I gathered, as well, that it was some sort of short duration explorer. It also seemed somewhat state of the art when launched with it's bio neural circuitry and such, the EMH, etc.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I've always referred to the Intrepid-class as being a cruiser, a multipurpose starship. Like the Constitution-class a century earlier, it can do everything from deep-space exploration, scientific research, courier and logistical operations, and even sector defense and interdiction missions, if necessary.

 

[Deks]

I've always referred to the Intrepid-class as being a cruiser, a multipurpose starship. Like the Constitution-class a century earlier, it can do everything from deep-space exploration, scientific research, courier and logistical operations, and even sector defense and interdiction missions, if necessary.

Very true.
The unofficial specifications of the ship (well, the creators of the show) indicated it has same shields and weapons like the Galaxy class.
Or in essence ... it's a shrunken down Galaxy class with lower torpedo compliment (then again, it's maximum torpedo compliment is also vague at best since I doubt it can only hold 35 torpedoes given it's size, and that the Defiant class was able to house far more while effectively being half as large).

It makes sense actually since it was made roughly a decade later than the Galaxy that SF would be able to create equally powerful ships in a smaller package.

 

[Kaziarl]

I've always referred to the Intrepid-class as being a cruiser, a multipurpose starship. Like the Constitution-class a century earlier, it can do everything from deep-space exploration, scientific research, courier and logistical operations, and even sector defense and interdiction missions, if necessary.

Very true.
The unofficial specifications of the ship (well, the creators of the show) indicated it has same shields and weapons like the Galaxy class.
Or in essence ... it's a shrunken down Galaxy class with lower torpedo compliment (then again, it's maximum torpedo compliment is also vague at best since I doubt it can only hold 35 torpedoes given it's size, and that the Defiant class was able to house far more while effectively being half as large).

It makes sense actually since it was made roughly a decade later than the Galaxy that SF would be able to create equally powerful ships in a smaller package.

Does that automatically mean its a cruiser like the constitution? I always imagined that the when the state of the art shields of today got replaced with the next gen one, that the old ones would be bumped down to the smaller ships. So of course it would end up getting the Galaxy type shields.

Anyway, I think the intrepid class definitely went above and beyond what it was designed for, but I got the impression that it was an interceptor/scout. And while it did have the powerful sensors for scientific missions, I think they were for searching as they were doing in Voyagers first mission trying to find the Maquis ship. beyond that she definitely seemed well rounded.

 

[Deks]

Does that automatically mean its a cruiser like the constitution? I always imagined that the when the state of the art shields of today got replaced with the next gen one, that the old ones would be bumped down to the smaller ships. So of course it would end up getting the Galaxy type shields.

That's how things work in the real world, but we do not know if SF's technology works in the same fashion or is restricted to same limitations.
The Defiant for example was churning out much more fire power compared to the Galaxy class in terms of bringing down Jem'Hadaar bug ships.
'Bigger = better' was not always a factor in Trek (although sometimes it was).
Due to the Dominion War and the fact that the opposing power had the ability to churn out ships at a faster rate, it's reasonable to think that SF wanted to give it's smaller ships better capabilities, making numerous classes on similar or equal footing as the larger ship classes.

Anyway, I think the intrepid class definitely went above and beyond what it was designed for, but I got the impression that it was an interceptor/scout. And while it did have the powerful sensors for scientific missions, I think they were for searching as they were doing in Voyagers first mission trying to find the Maquis ship. beyond that she definitely seemed well rounded.

That gave you an indication the Intrepid class was an interceptor/scout?
Hm ... I didn't see it that way.
The sole reason it was sent after the Maqui ship was due to it's ability to go through the Badlands in one piece, whereas it was stated that other SF ships in the past had lots of issues with hull integrity and navigation of that area of space to begin with.

Apart from that, how did Voyager go above and beyond of what it was designed exactly?
I agree that it went through numerous situations, but had it not been designed for space (which is pretty big btw) exploration, then I doubt it would survive the first year in the DQ.

The crew of course made numerous modifications to the ship itself and had to improvise in order to improve it's functionality and compensate for potential problems, but that is expected to happen on any vessel when in deep space.

