posted
If I was in charge of Starfleet procurement, I would put more emphasis on developing runabouts, shuttles and smaller ships to take up some of the missions normally handled by larger ships. I'd put a stronger emphasis on improving tactical performance also.
My focus would be on development of small and midsized craft as opposed to large multi-mission platforms. Increased automation would be a priority also. The underlying idea is to maximize the effectiveness of available personnel, assuming that Starfleet will have post-war shortages of trained crew.
As for older ships, I would either mothball them or sell them to planetary spaceforces
One aspect I would emphasize on the larger explorers is an increase in shuttlebay capacity and improving a ship's ability to replicate shuttles.
posted
Um, if ships runabout-sized and down can take over the role of larger ships, why would we need larger ships at all?
Runabouts and smaller craft are no good for anything other than short distances, and lacks the room for most missions. Plus, not everything ship can mass-produce shuttlecraft like a certain acursed starship no longer stranded in the Delta Quadrant can.
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Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
I agree with Timo that these "old" ships like the Miranda and Excelsior can still serve a purpose in the post-war fleet. Even if the remaining ships are not refitted, I doubt Starfleet would quickly decommission them. "Just because something's old doesn't mean you throw it away." There are plenty of duties Starfleet would need filled such as transport and shipping patrol against pirates and other smalller threats, etc. that could easily be carried out by the now legendary ships.
If Starfleet chooses to refit the vessels, they could rebuild the fleet faster. We know Excelsiors can be refiited with the latest weapons, and I'd bet that even newer ships like the Ambassador could be brought up to standards.
Now, I doubt that Starfleet would continue production (if it was even in progress before the war) of these ships. While there is some controversy over using registry numbers to date ships, the general rule is that newer ships have higher registries. Most (not all) of these older ships top out in the NCC-50000s.
As to newer ships, I'd imagine Starfleet would continue to modernize the fleet, supplementing traditional roles with designs proven in the war and before like the Galaxy, Intrepid (I'm sure they did their part in the war), Defiant, Nebula, etc. While Starship Spotter states that no future Galaxy class starships are in production, I doubt Starfleet would be so short sighted to recognize how the class is still an excellent explorer and from what we saw in the war, the ship's tactical performance was impressive with no ships lost in the footage we saw (obviously, it is possible they lost ships in the unseen portions of the war, and ships were lost when entire fleets were wiped out such as by the Breen).
As to the Sovereign, I think I've finally figured out its role. The Enterprise-D was originally supposed to go out on deep space missions, but it later was constantly operating within the Federation, dealing with empires like the Klingons and Romulans, and showing the "flag." It seems logical that the Sovereign was designed to take over these tasks to let future Galaxy class ships continue with the original mission plan. The Sovereign's smaller size and apparent lack of families, etc. seems better suited to this role than going on missions of 5 to 10 years without stop like the Galaxy.
posted
I think Starfleet would probably take the oppertunity to crank out as many new hulls as they can in the period just after Dominion War. Since their shipyards were brought to full capacity because of the war, this allows them to build ships fast and cheap. Who knows when the Federation Council will give Starfleet the chance to expand itself in such a dramatic rate again? Also, if they wait until the shipyards drop back down to a peace time operating tempo, the production rate is going to go way down, and per unit cost is going to rise. They don't even have to build complete starships, they can just stockpile empty hulls, spaceframes, and major components for a rainy day.
But I also agree with what Ace said, Starfleet would probably use their increased shipyard capacity to upgrade as many of the existing ships as possible, together with building more of the newer classes with the intend for them eventually be numerous enough to allow phasing out of the older classes.
Personnel shortages remains a problem, but I'll have to try to address that later, exam in 7 hours.
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Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
If you're talking about building a fleet with multi-role capability it would be more likely that they would veer towards building specific task warships and multi-role exploratory vessels.
We can also consider a scenario such as:
* Using fleet carriers to dispatch numerous 2-3 man craft with short ranges and high firepower.
* The carriers themselves would be protected by their own weapons and a battle group(With large troops transport vessels, warships, medical & supply ships etc).
