Prometheus class



The Prometheus class was a Federation starship class in service to Starfleet designed for deep-space tactical assignments. It was one of the most advanced Starfleet vessels in operation during the latter half of the 24th century.

History
The Prometheus-class was one of several starship designs, along with the Sovereign and Defiant classes, that were created in response to the Borg threat following the USS Enterprise-D's encounter with a Borg Cube in System J-25 in 2365. Starfleet Tactical's task was to design a vessel that could be fast, maneuverable, and be equipped with the latest weaponry that was being designed to fight the Borg.

However, none of the new designs or weapons were ready for the Borg attack in 2366 which resulted in the destruction of 39 starships and the loss of 11,000 lives. This created a new sense of urgency in getting better equipped starships up and running in the fleet.

Starfleet later abandoned the project when the Borg threat became less urgent; also, design flaws turned up, nearly destroying the Defiant during its initial shakedown cruise. However, the Prometheus prototype was pulled out of storage in 2373 when the Dominion attacked Deep Space 9, inciting the Dominion War. After several upgrades, the ship was deemed worthy of use.

While the Sovereign and Defiant classes entered service in 2371, the launch and testing of the USS Prometheus was put back until 2374.

The initial trials of the Prometheus went well, until she was hijacked by a group of Romulans keen on taking the Prometheus to the Tal Shiar so they could learn the latest starship secrets. While the crew were killed by the Romulans, they were prevented in keeping the Prometheus by the starship's Emergency Medical Hologram and The Doctor from the USS Voyager.

After the safe return of the Prometheus and the testing of the ships multi-vector assault mode were completed, Starfleet rushed the construction of three further vessels, the USS Cerberus, USS Heracles, and the USS Endeavour. All three of these vessels were in service by late 2375, and the Cerberus served as Admiral William Ross's flagship from 2376 to 2379.

The Prometheus-class was still in service in 2409, and by that time had inspired two subclasses: the Phoenix class and Cerberus class.

Ships commisioned

 * USS Prometheus (NX-59650/NX-74913)
 * USS Endeavour (NCC-73657)
 * USS Cerberus
 * USS Hercules
 * USS Meridian
 * USS Titan