Constitution III Class

Constitution III Class
Affiliation:	Federation Starfleet
Service Period:	25th - 26th Centuries
Dimensions
Length:	560 meters
Width:	257 meters
Height:	95 meters
Mass:	1,139,705 metric tons
Specifications
Decks:	28
Crew:	500 personnel
Speed:	Warp 9.99
Armament:	Phaser Arrays Phaser Banks Torpedo Launchers
Defenses:	Metaphasic Shields
Auxiliary craft:	Starfleet Shuttlecraft

Primary Shipyards

Copernicus Ship Yards, Luna; Lagrange Slips, Denobula; San Francisco Orbital Ship Yards, Earth

Overview

While the governments of the Khitomer Alliance were considered the victors of the Dominion War, no nation truly went unscathed. While many members of Starfleet Command wanted to focus on building larger, multifaceted craft to make up for Starfleet’s losses, Starfleet’s depletion from the Dominion War was more serious than any wanted to admit. This, coupled with the needs of the Romulan Relocation Effort, led the Starfleet Corps of Engineers to focus on producing smaller vessels to compensate for limited resources and a war weary pool of trained personnel. Later, after the attack upon the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards in 2385, the Federation Council called upon Starfleet to build a symbol to remind the galaxy of the traditions that made the Federation great as their next flagship vessel.

Now headquartered at the San Francisco Orbital Shipyards on Earth, the Engineering Corps looked to Starfleet's past to build its future. Heir to the legacy of the Constitution Class, the Constitution III Class (or Neo-Constitution Class) was designed to be the new workhorse of the fleet, conducting exploratory missions and supporting fleet operations when needed. Featuring an accelerated development timeline, many of the earliest Neo-Constitutions were built by recycling components from decommissioned or scrapped vessels to build new spacecraft. Despite its advancements, the Constitution III lacks the advanced scientific capabilities and the firepower of its predecessors.

Capabilities

The Constitution III Class follows the traditional lines of its 23rd Century predecessors, closely replicating the design of the Constitution II and the Shangri-La Classes. The vessel features a saucer shaped primary hull and a cylindrical engineering section that feeds twin warp nacelles similar to those of the Sagan Class. The most striking feature of the Constitution III Class is its enhanced, albeit overpowered, Impulse Engines – which have been designed to cater to a close support envelope at sublight speeds. This modification allows the Constitution III to have improved handling in and around densely populated solar systems and provides members of this class with the highest sublight power to geometry ratio in Starfleet history. Sporting a new dilithium chamber capable of keeping the crystals stable at high warp speeds for longer periods of time, the Constitution III is one of the fastest vessels in Starfleet and can maintain a stable velocity of Warp 9.99.

Outfitted with metaphasic shielding, the Constitution III's primary weapons are Narrow-Angle Phaser Beam Arrays, which sacrifice some of their fire arc in exchange for a stronger punch. An enhanced electro-plasma distribution network allows ships of the Constitution III Class to run equipment with high energy demands, like industrial replicators, with little loss on overall efficiency. Further, the Constitution III features three shuttlebays and expansive cargo holds. These features, coupled with its speed, make the Constitution III ideal for mercy missions or emergency response.

Refits and Variants

Through its lifetime two separate refit programs were implemented in an effort to improve the longevity of the Constitution III Class. The first generation of refits were designed to improve the vessel’s weapon systems after several members of the class were overwhelmed during encounters with more technologically sophisticated and hostile species. A second refit attempted to overcome the Constitution III’s deficits with scientific exploration, leading to portions of the Saucer Module to be reconfigured to house additional sensor equipment and laboratories at the expense of the already limited defensive suite.

Mission Profiles

Crisis and Emergency Response, Pathfinder and Reconnaissance Operations, Scientific and Survey Operations. Vessels of the Constitution III Class are highly sought after postings due to the legacy of the Constitution Class vessels that came before and their return to five-year missions.

Naming Conventions

Members of the Constitution III Class have names taken from many different naming conventions from throughout the Federation, but are commonly named after historic Federation vessels.

Notable Starships

• U.S.S. Constitution, Class Prototype
• U.S.S. Enterprise-G (U.S.S. Titan-A)
• U.S.S. Excalibur-B
• U.S.S. Exeter
• U.S.S. Intrepid
• U.S.S. Lexington