I'd wager that starfleet would want to put some kind of advanced propulsion system into their ships (such as a quantum slipstream drive) as it would provide them with a significant military edge, as the fleet would be far more mobile than any of those involved in the last war.
Also, you'd want to install large solar defense networks (for example like the one in the Chintoka system) so that so many fleets are not tied up on gaurd duty. These solar defense networks would need to be a combination of mines, weapons grids and -once again- high powered short range fighters. With more mobile fleets, lower numbers of troops needed (due to small fighters) and more specific training (ie. specific training as combat pilots) you'd lower the demand in resources and manpower considerably.
As Timo & others mentioned above manning these vessels is a key issue. Industrial production may be able to produce a certain number of vessels, but how many can you actually maintain, deploy & how many personnel will you need to train?
With the high level of technical expertise needed you'd have to say that manpower would be a (if not the) major constraint.
[ April 12, 2002, 07:36: Message edited by: Daryus Aden ]
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
For me, I have always been wondering if the Excelsiors we see in DS9 is actually different from the Excelisor we see in the movies. Of course the sips will have their various swappable components replaced and upgraded. But if was that easy to make the Lakota, why can't they have done that in peacetime? Why wait until something like the Borg comes along and find out that all your Excelsiors and Mirandas are shitty?
If I Starfleet, I would have had either those ships upgraged to Lakota standards or replace them, regardless if they are efficient in fighting lesser powers.
Imagine when the Dominion fought, seeing a whole butvh of Lakotas flying around doin as much damage as the Defiant does. I would have replaced those so called "phaser arrays" on the roll bar on the Mirandas with phaser cannons from the Defiant. But thats just me.
Using a carrier then support ships for smaller ships so that a one or two large ships are not needed? That makes no sense.
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Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
Hell, yes!! I am fairly sure that the Excelciors and Mirandas with the higher (4xxxx and 3xxxx) registaries would be significantly different to those produced during the movie era; new computers, warp cores, sensors, weapons etc. older ones could be upgraded. I think Starfleet would use the period after the war to produce as many ships as possible.
-------------------- "I am an almost extinct breed, an old-fashioned gentleman, which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-bitch when it suits me." --Jubal Harshaw
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
Take this for what it's worth, and consider the source, but; the DS9 technical manual suggests that the Miranda class (featuring rollbar) comes with some sort of phaser cannon.
Now, again, the source. Consider it.
Still, it doesn't seem utterly impossible that the Mirandas might have had a low power version of the Defiant's weapon system installed. There's not the slightest onscreen hint of it, though.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
..and never struck me as particularly different to the Enterprise's phasers.
-------------------- "I was surprised by the matter-of-factness of Kafka's narration, and the subtle humor present as a result." (Sizer 2005)
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
This is my thinking. Er, that is. Or rather, this is: The Reliant's fancy phasers must have been unique in some way, else why bother with them? They didn't add anything to the ship's coverage.
Secondly, it seems to me most likely that those specs (again, such as they were) refered to the "modern" versions of those ships, and not those of a century before. So, if 24th century Mirandas have "pulse phaser cannons" these are presumably of some more modern design than those of the Reliant, whatever those happened to have been.
Again, this isn't an idea I'm particularly attached to. It's not like we ever saw, or will ever see, a Miranda using such a weapon. But, and call me sentimental, it makes for a fun image, as well as a way to extend the usefulness of the poor old class.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I agree, and yes they were used in the second movie. Right before the Enterprise and the Reliant were going to collide, the Reliant fired her rollbar phasers at the torpedo launcher 'thingy' on the Enterprise. I might be wrong but I do remember it being fired.
The modern Miranda must have some sort of phaser weapon there that could balance the ship with other modern ships. I once modified the Miranda class to look modern, with a red tint in the bassard collector, bluish tint, in the warp grid, a thicker pylon and roll bar, a phaser cannon and torpedo launcher of my own design. It looked a ok to me, though with this computer and that image long ago being deleted by my bro, I can't make another one.
Though it would be interesting seeing the Miranda firing phaser 'pulses' like the Defiant from her roll bars. Make the ship useful in modern fleet situations.
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Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
Er...the Reliant only used those rollbar phasers in the film, and never the traditional ones dotting her hull.
Registered: Mar 1999
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