Officially classified as an escort, built to defend Earth against a Borg invasion. Prototype built at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards on Mars, although the Defiant which operates out of Deep Space 9 was built at the Antares Shipyards. Very powerful weaponry. Quantum torpedoes. Sensor capability designed for tactical, rather than science. Tiny crew. Small ship (only four decks). Spartan living quarters. Can be outfitted with cloaking device (unique capability to this class). Cloaking device draws much power, reduces weapons capabilities. Has cowled warp drive system to reduce detectability by long-range sensors. Has ablative armor. Very powerful engines relative to vessel mass. Relatively expensive compared to its size. Equipped with two shuttlepods whose bay doors (on the ship's underside) double as cargo loading ports. The ship is designed for easy accessibility of all major systems. You can literally walk from engineering directly to the warp nacelles, impulse engines, and other systems; they're all just down the corridor.
