Ambassador class

The Ambassador-class was a type of Federation heavy cruiser in service to Starfleet in the early to late 24th century.

Service history
The Ambassador-class was designed to be a replacement for the aging fleet of and  vessels which had been in service for over three decades, and to create a true front-line heavy cruiser. Between 2325 and 2360, the Ambassador-class heavy cruisers were the primary capital ships of Starfleet until 2372, when Starfleet stopped production of these ships.

The prototype of the class, the USS Ambassador, was launched in the early 2320s, and several other vessels were in service by 2324, including the USS Gandhi.

One of the most famous ships of the class was the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C), the fourth starship to bear the name, which was launched in 2332 under the command of Captain Rachel Garrett. The Enterprise was destroyed in 2344 while responding to a distress call from a Klingon outpost on Narendra III. Upon arrival at the outpost they discovered that it was under attack by several Romulan warbirds. Regardless of the odds, the Enterprise put up a valiant fight and its act of sacrifice kick-started the peace process between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.

Although the Ambassador-class was five decades old by the 2370s, many ships of the class continued to be in service, albeit refitted with the latest technologies which could be found aboard the more up-to-date models such as the explorers.

In 2370 Starfleet commissioned the Bajorans to build a new Ambassador class ship named USS Hannibal at the Okana Shipyards on Bajor. At first Okana Shipyard director Amkot Groell thought the Federation had given the Bajorans a cast-off design, but quickly came to realize that despite the age of the class the Ambassador class design was still very good and quite modern.