Excelsior Class

1701-B

Universe :	Prime Timeline
Affiliation :	Federation
Class Name :	Excelsior Class
Type :	Explorer / Countercloak Cruiser
Unit Run :	NCC 1701-B USS Enterprise [1] - Retired [2] plus 101 others built in total. 44 have been lost in all.
Commissioned :	2293 - 2315, class remains in service
Dimensions :	Length : 467 m [3] Beam : 185 m [4] Height : 100 m [4] Decks : 28
Mass :	2,350,000 [5] metric tons
Crew :	750 [5], 9,800 evacuation limit [6]
Armament :	12 x Type VIII phaser bank, total output 20,500 TeraWatts 4 x 2nd class photon torpedo tube [7] with 150 rounds
Defence Systems :	Standard shield system, total capacity 1,296,000 TeraJoules Standard Duranium Double hull. Standard level Structural Integrity Field
Warp Speeds (TNG scale) :	Normal Cruise : 6 Maximum Cruise : 8.6 Maximum Rated : 9 for 12 hours.
Strength Indices : (Galaxy class = 1,000)	Beam Firepower : 410 Torpedo Firepower : 250 Weapon Range and Accuracy : 645 Shield Strength : 480 Hull Armour : 20 Speed : 792 Combat Manoeuvrability : 2,780
Overall Strength Index :	414
Diplomatic Capability :	5
Expected Hull Life :	100
Refit Cycle :	Minor : 2 year Standard : 2 years Major : 18 years

Notes

The first major subgroup of the Excelsior class, the Enterprise-B subtype was designed for greater burst speed and manoeuvrability than the standard Excelsior and carried a much more elaborate electronics fit. The intention was to counter the new generation of cloak capable vessels being deployed by the Klingon empire; Starfleet was especially worried about developments which might permit Klingon vessels to fire whilst still cloaked, and it was these in particular that the new type was designed to counter. Wake homing torpedoes were fitted as standard, while plasma detector systems allowed the new ship to locate almost any existing vessel through its cloak. The advanced sensors of the Enterprise-B were also able to engage vessels firing from cloak by automatically locking phasers onto the origin of the weapons fire and almost instantly laying down a pattern of fire on the immediate area before the enemy vessel could change its position. Although the plasma emission weakness was rapidly eliminated from Klingon cloaking devices, the automatic lock and fire system of the Enterprise-B subclass proved so successful in service that by 2310 the Klingons had been forced to abandon the whole idea of firing from behind the cloak and reverted back to using this device purely during approach and evasion operations.

Colour key

References

#	Series	Season	Source	Comment
1			Star Trek : Generations
2	TNG	1	Encounter at Farpoint
3			Star Trek Chronology	Stated on page 138, assuming it to be the same size as the standard Excelsior. The DS9 TM claims that this ship has a length of 511.25 metres.
4			Star Trek Chronology	Scaled from page 138
5			Star Trek Deep Space Nine Technical Manual
6			Star Trek Deep Space Nine Technical Manual	Page 152
7			Generic canonical information

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Last updated : 20 Dec 2024

Series :	TNG Season 1
Episode :	Encounter at Farpoint

Book :	Star Trek Chronology
Comment :	Stated on page 138, assuming it to be the same size as the standard Excelsior. The DS9 TM claims that this ship has a length of 511.25 metres.