Daedalus class

"It has a few advantages over the Prometheus. The more advanced alien technologies were integrated into the original design rather than tacked on after the fact."

- Samantha Carter

The Daedalus class, also known as the BC-304 or 304 or Daedalus class warship or Daedalus class battlecruiser, is a class of deep space carrier built by the Federation in 2379. As of 2389, fourteen Daedalus-class warships have been built. These 304s are the Daedalus, Odyssey, Soujourner, Korolev, Apollo, Sun Tzu, Orion, Janet Fraiser, Aurora, Tria, Phoenix, Kingston, Elizabeth Weir and the George Hammond and the Jacob Carter. Fourteen are known to be in active service. One 304, the Korolev, was given to the Russians, while the another 304, the Sun Tzu, is operated by the Chinese. The USS Aurora was destroyed during the Battle of Kaleb IV in 2385 during the Xindi War.

Another 304, the Sojourner was destroyed in 2387 during the Battle of Capella IV by the Narada.

Overview
Although referred to as "sister ships" to the (BC-303) Prometheus, the 304s differ significantly in their design and technology. While the Prometheus was originally built with less powerful phasers, the 304s incorporated type 10 phasers and type 11 phasers and later quantum phasers. Later, the Daedalus and Apollo were also updated with these weapons. It is assumed that all future ships will be provided with these weapons as well. While the Prometheus was originally built with reverse-engineered Goa'uld technology and salvaged equipment such as the Transportation rings, the 304s incorporated Asgard technology in their original design. All 304 class ships are equipped with Asgard sensors and transporters.

History
Originally, the Prometheus proved itself to be a capable warship, with several more ships of the BC-303-class planned for construction. It immediately became one of Stargate Command's most important project.

Currently, seventy percent of the SGC's operating resources has been transferred to the construction of Daedalus-class vessels.The first vessel of the class was the Daedalus, which was introduced in 2379.

Upon its completion, the ship was immediately assigned to Starbase Atlantis to assist the starbase in fighting the Xindi-Suliban Alliance.

As of 2387, twelve Daedalus-class warships have been built. Eleven are known to be in active service. One 304 the Sojourner was destroyed in 2387 during the Battle of Capella IV by the Narada.

Bridge
304s feature several upgrades over the Prometheus, but the bridge layout is relatively similar. The forward viewscreen is wider to allow a greater visual field. This is particularly useful during battle situations, allowing several officers to make suggestions about how to proceed without obstructing the captain's chair. Also built into the forward viewscreen is a Heads up display. A weapons officer sits to the right of the captain; a helmsman to the left.

The bridge is located in the superstructure at the beginning of the ship's neck. The map display table in the back of the bridge is lit in a different color for each ship — on the Daedalus it is green, the Odyssey's is orange, the Apollo's is white/blue, the Korolev's is purple, and the George Hammond's is yellow/orange. An alternate version of the Daedalus had an orange-lit map as well, and an alternate version of the George Hammond had an Asgard terminal (this was done to give the crew access to the Asgard Core while on the bridge).

Crew quarters
304s contain a number of relative spacious crew quarters. While the location of the entirety of them are unknown, several are positioned along the hull of the ship, allowing for a view into space via window.

Engineering
The engineering deck has several control panels specifically rigged for Asgard operators. The engine room can accommodate a dozen personnel at any given time. Tasks from systems diagnostics to the deployment of weapons can be carried out here.

Briefing room
304s are designed with a briefing room, in which the captain can meet with senior officers for briefing before difficult/complex or strategic operations. The 304s' briefing room is a spacious room with a high ceiling, paneled in gray tones and equipped with large florescent lighting fixtures on the ceiling. It is dominated with a large black meeting table, and lined with several chairs along the sides. Behind the captain's chair is a large flat screen monitor built into the wall. As a screensaver, it displays the seal of the ship with the ship name at the top and the registry number of the ship along the bottom.

Infirmary
The Infirmary of 304s are nearly identical to the one onboard the Prometheus. They contain several rooms with hospital beds and likely storage rooms, stocked with all manner of medications for the crew members, as well as equipment to support the crew during injuries that would be likely to be sustained onboard ship. A surgical suite is also part of the infirmary.

Hangar bay
The 304s are able to carry twice as many F-302 fighter-interceptors as the Prometheus — eight in each of its two hangar bays, for a total of 16. However, the Daedalus and Apollo carry fighters only in the starboard hangar; the port hangar has been used to carry other vehicles, such as Puddle Jumpers from Starbase Atlantis. It is unclear if this is also true of the other 304 class vessels. Asgard shields can extend around the hangar doors in the event the flight deck is occupied while decompression procedures are scheduled to commence. An Al'kesh can barely fit into the hangar bay.

Officer's mess
Because the 304s are designed for extensive deep-space voyages, an officer's mess is available to off-duty personnel. It islocated on the starboard side of the ship and offers a view port into space. Hot coffee and perhaps other drinks are available in the mess, no matter the time of day.

