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:''This article is on the Sovereign class used by Starfleet in the Star Trek fictional universe. For information on the ''Sovereign''-class of ship used by the
Galactic Empire in the
Star Wars universe, see
Super Star Destroyer.''
In the
fictional universe of
Star Trek, the '''Sovereign''' class of
starships were the most advanced and powerful ships in
Starfleet from the mid-2370s onward. The Sovereign class design is similar to traditional
Federation starship design with a
ellipse-shaped
saucer section directly attached to the engineering section. The main bridge, lifeboats,
sensors, a shuttlebay and dorsal
phaser arrays are at the top of the
saucer section while the ship's ventral phaser arrays, a captain's yacht and additional
lifeboats occupy the ventral side of the saucer. The sleek engineering section features the main
navigational deflector, two large
warp nacelles, forward torpedo launchers and an additional shuttlebay.
Despite its size, the Sovereign class was designated as a heavy cruiser, displaying
Starfleet's increased emphasis on combat ready starships over exploration during the tumultuous 2370's.
With 24 decks and measuring 689
meters in length, it was longer but less massive than the
Galaxy class that preceded it as the
Federation's flagship class. As of 2379, the Sovereign class starship ''Enterprise'' remains the
flagship of Starfleet.
Numerous encounters with advanced threat forces during the 2370s, namely the
Borg and the
Dominion, prompted Starfleet to emphasize the class' battle potential over exploration capabilities, making it the most powerful starship in Starfleet in its day. The Sovereign class was equipped with type-twelve phaser arrays (the most powerful available for starship use at the time),
quantum torpedoes, and standard
photon torpedoes.
As with the Galaxy class before it, Sovereign class vessels underwent at least one major upgrade only a few years after entering service, namely to increase the quantity and coverage of the ship's weaponry. This refit occured sometime between the events of ''
Star Trek: Insurrection'' and ''
Star Trek: Nemesis''.
In real life, the Sovereign class was designed by
Rick Sternbach,
Herman Zimmerman and illustrator
John Eaves for ''
Star Trek: First Contact''.
==Specifications==
*Production facility:
San Francisco Fleet Yards,
Earth
*Type: Explorer/Heavy cruiser
*Dimensions:
**Height: 88.39 m
**Length: 685.80 m
**Beam: 243.84 m
*Decks: 24
*
Displacement: 3,205,000 metric tons
*Accommodation: 855 standard
*Propulsion:
**One
matter/
antimatter reactor powering two twenty-six-coil non-destructive
warp engines
**Two impulse engines
*Performance: Warp 9.7 cruise; maximum speed unknown
*Weaponry:
**12 type XII
phaser arrays (original); 16 type XII phaser arrays (refitted)
**4 photon torpedo launchers, 2 forward, 2 aft (original); 8 photon torpedo launchers, 3 forward, 5 aft (refitted)
**1
quantum torpedo turret launcher (firing rate of 4 torpedoes per second per one second volley)
*Defenses:
**Automatically modulated regenerative
deflector shields
**Heavy
duranium/
tritanium double hull
**
Ablative armor
*Auxiliary vessels:
**Personnel shuttlecraft stored in two shuttlebays, including at least one Type-11 shuttlecraft
**1 warp-capable captain's yacht, embedded in the ventral area of the saucer
**Possibly other types of craft
==Known Sovereign class starships==
*
USS ''Enterprise'' (NCC-1701-E)
**Commanded by Captain
Jean-Luc Picard, the ''Enterprise''-E was launched on stardate 49027.5 from the San Francisco Yards and patrolled the
Romulan Neutral Zone for one year. Circa stardate 50893.5, the ''Enterprise'' fought in the
Battle of Sector 001 before being transported back to 2063 where she was partially assimilated by the
Borg attempting to prevent
first contact. In 2375, the ''Enterprise''-E prevented the relocation of the
Baku people from their planet in the Briar Patch in sector 441. Circa stardate 56844.9, the ''Enterprise'' was ordered to
Romulus to meet with new praetor,
Shinzon, who built the the
Reman warbird Scimitar. The ''Enterprise'' was severely damaged while fighting the ''Scimitar'' in the Bassen Rift in sector 1045.
*
USS ''Sovereign'' (NCC-75000, ex-NX-75000)
**The starship ''Sovereign'' was the
pathfinder of its class.
{| style="margin:0 auto;" id=toc align=center
|align=center| '''
Star Trek starship classes'''
'''
Starfleet'''
Akira |
Ambassador |
Andromeda |
Antares |
Apollo† |
Bradbury |
Challenger |
Cheyenne† |
Chimera |
Constellation |
Constitution |
Daedalus |
Danube |
Defiant |
Deneva† |
Erewon |
Excelsior |
Freedom† |
Galaxy |
Hokule'a† |
Istanbul† |
Intrepid |
Korolev† |
Mediterranean |
Merced† |
Miranda |
Nebula |
New Orleans† |
Niagara† |
Norway |
Nova |
NX |
Oberth |
Olympic |
Peregrine† |
Prometheus |
Renaissance |
Rigel† |
Saber |
Sequoia |
Sovereign |
Soyuz |
Springfield |
Steamrunner |
Surak |
Sydney |
Wambundu† |
Wells |
Yellowstone |
Yorkshire† |
Zodiac
{| width="100%"
|align="center"|
'''
Klingon Empire'''
B'rel |
D5 |
D7 |
K't'inga |
K'Vort |
Negh'Var |
Raptor |
Vor'cha
|align="center"|
'''
Borg Collective'''
Cube |
Probe |
Queen's ship |
Scout |
Sphere |
Tactical cube
|-
|align="center"|
'''
Romulan Star Empire'''
Bird of Prey |
D7 |
D'deridex |
Valdore
|align="center"|
'''
The Jem'Hadar'''
Attack ship |
Battlecruiser
|-
|align="center"|
'''
Cardassian Union'''
Galor |
Hideki |
Keldon
|align="center"|
'''
Ferengi Alliance'''
D'Kora
|}
'''
The Xindi'''
Degra's ship |
Reptilian ship |
Insectoid ship
† indicates conjectural classes
|-
|align=center|
|}
==External links==
*
Sovereign class at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek WikiWiki
*
STARTREK.COM - Sovereign Class
*
"Sovereign class" at the Neutral Zone Starship Database
