Merriweather Class

===CLASS DESCRIPTION===
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The Merriweather class is a long-range patrol and clandestine operation escort carrier, it is a scaled-down version of the Earhart Class and the generational leap in the technologies designed to bridge the gap between the Akira class and the Seneca Class while allowing force multiplication in combat strategies. 
The Merriweather class is equipped with several specialized technologies that iterate on Starfleet strike carrier configurations as well as low detection and cloaking technologies. She is outfitted with a large hangar capable of servicing 26 total support craft including 16 heavy strike craft, 4 strike support craft 1 personnel shuttle, and one runabout. Her maintenance hangar also contains 4 worker bees and repair drones.
Armament wise she is mostly defensive. Much of her offensive capability comes from four photon torpedo tubes linked in two by two configuration fore, two aft, and a dorsal-mounted array of four tubes set for vertical launch of interceptor missiles. She has 360-degree dedicated PDC coverage but only 2 phaser arrays stacked dorsal and two ventral fore pulse beam emitters. 
She is equipped with an enhanced sensor suite, a Romulan-provided cloaking device, and third-generation deployable ablative armor.
Class Namesake is Rear Admiral Eliza "Merriweather" Ford nee Mayweather, The engineer and pilot responsible for the design of the Peregrine attack ship. She was the great grand-niece of NX-01 Pilot Travis Mayweather.
====Ships of the class:====
*USS Merriweather (NCC 103232)
*USS Protector (NCC 105312)
===SPECIFICATIONS===
----Class Name: Merriweather Class
Class Role: Reconnaissance Carrier
Specialization: Special Operations and Long-range Reconnaissance Patrol
Dimensions
* Overall Length: 299 M
* Overall Width: 160 m
* Overall height: 50 meters
* Mass: 250000 Metric Tons
* Hull: Duraniam Tritanium doubled hull with 45cm ablative armoring.
* Number of decks: 14 with decks 7-14 flanking and including the large hangar and secondary hangars.
Accommodation
* Officers and Crew 115
* Flight Wing- 30 pilots
* Visitors: 20
* Evacuation Limit: 1200 (converting hangar)
Performance
* Full Impulse .38c
* Normal Cruise Speed: Warp 9.7
* Maximum Cruise: Warp 9.992 For 140 hours
* Max velocity: Warp 9.9985 For 60 hours all weapon systems and cloak offline.
* Slipstream: 1-minute spool-up time, 35-minute activation duration.
Weapon Systems
* Ventral-mounted dual pulse phaser emitters
* Point Defense phaser System emplacements mounted dorsal and ventral fore/aft.
* Torpedo Launchers (6x independent firing 4x front 2 x aft)
* Dorsal Dual Beam Phaser Arrax Mark 16
* Dorsal mounted vertical launch point defense missile system 4 bays
Defensive systems
* Regenerative Shields with enhanced flow efficiency.
* Advanced Romulan Cloaking Device- maximum warp of 9.1 under cloak, however no sensor degradation at all allowing for massive intelligence-gathering efforts.
* Third Generation Ablative Armor
Transporter Systems
* X6 Personnel transporters. (max transport 7 normal 5)
* X8 Cargo
Strike-Wing Craft
* 10 Dragon MK 3 Heavy Fighters
* 4 Valkyrie mark V support shuttles
* 6 Berserker Mark II Subwarp fighters in two drop launch hangers.
* 1 Type 12 shuttles
* 1 Yellowstone Type Runabout
* 4 Worker Bees
Resource Storage
* Quantum torpedoes (140/140)
* Tricobalt Torpedos (20)
* Torpedo casings(100)
* Field Rations (2 years worth)
* Spare Parts
* Deuterium(450000)
* Anti-Deuterium (450000)
Special Systems
Advanced Ewar and Elint array - An advanced information warfare suite installed on the Merriweather class can confuse enemy systems and provide ample bandwidth for cyberattack to the officers, it is also loaded with a Virtually Intelligent Control Interface mark III that can assist in the rapidly changing information warfare environment common to ship to ship combat. VICI note DO NOT NAME THE VICI.
Multivariate Slipwarp Reactor
Due to the reduction in the availability of benemite fuel for slipstream drives the Starfleet Corps of engineers started a project known as Project Mercury. The goal of the project was to create a reactor capable of powering a slipstream corridor off of conventional dilithium sources.
Third Generation Ablative armor
Hardened ablative armor designed with the LMC in mind, capable of defending against Elder Obsidian projectiles with some success. When deployed starship cannot go to warp or use on hull phaser arrays relaying only on torpedoes and Point Defense. Its Strike wing must become the offense. System Cannot be maintained indefinitely eventually regeneration will start to fail.
Category:Federation Starship Classes