The thing is that Voyager was not meant to be sent on a deep space mission on it's first assignment and was not supplied for such a task (hence the problem with resources and torpedoes we witnessed).
Since the ship was barely released into service into a simple search/retrieval mission, SF hardly thought it necessary to equip the vessel with abundance of things for such a task.
And even more so, the ship was supposed to be back in 2 weeks.

So I think the design proved to be a huge success after the crew made it back mostly in one piece (with some losses), and likely demonstrated to SF that any class of ship can make it if the crew is resourceful enough.

 

[JarodRussell]

Wasn't it also supposed to be the fastest ship class in the fleet?

 

[Kaziarl]

That gave you an indication the Intrepid class was an interceptor/scout?
Hm ... I didn't see it that way.
The sole reason it was sent after the Maqui ship was due to it's ability to go through the Badlands in one piece, whereas it was stated that other SF ships in the past had lots of issues with hull integrity and navigation of that area of space to begin with.

Meaning it could quickly get in, maneuver, and get out of an area most other ships couldn't. Which is traditionally the role of the scout. I say interceptor because thats often a dual role for a scout.

Apart from that, how did Voyager go above and beyond of what it was designed exactly?
I agree that it went through numerous situations, but had it not been designed for space (which is pretty big btw) exploration, then I doubt it would survive the first year in the DQ.

Sure it was designed for space exploration, so is an Oberth class which afik is considered a dedicated science type vessel. Do you think that an Oberth would survive too? Voyager went through quite a bit more then any ship ever was intended.

The crew of course made numerous modifications to the ship itself and had to improvise in order to improve it's functionality and compensate for potential problems, but that is expected to happen on any vessel when in deep space.

Yes they did, and I applaud their ingenuity in many cases.

The thing is that Voyager was not meant to be sent on a deep space mission on it's first assignment and was not supplied for such a task (hence the problem with resources and torpedoes we witnessed).
Since the ship was barely released into service into a simple search/retrieval mission, SF hardly thought it necessary to equip the vessel with abundance of things for such a task.
And even more so, the ship was supposed to be back in 2 weeks.

Good point, but even fully staffed and stocked from the get go, I still think being stranded in the DQ was a little more then what the scope of the design initially covered.

So I think the design proved to be a huge success after the crew made it back mostly in one piece (with some losses), and likely demonstrated to SF that any class of ship can make it if the crew is resourceful enough.

I completely agree, which is pretty much what I said before you asked how I thought it preformed better then initially designed. Perhaps I didn't word it clearly enough in the first place, and if so I apologize.

 

[BrotherBenny]

It is supposed to be a multi-purpose science/scout ship, hence the reason it was designed to land on planetary surfaces, to facilitate the crew's equipment being offloaded onto said surface for survey purposes, and because at the time of launch it was the fastest ship in the fleet, or perhaps second only to the Sovereign-class ships.

 

[Timo]

We don't really know that the Intrepids were the fastest ships in the fleet when they were new - we only know their crews liked to brag about the speed of their ships, but that might not be based on anything solid. Still, I'd very much like to think that speed was indeed the defining factor of the ship class - that, and maneuverability, another thing the crew bragged about, and also an explicit plot point (no other class could maneuver that well in the Badlands).

We might also remember TNG "Force of Nature" where the Chief Engineer of the until then superbly fast Enterprise-D was in good-natured competition with the Chief Engineer of the Intrepid about engine efficiency. Perhaps the other ship was indeed the prototype of the newcomer class, and thus a worthy competitior?

Other factors that have sometimes been reputed to be unique to the Intrepid class are never really confirmed on screen. For example, we have no onscreen reason to believe that this would be the first or only large starship class capable of planetary landing and takeoff. Or that the moving nacelles would be unique, or related to the landing capacity, or to the high speed, or to warp pollution, or anything.

Weapons types are debatable, and I for one find it quite implausible that the ship would carry the same type of armament as the massively larger Galaxy class. The DS9 Tech Manual for example seems to hold the opinion that Type 8, not Type 10, is typical for ships of that primary hull shape and general size.

