USS Hornet USS " Hornet " ( NCC - 45231 ) was a 24th century Federation starship operated by Starfleet . In 2368 , the " Hornet " joined Captain Jean - Luc Picard ' s fleet that blockade d the Klingon - Romulan border during the Klingon Civil War . The ship was one of twenty - three assembled for the fleet and was one of the seventeen chosen for the tachyon network . Identified by its name and registry number , the ship ' s position in the network was monitored from the . A plan was hatched by Picard , which he hoped would lure the Romulans through the detection grid . When Gowron launched a full attack against the forces of the House of Duras , the Romulan ships would rush to their aid . During this , the would fall back with feigned engine troubles , taking the and the " Hornet " . In doing so , this would open up a small gap in the detection net for the Romulans to attempt to pass through . As their ships passed through the gap , the " Enterprise " - D and the would swing around , close the gap , and catch the Romulans in the act . The plan was foiled when the network was disrupted by a high - energy burst released by the Romulans , the net was no longer effective in a of ten million kilometer s around the . Subsequently , Picard ordered the fleet to proceed to Gamma Eridon at maximum warp , where the fleet would attempt to reestablish the net before the Romulans got there . ( ) In 2375 , during the Dominion War , " Hornet " put in for repairs at Deep Space 9 . However , in order to bring forward repairs of the Romulan warbird s " Dividices " and " Genorex " , " Hornet " , as well as the , had to stand by . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The ship ' s registry appeared in the okudagram depicting the tachyon detection network in " Redemption II " . According to the , the " Hornet " was a starship . In the first edition of the " Star Trek Encyclopedia " ( p . 320 ) , it was mistakenly stated that the registry number of this ship was NCC - 10523 . According to the " Encyclopedia " ( 4th ed . , vol . 1 , p . 348 ) , the ship was " " named for an American that fought at the in World War II . Years later , another with that name was the recovery vessel for the " Apollo 11 " moon landing mission . " " Purposely , the producers had Starfleet ' s " Hornet " serve alongside USS " Akagi " ( named after a Japanese carrier that fought against the real life " Hornet " at Midway ) in " Redemption II " – episode Writer Ronald D . Moore thought it fitting that , in a future where Humanity had become united by its own accord , ships whose namesakes had fought one another would now fight side - by - side . ( " Encyclopedia " ( 4th ed . , vol . 1 , p . 14 ) ) " Hornet " was a starship name considered by producers D . C . Fontana and Robert Justman at the start of second season of for inclusion in the definitive fourteen ship list belonging to the , at the time still referred to as " " Starship " - class " by them . It was mentioned in the first two , 8 and 9 August 1967 proposals , but ultimately did not make the cut . " Hornet " s historical class - sisters , USS " Yorktown " and ( both having fought alongside their sister at Midway ) , after whom Gene Roddenberry had named his original " Star Trek " starship in succession , had made the cut however . ( " The Making of Star Trek " , pp . 164 - 165 ) " Redemption II " marked the occasion that " Hornet " too was finally inducted into canon . Apocrypha . According to the " Star Fleet Technical Manual " , there was a " Constitution " - class USS " Hornet " in service in the 23rd century with the registry NCC - 1714 ( although the game supplement " Federation Ship Recognition Manual " gives its as registry NCC - 1778 ) . This would seem to be the same " Hornet " that was mentioned as a combatant in the novel " Dreadnought ! " . According to the DC comic book " " , she was captained by the sister of Edward Hagler .