Applying the same new technologies and innovations used for refitting the Constitution-class, Starfleet designed and constructed or refitted ships of the Miranda-class into the fleet's medium cruisers during the 2270's and 80's; which would serve in that capacity for over 100 years. Miranda-class ships were designed to perform a variety of missions from scientific explorations to sector patrolling. Decade in, decade out, Miranda-class ships received numerous technological upgrades along with at least three variants/sub-classes of the class being built.
Amongst the numerous Miranda-class ships that have served the Federation, possibly the most well-known, yet notorious (or ill-fated, perhaps), ship of the class is U.S.S. Reliant. Bearing registry number NCC-1864, Reliant was conducting a planetary survey mission for the Genesis Project in 2285 when it was hijacked by a group of 20th Century, criminally-inclined, genetically-altered humans known as ‘Augments’ led by Khan Noonien Singh. Except for the Captain and First Officer, Khan and his Augments marooned the entire crew of the Reliant on the planet Ceti Alpha V and began their plan for vengeance against Admiral James T. Kirk for abandoning the group on the planet in 2267 when Kirk was Captain of the Constitution-class Enterprise. Ultimately, Khan and his group failed; dying in combat against the Enterprise and Reliant would be destroyed when the Genesis Project's ‘Genesis Device’ detonated onboard the ship in the Mutara Nebula. Reliant's Captain would die during the incident but the ship's First Officer and entire crew would be rescued and return to Earth aboard Enterprise.
While patroling Sector 5 of the Federation-Klingon Neutral Zone in 2286, USS Saratoga (NCC-1887) encountered an alien probe that completely drained the ship's power; becoming the first “victim” of the probe while it travelled through Federation space to Earth. The probe would “attack” the planet; draining its numerous sources of power and almost completely vaporizing its oceans. The crisis would be resolved by the former crew of the Enterprise (NCC-1701). The Saratoga would be recovered and returned to operational condition by the end of the year.
More than eight decades later in 2367, the second ship to bear the name Saratoga was one of 40 Federation ships engaged in combat against a Borg Cube in the Wolf 359 star system, a mere 7.8 light-years from Earth. Unfortunately, 39 ships of the fleet, including the Miranda-class variant bearing number NCC-31911, did not survive the battle. Ultimately, the Cube was destroyed in Earth orbit by the crew of the Galaxy-class Enterprise (NCC-1701-D).
The Federation-Dominion War of 2373-75 was not kind to the Miranda-class cruisers. A large number of these ships, including Sitak and Majestic, were lost during that long, bloody conflict. Since the end of the war, Starfleet has yet to decide on the fate of the Miranda-class but due to age and the number of ships lost during the war, Starfleet will most likely retire the class from service after a long and exceptional career.
Ships of the Class
| ANTARES | NCC-9844 |
| BRATTAIN | NCC-21166 |
| LANTREE | NCC-1837 |
| MAJESTIC | NCC-31060 |
| MIRANDA | NX/NCC-1800 |
| NAUTILUS | NCC-31910 |
| RELIANT | NCC-1864 |
| SARATOGA | NCC-1887 |
| SARATOGA (II) | NCC-31911 |
| SHIRKAHR | NCC-31905 |
| SITAK | NCC-32591 |
| TIAN AN MEN | NCC-21382 |
| TRIAL | NCC-1948 |
NOTES
USS Majestic — In previous versions of this page, the Majestic's registry number was NCC-31860. Recent research by the webmaster has determined that this was incorrect and has been corrected for this updated page to correspond with the registry number provided on the Memory Alpha entry for the Majestic.
USS Miranda — The registry number of this ship has not yet been established in canon nor has it been speculated about in the Star Trek Encyclopedia or the unofficial, canon-based, online wiki Memory Alpha, however, the non-canon online wiki Memory Beta uses a role-playing game (RPG) as source to establish the vessel's registry number, which the webmaster has chosen to use.
USS Sitak — This ship's registry number is somewhat readable on the DVD edition of the ST:DS9 episode “Sacrifice of Angels”. This page orignally listed the vessel's registry number as NCC-33921. Further research resulted in the number being corrected as listed in the Memory Alpha entry about the Sitak.
—LT, January 2026