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Description

U.S.S. Defender NX-85301 Design notes

The U.S.S. Defender was launched in 2410 after an attack on Deep Space Nine by an alien species known as the Hur'q. Thousands of small, agile attack craft that were buried on various planets suddenly attacked the station, inflicting significant damage before being drawn off by the Alliance fleet. Hur'q vessels were extremely well armed and used swarming tactics to surround their targets and overpower them from all angles. Additionally, Hur'q vessels would get close to their targets and detonate themselves, with the aim of destroying both themselves and their intended targets.
The larger warships of Starfleet and the Klingon and Romulan empires found themselves ill equipped to deal with this new threat, as their vessels were too slow at sublight speeds to evade or out-manoeuvre the swarming Hur'q fleet.
Although smaller warships such as the U.S.S. Defiant and other such Escort class vessels proved to be far more effective against the Hur'q swarmers, they still had their limitations against this new threat. Their weaponry was heavily focused in a narrow forward firing arc, hence they struggled with being attacked simultaneously from multiple angles. Only their ability to turn sharply and evade suicide attacks prevented many of them from meeting the same fates as their larger counterparts.
The U.S.S. Defender (aptly named as it was now Bajor's chief defending starship) was Starfleet's answer. At 194.8 metres, she was slightly larger than the Defiant class, but this small increase in internal volume ensured that there was enough space to adequately contain the ship's power and distribution systems - thus ensuring that the Defender avoided the early complications that plagued the Defiant class!
The Defender included all of the innovations from Defiant class, including a compact design, with integrated warp engines, pulse phasers, quantum torpedoes and ablative hull armour. However, the Defender has an even narrower profile, making the ship difficult to target from certain angles. Unlike the Defiant, the Defender was able to* land and take off from a planet and engage in atmospheric combat.
In a direct response the Hur'q threat, Starfleet received assistance from an unlikely source - the Cardassians, who shared technical specifications of their ATR series of 'Dreadnought' missiles. Specifically, the missile's plasma wave weapon was appropriated and built into the Defender's arsenal. This type of weapon emitted a 360° burst of plasma, that created an energetic wave that was nearly impossible to evade. This weapon was most useful when used against multiple small targets, as it allowed the Defender to attack several targets at once. Whilst devastating at close range, distant ships were spared the full brunt of the impact, as the plasma quickly spread out over a wider area.
Finally, the Defender was also equipped with a cloaking device for use in its forays into the Gamma quadrant.

*It should be noted that although a landing gear was included in the MSD of the U.S.S. Defiant, the ship was never seen landing on a planet and it has never been confirmed that the ship would be able to do this. Furthermore, Ben Sisko once observed that the ship "...wasn't designed " for atmospheric combat.

Sketchup Model Link: 3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model…

Description

U.S.S. Defender NX-85301 Design notes

The U.S.S. Defender was launched in 2410 after an attack on Deep Space Nine by an alien species known as the Hur'q. Thousands of small, agile attack craft that were buried on various planets suddenly attacked the station, inflicting significant damage before being drawn off by the Alliance fleet. Hur'q vessels were extremely well armed and used swarming tactics to surround their targets and overpower them from all angles. Additionally, Hur'q vessels would get close to their targets and detonate themselves, with the aim of destroying both themselves and their intended targets.
The larger warships of Starfleet and the Klingon and Romulan empires found themselves ill equipped to deal with this new threat, as their vessels were too slow at sublight speeds to evade or out-manoeuvre the swarming Hur'q fleet.
Although smaller warships such as the U.S.S. Defiant and other such Escort class vessels proved to be far more effective against the Hur'q swarmers, they still had their limitations against this new threat. Their weaponry was heavily focused in a narrow forward firing arc, hence they struggled with being attacked simultaneously from multiple angles. Only their ability to turn sharply and evade suicide attacks prevented many of them from meeting the same fates as their larger counterparts.
The U.S.S. Defender (aptly named as it was now Bajor's chief defending starship) was Starfleet's answer. At 194.8 metres, she was slightly larger than the Defiant class, but this small increase in internal volume ensured that there was enough space to adequately contain the ship's power and distribution systems - thus ensuring that the Defender avoided the early complications that plagued the Defiant class!
The Defender included all of the innovations from Defiant class, including a compact design, with integrated warp engines, pulse phasers, quantum torpedoes and ablative hull armour. However, the Defender has an even narrower profile, making the ship difficult to target from certain angles. Unlike the Defiant, the Defender was able to* land and take off from a planet and engage in atmospheric combat.
In a direct response the Hur'q threat, Starfleet received assistance from an unlikely source - the Cardassians, who shared technical specifications of their ATR series of 'Dreadnought' missiles. Specifically, the missile's plasma wave weapon was appropriated and built into the Defender's arsenal. This type of weapon emitted a 360° burst of plasma, that created an energetic wave that was nearly impossible to evade. This weapon was most useful when used against multiple small targets, as it allowed the Defender to attack several targets at once. Whilst devastating at close range, distant ships were spared the full brunt of the impact, as the plasma quickly spread out over a wider area.
Finally, the Defender was also equipped with a cloaking device for use in its forays into the Gamma quadrant.

*It should be noted that although a landing gear was included in the MSD of the U.S.S. Defiant, the ship was never seen landing on a planet and it has never been confirmed that the ship would be able to do this. Furthermore, Ben Sisko once observed that the ship "...wasn't designed " for atmospheric combat.

Sketchup Model Link: 3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model…