We have only seen this ship type operated by Starfleet on two types of mission: hunting down the Maquis in "Caretaker" (where agility and speed were essential), and carrying delegates to and from Romulus during the Dominion War in "Inter Arma" (where speed and perhaps defenses would be essential). Everything else the Voyager did was because the ship had no other option; perhaps back on the Alpha Quadrant, some different type of ship would have been sent to perform all those other types of work we saw in VOY.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[EmperorTiberius]

It looks like a light cruiser, or if you use the "Age of Sail" analogy, which I think fits better with Star Trek ships, she's a frigate. As for the firepower, I also doubt that she's a mach for the big ships or the defiant.

 

[Myasishchev]

If we boil down all the stuff that the writers added and excagerated just for plot convinience, what are we left with?

I was always of the opinion that Intrepids were long range scouts, with a bit better defenses than regular scouts. But not a cruiser/battleship of any kind.

What is your opinion

A very fast ship in which Admiral Ross could run away if necessary.

I've always referred to the Intrepid-class as being a cruiser, a multipurpose starship. Like the Constitution-class a century earlier, it can do everything from deep-space exploration, scientific research, courier and logistical operations, and even sector defense and interdiction missions, if necessary.

I could live with CL for the Intrepid, although I'd probably say it's more of a DD--which is the same classification I put Reliants and indeed Defiants in. Both CLs and DDs have similar roles anyway. For context, I think of Excelsiors and Sovs as CAs, with the Sov arguably being better-designated as CCs (battlecruisers in old-school USN parlance, RN used the more obvious abbreviation BC), and maybe BB. Akiras I think of as CLs (I could live with CA, particularly if we kick the Sov upstairs to BB). Galaxies I think would inarguably be designated BBs.

The Prometheus, of course, is a Decepticon, similar to Devastator.

Edit: oh, in case anyone isn't familiar with USN hull designations:

BB = battleship
CA = heavy cruiser
CL = light cruiser
DD = destroyer

 

[The Wormhole]

I always found it odd we did see many other Intrepids. Aside from Voyager, there was only the Bellerophon that we saw in that episode of DS9.

 

[NIUPonyBoy]

I thought, the Voyager at least, was a "factory freak" that could take an unlimited beating from the Borg?

 

[I am not Spock]

I always thought she was a light cruiser or a frigate. Ideal for recon or scientific missions. And the Voyager's mission to find Chakotay's Maquis ship in 'Caretaker' certainly fits that profile.

One question I have is: what is the difference between the mission goals of the Sovereign and Intrepid classes? They're kind of similar in design and capabilities. We often saw the ENT-E performing diplomatic missions (the beginnings of Insurrection and Nemesis).

 

[Cyke101]

I always thought she was a light cruiser or a frigate. Ideal for recon or scientific missions. And the Voyager's mission to find Chakotay's Maquis ship in 'Caretaker' certainly fits that profile.

One question I have is: what is the difference between the mission goals of the Sovereign and Intrepid classes? They're kind of similar in design and capabilities. We often saw the ENT-E performing diplomatic missions (the beginnings of Insurrection and Nemesis).

That's a good question. I know diplomatic meetings were often held in Voyager's mess hall, but I can't remember if the same was done with the Romulans on the Bellopheron. But the mess hall seems so inadequate for such missions as well, certainly not like Ten Forward.

But, given the Sovereign's size and the E-E's feats in Nemesis, I'd certainly say that she's much more geared for combat missions than the Intrepid is. Sadly, I don't think we get much of a taste of the Sovereign's science and research abilities, abilities that have saved Voyager time and again.

 

[SilentP]

I always took the Sovereign to be a battleship, with a de-emphasis on science capabilities, a compared with the Galaxy, that (assuming upgrades over time) had the same weapon capabilities and extensive exploratory and science facilities.

As for the Intrepid, I agree with the sentiment that it seem to be more of an light cruiser, with perhaps an emphasis on long range assignments (didn't Janeway say something like Voyager being designed for long range tactical missions in the series pilot?) with some extra science provisions over an 'average' design of the same tonnage.

 

[barnaclelapse]

I always assumed it was some kind of small cruiser, fighter ship-sort-of-thing.