I'm watching my DVR of Shadows of P'Jem and just after word comes down that T'Pol is leaving, there's a scene with her and Dr Phlox in the mess hall. Phlox tells her "You realize you're not the first Vulcan officer posted aboard a human starship. The High Command has tried this before, but none of the others lasted more than a few weeks..." Wait. I thought the Enterprise was the first and only starship that Starfleet sent out. In fact in First Flight, the 602 Club, Archer & his friend A. G. Robinson talk about who's getting the second ship and so on. Did I miss something ? Outtake that got left in ? Even Bernd Schneider's site didn't mention it in the episode critique... http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/episodes/ent1a.htm >
enterprise is the only warp five starship at that time. so she is going to previously unexplored territory by humans. but there are indeed other starfleet ships that we both here mentioned and even see from time to time.
yes, whenever earth has a defensive issue, we see other space-capable earth craft, but I'm not sure it's the same thing. so you're saying that these other ships are zipping around the immediate vicinity of earth with Vulcans on them. luckily I have Broken Bow still. I'll have to go back and watch that first ep again. I might be mistaking the hoopla with the recording of Cochrane with some sort of "here we go" type of deal. maybe the conversations with the Vulcans in the hospital will reveal something. The Vulcan presence permeates the entire series, especially early on. I'm surprised the NX-Alpha didn't have a 3rd seat for a Vulcan tri-pilot it just seemed weird though. >
I think Forest's lines during the launch of Enterprise addresses your question. He mentions Enterprise being the first starship with the engine, like pookha had said.