D'deridex class

The D'deridex-class (or B-type or Warbird-class) battle cruiser was the pride of the Romulan fleet in the mid-to-late 24th century.

They were registered as a class 5 vessel.

The class was named after Romulan Praetor D'deridex, who held office during the late 22nd century.

History
The D'deridex-class was the successor to the Amarcan-class warbird of the 2340s and the War Eagle-class, enlarging its double-hull design and correcting some weaknesses which had become evident in the older vessels. The class was designed to be larger than any Federation or Klingon starship of the time, and contain twice the armaments of either power's vessels.

The class was extremely successful and soon found its self making up the bulk the Imperial Romulan Fleet. D'Deridex-class vessels have represented the Romulan Star Empire in numerous incidents and historical events and the class participated in many engagements in the Dominion War.

The D'deridex Advanced was a variant of the basic D'deridex-class starship. These ships were upgraded at Orias III by the Tal Shiar and joined with Cardassian Keldon-class ships for an invasion of Dominion territory in 2371. The IRW Belak was an example of this variant.

Vessels of the class were still being constructed in the late 2370s, before being phased out in favor of the more powerful Mogai-class warbirds in the 2380s.

Features
Like most Romulan vessels of the 24th century, the D'deridex class is powered utilizing an artificial quantum singularity and is fitted with a cloaking device.

The D'deridex class's large size makes the vessels more intimidating, but also makes the class highly adaptable. The vessels are primarily meant for military purposes but can just as easily take on role of a science vessel or supply ship.

This class of ships were known to possess research labs, reverse engineering terminals and intelligence gathering equipment making them capable of a wide variety of operations; both in the fields of combat and covert missions.

At one time, it was believed these vessels only carried a crew of 622 Romulans.

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