Bomb bay
At least one 304, the Apollo, featured a large bomb bay built into the underside of the ship, capable of deploying the Horizon weapons platform. A control room just aft of the bay included a set of observation windows, arranged much like the ship's engine room. So far, it has only been mentioned in relation to the Apollo, and no corresponding bay doors appear on the underside of the Daedalus; it's unclear whether any other 304s were so equipped, or if the Apollo constitutes a new variant of the class.

Asgard knowledge room
The Asgard knowledge room is a room onboard the Odyssey. The room contains a curved holographic display which is linked into the Asgard computer core. It can display the information stored in it to the user on a larger display than the one on the core itself and so can by used to search the database and study its contents in more detail and with greater ease. Dr. Daniel Jackson used it to pass time onboard Odyssey when it was trapped in a Time dilation field, evading attack by Xindi warships.

Brig
The brig on a 304 was a small, unadorned room not dissimilar to the ship's storage compartments; it contained a surveillance camera through which the prisoners could be observed. Though apparently designed for only a single occupant, it has been used to hold up to four people, indicating there may be only one such room on the ship. It has been used to imprison James Marrick when he created new Replicators that took over his body in that cell onboard the Odyssey.

Armory
There are several armories on a 304. It is unknown how many armories existed, but they appear to be small and packed with various weapons. They are known to contain Federation and Goa'uld weapons. The armory on the Daedalus was used to arm Ronon Dex and Dr. Jennifer Keller when the Xindi hijacked the ship, and would later have been used to arm the rest of the crew had the Xindi not retreated to their ship.

Airlocks
Several Airlocks line the slender mid-section of the ship. Airlocks may be vented through initiating a venting sequence controlled through the computer consoles, or performing a manual override to open the door via a control keypad.

Technology
The 304s boast a large amount of incredibly advanced technology, most of which came from the Asgard, which helps make 304s a formidable craft, capable of rivaling the spaceships of most races. In contrast to its predecessor, the BC-303, the new Daedalus-class ships had several significant advantages in that the more advanced alien technologies were integrated into the original design rather than added on afterwards.

Sensors
The 304s feature a Long-range transmitter, located with a series of other communications-related equipment, including Asgard sensors, at the top-rear port section of the ship. There are also sensors located on the nose section of the ship. These sensors are highly advanced as they can scan and pinpoint life signs from far away, and are also what allows the Asgard transporters to lock on to an object accurately.

Shields
Energy shields are the primary defense technology used by 304s. The technology was shared by the Asgard with the Federation after their contributions in defeating the Replicators, and so the Earth-designed Daedalus-class warships are protected by Asgard shields, giving them a great advantage over the space-faring races of the Milky Way galaxy.

Asgard shields create an elliptical "bubble" around a starship that absorbs and diffuses the energy from weapons fire. The shields will gradually weaken under sustained fire, rather quickly if the attack is of sufficient force, allowing energy from attacks to bleed through and cause damage to the ship. Although additional energy can be allocated to the shield bubble to reinforce it, the only way for a ship to ultimately survive a continual attack is to withdraw and give the shields time to recharge.

Asgard transporters
The Asgard first allowed the Federation access to a very basic form of their beaming technology, which they included on the Prometheus during a refit around 2367. In 2379, the Asgard provided Earth's first Daedalus-class ship with a much more advanced form of beaming technology. However, they placed a series of fail-safes into the transporters to prevent the humans from using the technology offensively. Despite this, the Daedalus used its transporters to beam photon torpedoes onto several Xindi warships (with begrudging help from an Asgard), destroying them. The Xindi, however, were able to develop jamming codes that prevented the transporters from obtaining a lock, making the transporters all but useless against them. Shields have also proven to be just effective as jamming devices. The Korolev failed to get a clear lock as they tried to beam photon torpedoes onto Xindi warships. The transporters are unable to work through either the 304's shields or the enemy ship's shields, shown when the Odyssey was only able to beam Doctor Daniel Jackson out of an Xindi warship when its shields were lowered and when the Daedalus had to lower its shields to beam up Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard and Ronon Dex. If the ship is in the middle of a battle, this is inadvisable as lowering the shields renders the 304 vulnerable for a few seconds while it uses the transporter.

Transportation rings
In addition to the Asgard transporters the 304s also possesses Transportation rings as a means for transportation. Transportation rings are used to transport people or objects over short distances, from ship to ship, or even to a nearby planet. Transportation rings were originally designed by the Ancients, but have since been used by a wide variety of races. The BC-303, the Prometheus, was the first Federation ship to use Transportation rings, but the technology has since been passed on to the Daedalus-class ships. It is unknown whether the Federation steal Transportation rings from other races, like the Goa'uld, or if they construct them themselves but the former is more likely. As, like the Goa'uld, the ship's computer has no control over the rings, likely because they are often considered a security risk when enemies wish to board the ship as the crew have no way to shut the rings off.

Asgard computer core
The Asgard computer core is a database of all the knowledge of the Asgard. The computer core includes a knowledge base of the entire Asgard history, interactive holograms of every Asgard, time dilation technology, and an independent power source. These features likely only scratch the surface of the device's full capability. The Asgard gave this to the Federation as a gift. The Asgard installed it on the Odyssey in 2379 before committing mass-suicide.

