SOVEREIGN CLASS

   Development and construction of the Sovereign class began in the mid-2360s with an initial mission role emphasis of exploration. The Battle of Wolf 359 changed this emphasis into the class becoming part of Starfleet's defense against the Borg. Like the Galaxy class, the Sovereign class is state of the art for it's time. In the original configuration, ships of this class measured 685 meters long and had 24 decks. They were equipped with the latest Bio-neural computer system, similar to that of the Intrepid class, a warp-capable captain's yacht and armed with twelve Type XII phaser arrays and five torpedo launchers; three forward and two aft. Of the three forward launchers, the forwardmost of these, housed directly above the captain's yacht, was dedicated to firing quantum torpedoes. The first production model of this class was launched and commissioned as the sixth vessel to bear the name Enterprise, bearing the registry number NCC-1701-E, in 2372. Sovereign class starships, including the Enterprise would undergo an number of modifications between 2375 and 2379 that increased the number of decks aboard to 29 yet decreasing the overall length of ships in this class to 675 meters. These modifications increased the armaments of Sovereign class starships to 16 phaser arrays and ten torpedo launchers, five forward and five aft. Despite the lack of action on the frontlines during the Dominion War Sovereign class ships would perform various diplomatic missions and "put out brush fires" throughout Federation space. In less then ten years of service, Enterprise participated in several significant galactic events, including the Borg invasion of the Sol System in 2373, the Ba'ku incident of 2375, and the Reman-Romulan incident of 2379.