Avenger class

## SPACECRAFT CLASS

Class development project patch (Thomas Marrone).

The ***Avenger*-class** was a type of spacecraft developed by Starfleet in the early 25th century.

## History

The *Avenger*-class was designed by the Starfleet Corps of Engineers as a replacement for the *Inquiry*-class in order to compete with the smaller, more agile vessels in use by the Klingon Defense Force in the Last Federation-Klingon War. With an emphasis on combat rather than exploration, the engineers put mobility and weaponry in a small design.

The cloaking device was not the only controversial addition to the *Avenger*-class. The inclusion of a unique launcher for a ship-killing warhead, known as the Variable Auto-targeting Armament (VATA), did not sit well with those within Starfleet who saw their starships as a means of defense and exploration.

The USS *Avenger*, prototype of the class, entered official trials in 2406 and was followed by five additional vessels in 2407.

The class's development sparked a minor arms race between Starfleet and the Klingon Defense Force, resulting in the Klingon Empire's introduction of the similarly performing *Mogh*-class battlecruiser in 2407.

Two years later, Starfleet engineers applied some minor updates to the USS *Bellipotent*, creating a new Mark II variant of the class. Moving forward, when *Avenger* vessels came in for maintenance they would be refit to the new specifications. New construction of *Avenger* vessels was suspended with the creation of the *Arbiter*-class, an updated subclass of the *Avenger* design, in 2409.

## Technical specifications

### Physical arrangement

Despite adhering to Starfleet's traditional cruiser design pattern of a large saucer connected to an engineering hull, with two outboard warp nacelles, the combat focus of the *Avenger*-class was expressed in nearly every aspect. It was compact with a thick, reinforced hull. The bridge was protected by two armored braces that merged with the split neck.

The warp nacelles, mounted on upward curving pylons, were blocky and rectangular in design, with optional fins for quantum slipstream stability. The class's deflector dish was heavily armored, with only a small portion exposed, unlike the larger, open dishes of other Starfleet designs. The *Avenger* had few windows, and those that were present were recessed into armored niches that automatically sealed during red alert.

Built for combat, like the *Defiant*-class before it, the *Avenger* was classified as a destroyer.

#### Deck plan

The following was the standard internal layout of *Avenger*-class vessels.

 2
 4
 5
 6
 10
 12

### Propulsion systems

Powered by a rapid-pulse matter-antimatter reaction assembly. The main impulse engines were located at the aft of the saucer section while auxiliary impulse engines were mounted on the nacelle pylons.

### Tactical systems

The *Avenger* destroyer was built with an ablative parametallic hull. For added defense, the design incorporated armored shutters that would move to cover its inset viewports and warp nacelles when the ship entered red alert status.

Ships of the class mounted fourteen type-X phasers and a single type-IX phaser, all making use of Annular Confinement Beam-jacketing devices, eight type-XII phasers, and four variable-payload launch tubes. The class also carried six Variable Auto-targeting Armament (VATA) warheads, which were launched from a tube located beneath the deflector array.

Later production starships included Federation-model cloaking devices.

## Derivatives

### Mark II variant

In 2409 a Mark II variant, nicknamed after the first class to receive the refit, the USS *Bellipotent,* was developed and applied to *Avenger*-class hulls undergoing repairs that year. Some minor structural changes included a modification of the pylons that placed the nacelles parallel to the secondary hull, while all other changes involved system upgrades.

### *Arbiter*

Developed during the tumultuous year 2409, and implementing many of the rapid technological gains Starfleet experienced during the Last Federation-Klingon War, the *Arbiter*-class made significant changes both aesthetically and technologically to the basic *Avenger* design.

## Appendices

### Connections

**Project groups:** **Union Station** (*Geneva* • *Concorde* • *Presidio*) • **Century Cruiser** (*Springfield* • *New Orleans* • *Challenger* • *Niagara* • *Freedom II* • *Galaxy* • *Nebula* • *Cheyenne*) • **Multi-Mission explorers** (*Brigid* • *Esquiline* • *Palatine*) • **Deep Shadow** (*Eclipse* • *Phantom* • *Scryer*) • **Miracle Worker** (*Scott* • *Daystrom* • *Tucker* • *Gagarin*) • **Aeronaut** (*Mercury* • *Ajax* • *Icarus* • *Shran*)

**Other named classes:** *Aegian* • *Aerie* • *Akula* • *Atlas* • *California* • *Centaur* • *Challenger* • *Cheyenne* • *Constellation* • *Constitution III* • *Crossfield* • *Curry* • *Daedalus* • *Dauntless* • *Excelsior II* • *Freedom II* • *Gemini* • *Glenn* • *Guardian* • *Inquiry* • *Iwo Jima* • *Jupiter* • *Lexington* • *Niagara* • *Obena* • *Okinawa* • *Parliament* • *Perseus* • *Pioneer* • *Ranger* • *Sagan* • *Solanae* • *Springfield* • *Turing* • *Ulysses*

**Auxiliary craft:** *Aero* • Class C • Class F • *Danube* • *Flyer* • *Gondola* • *Kodai* • *Mollard* • *Peregrine* • *Selenic* • Type 4 • Type 5 • Type 6 (Type 6A • Type 6S) • Type 7 • Type 8 • Type 9 (Type 9A) • Type 10 • Type 11 • Type 14 • Type 17 • Type 19 • *Valkyrie* • *Venture* • *Waverider* • *Yellowstone*

**Leadership:** Commander-in-chief • Joint Chiefs • Chief of Starfleet External Affairs • Chief of Starfleet Operations • Chief of Starfleet Research and Exploration • Chief of Starfleet Tactical

**Agencies:** Operations (Engineering • Judicial • Materiel Supply • Mission Operations • Personnel Management • Records Service • Shipyards Operations • Starbase Operations) • Research & Exploration (Science • Medical) • External Affairs • Tactical (Intelligence • Security • MACO)

**Notable units:** Ktarn Fleet • Task Force 77

**Facilities:** Deep Space K-7 • Deep Space K-13 • Deep Space 9 • Masamichi Array • Starbase 45-Keepsake • Starbase 82-Maat • Starbase 234-Beskerm • Starbase 247-Vershina

**Agencies:** Starfleet • Diplomatic Corps • Department of Temporal Investigations • Federation Security Agency

**Facilities:** 40 Eridani A Starfleet Construction Yards • Antares Ship Yards • Beta Antares Ship Yards • Copernicus Ship Yards • Laikan Starfleet Shipyards • McKinley Station • Memory Project • New Aberdeen Shipyards • Proxima Maintenance Yards • Salazaar Shipyards • San Francisco Fleet Yards • TL-9139 Starfleet Maintenance Yards • Tranquility Base • Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards

### Sources consulted

* Avenger class (battlecruiser) article at *Memory Beta*.
* Avenger class article at the *Star Trek Online Wiki*.
* *Star Trek Online Starships Collection* issue 11: "USS Avenger NCC-97500."