Which is the stronger ship, Disco or Enterprise?

[B. L.]

As seen in the show? Not counting spore drive just regular standard loadout.

I just finished S1 and am beginning S2 (7 day free pass on CBS All Access)

So far it's okay. Some of it I don't really love, but I like it enough to keep going.

Does it seem the Disco (and the Shenzhou even) are much larger than Enterprise?

Isn't the Constitution supposed to be a really big deal? Why does it seem smaller than the other ships?

Or is the size unimportant? (Defiant)

Which is strongest in a firefight? Which is faster?

 

[F. King Daniel]

Discovery is definitely bigger (although mostly hollow), we see that at the end of the season.

As for abilities, they seem evenly matched to me.

 

[Jesse1066]

I believe the Enterprise has stronger shields, but they seem pretty even otherwise.

 

[SolarisOne]

The spore drive, if used properly, tilts the odds overwhelmingly in favor of Discovery.

 

[cultcross]

Raw strength, I'd say Enterprise. A deep space explorer vs a science vessel. The Crossfield class is no Oberth that blows up if you sneeze at it, but it's got to be more lightly armed and armoured than a Connie.

 

[ScottJ85]

I would guess they’re about evenly matched but following different design philosophies. Discovery is a brand new state of the art research ship packed with all kinds of cutting edge technology. Enterprise is built for serious long term, long range exploration and may have to operate for long periods without Starfleet support. So it’s designed with proven, reliable (read: older) technologies.

 

[Lundberg]

No idea how long cross field class has been around, but it seems pretty new. Enterprise meanwhile has already been in service a few years by that point .

 

[DaddlerTheDalek]

They seem to be evenly matched.

 

[thribs]

Enterprise. It’s a heavy cruiser and has been recently refitted.

 

[KennyB]

I would say the Enterprise is more of a threat because of its deep space exploration mission. The Discovery before the war was supposed to be mainly a scientific research vessel. But that’s just me. Enterprise is more of a tank. Designed to give and take a solid punch if needed.

 

[Timo]

The Discovery has little offensive power - her pew-pew beams have to be "double hot" to make a dent in Klingon Birds of Prey in S1, while the Enterprise fires continuous beams in the S2 finale to good destructive effect against S31 capital ships.

Against mere drones, both ships do all right. And the Discovery has no problem killing the massive Klingon Ship of the Dead with torps when the enemy shields are down. But defensively... Well, most enemies so far have wanted to capture the hero ship intact, yet she lost shields at the same rate as the scheduled-to-die Enterprise in the S2 finale, perhaps suggesting those shields were no good.

The Enterprise has been referred to as exceptional in dialogue, a weapon of last resort, a favored assignment. Superior combat prowess might well be the reason - or at least the antiquated-looking warp engines or the modest size are unlikely to be superior attributes.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[The Wormhole]

Enterprise because it's the most awesomest ship that ever was awesome, and is even awesomer than that awesomeness.

Awesome.

 

[B. L.]

The spore drive, if used properly, tilts the odds overwhelmingly in favor of Discovery.

I forgot to mention this in my OP, I meant not counting this as it's more of a plot device than an actual spec.

I mean, the crossfield vs Constitution in standard abilities

 

[NewHeavensNewEarth]

I can imagine one of those "Epic Battle" YouTube vids right now, Discovery vs. Enterprise.I can imagine one of those "Epic Battle" YouTube vids right now, Discovery vs. Enterprise.

 

[Lord Garth]

Armed Experimental Science Vessel vs. Heavy Cruiser. The Discovery would have to use its Spore Drive to wear out the Enterprise. The Enterprise can't damage what it can't hit. Only problem is: Discovery has to stop jumping at some point in order to fire and then jump again before the Enterprise can hit them back.

If they fight fair, the Enterprise wins. If they fight dirty, Discovery wins.

 

[Kemaiku]

Does it matter, with them both on the same side, now separated by a thousand years?

I love how we had a ship use itself as a shield to protect another and people still want them to batter each other.

 

[Mudd]

Enterprise.

 

[B. L.]

Does it matter, with them both on the same side, now separated by a thousand years?

I love how we had a ship use itself as a shield to protect another and people still want them to batter each other.

It's less about them facing each other off and more about just evaluating the series' continuity.

 

[XCV330]

Discovery can bench press 300. Enterprise said it could too, if it wanted to look like a dork, but it's busy right now, doing stuff. Everyone knows it did a marathon in 71.
Draw your own conclusions.

Uh which ship is stronger: doesn't matter, they're different classes of ships designed for different roles.
Enterprise was a heavy cruiser designed to conduct long distance diplomatic, peacekeeping and science missions by itself without support craft, including hostile action and unknown scenarios.

Discovery was a science vessel build to test and operate the spore drive. As it was a war time black program, it was also set up for offensive actions. Most of these apparently were hit and run strikes on Klingon targets, but it did take out a Klingon capitol ship using a very dangerous use of its drive.

Discovery's drive system requires the use of a special tardigrade essentially enslaved to the system until it is worn out, or a augmented human combined with tardigrade DNA, in essense it's flying under all manner of wavers as that violates core UFP principals.

So in the "Superman vs Silver Surfer" discussion (Silver Surfer, btw): if crew are all at the same competency levels and the situation in a wargame is an even playing field,Discovery can only best Enterprise by using its problematic spore drive. In a conventional battle, it probably would not hold out.

 

[ITDUDE]

Does it matter, with them both on the same side, now separated by a thousand years?

I love how we had a ship use itself as a shield to protect another and people still want them to batter each other.

Tell that to the F-35 brand new fighter that flew off against a much older F-16 and got its ass handed to it. Ships and planes of the same side absolutely do “virtually fight” against each other, and results are not always obvious.