It is unknown whether the computer core was installed on any other Daedalus-class ship. Although that seems unlikely, the Phoenix had a room which contained an Asgard computer core in an alternate timeline.

Cloak
The Daedalus-class ship Odyssey also acquired a very effective cloaking device of Ancient design from Dr. Daniel Jackson, who at the time possessed Ancient knowledge. At first, Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter had trouble getting the ship to decloak. However, they were eventually able to cloak and decloak the ship by simply pressing a few buttons. It is unknown if any of the other Daedalus-class ships possess this ability. Jackson claimed that "having a Zero Point Module helps" so it's possible he utilized the ZPM on the ship in some manner while creating its cloak, or that it was not as efficient as those on other ships and required levels of power only a ZPM could provide. He probably adjusted the shields in some way, similar to the Ancient Puddle Jumpers.

Weapons
The Daedalus-class is armed with type 10 phasers and type 11 phasers, later quantum phasers and photon torpedoes. At least one ship, the Apollo, is known to have the Horizon weapon system. Among the warheads 304s are known to carry are Mark III, Mark VIII, and Mark IX. It is unknown if some of these 304s may carry conventional warheads to attack an enemy ship. However, it is also known that 304s still carry missiles as a secondary weapon in case their quantum phasers fail. The system consists of a large, bullet-shaped delivery module containing ten missiles, six with Mark IX tactical warheads and four decoys. The device can be carried in the bomb bay of a 304 like the Apollo. Deployed from orbit, the module's three rocket engines propel it into the atmosphere; these rockets shut down and the missiles themselves are released about twelve seconds prior to impact, finding individual targets and detonating simultaneously. The total time from launch to detonation is about one minute. It is unknown if the other 304's have this weapon system and a bomb bay. Quantum phasers were placed on the Odyssey in a mass upgrade, providing the ship with a means to effectively fight the Xindi.

These weapons were eventually equipped on both the Daedalus and the Apollo, which put them to good use almost immediately when they used them to rapidly destroy the Aurora-class battleships that the Asurans were deploying in the Alpha Quadrant. In an alternate timeline, these weapons were also equipped to the Phoenix, and used to destroy Klingon warships in even fewer hits than Xindi warships and Aurora-class warships. It is more than likely that these weapons will be installed on all other 304s as well. The beam weapons can penetrate the shields of the Xindi, Asuran, and probably the Lucian Alliance warships. The Daedalus class ships have Naquadah enhanced torpedoes.

Battle complement
Being a deep space carrier, the Daedalus-class carries a complement of several F-302 fighter-interceptors. The F-302s were originally used by the Daedalus-class' predecessor, the BC-303. The 304s can carry twice as many F-302s than the BC-303, however. It can carry two squadrons of eight F-302s, a total of sixteen fighter interceptors. The F-302s are mostly used in dogfights against other alien fighters. However, they have also proved effective in disabling the warp engines of Xindi warships. The F-302s can be fitted with quantum torpedoes if necessary to attack Xindi ships or other ships.

Roles
The 304's are designed as a battlecruiser and a deepspace cruiser. It is a battle cruiser because of its fire power and effectiveness in ship-to-ship combat. For example, it has enough power to pierce some of the most advanced shielding known as well as take 14 hits from Xindi weapons before the shield fails. It is also a deepspace cruiser because of its ability to travel at intergalactic speeds for great distances.

Known 304's

 * USS Daedalus (NCC-729631) - Fast Attack Wing - Colonel Steven Caldwell
 * USS Odyssey (NCC-8731) - Colonel Cameron Mitchell, formerly Colonel Paul Emerson, Colonel Ian Davidson
 * USS Korolev (NCC-73705) - Colonel Chekov
 * USS Apollo (NCC-32704) - Second Tactical Wing - Colonel Abraham Ellis
 * USS Sun Tzu (NCC-23275) - Lieutenant Colonel Yin, Chinese crew
 * USS George Hammond (NCC-76325) formerly the USS Phoenix (destroyed in an alternate timeline) - Second Tactical Wing - Brigadier General Samantha Carter
 * USS Phoenix (NCC-43815) - Colonel Mariah Tyson
 * USS Tria (NCC-43817) - Unknown
 * USS Orion (NCC-60737) - Unknown
 * USS Aurora (NCC-40742) - Unknown
 * USS Janet Fraiser (NCC-37421) - Unknown
 * USS Sojourner (NCC-37504) - Unknown (destroyed in 2387 during the Battle of Capella IV by the Narada)
 * USS Jacob Carter (NCC-77835) - Unknown
 * USS Kingston (NCC-7986) - Captain John Tyson
 * USS Elizabeth Weir (NCC-80001) - Lieutenant Colonel Jenna Wilson
 * USS Aurora (NCC-16879) - Colonel Via Sanders (Destroyed in 2385 during the Battle of Kaleb IV)