NX Warrior subclass
With the advent of the Romulan war, UESPA became the de-facto military of Earth and its colonies. Amongst the other preparations
for war, the NX class underwent a crash militarisation program. The idea of a warship variant of the class had been proposed during
the original design process, and plans for this had been drawn up but held as a reserve to be implemented in case of emergencies.
The unexpectedly high threat level that Enterprise, Columbia and their sisters had encountered had led to a revision of these
plans in 2155, and some chief engineers had implemented elements of the plans on their own initiative - most notably
Commander Tucker on Enterprise. In 2157 UESPA initiated a fleetwide upgrade of all nine NX class ships.
The main changes were : The number of laser cannon increased from six to nine; the boosted throughput system initially developed
by Commander Tucker for Enterprise was adopted as standard. A pair of 580 GW heavy fixed laser cannon was fitted in the bow.
The missile magazine was increased in size, boosting capacity from 96 to 192. An additional four launchers were installed, doubling
the fire rate. The usual fit of nuclear warheads was boosted from 6 to 124, reflecting their change from "special weapons" to the
standard weapon of choice. The thermal reservoirs were upgraded to a new model, increasing their capacity fivefold. Additional
barracks rooms were installed to house a platoon of MACOs and their equipment and weapons.
The upgrades greatly increased the combat capabilities of the class, though not without a cost. Much internal space had to be
given over to the new weapons systems; the already cramped crew quarters became even more cramped, while over one
half of the ship's cargo space was lost along with most of the scientific research facilities. The NX class became ineffective as
research vessels, and their ability to conduct long range unsupported missions was somewhat curtailed by these changes.
