Technical, Specifications

ALLIANCE-CLASS STARSHIP HISTORY

When the first trans-warp experiments were being proposed, the Excelsior Class starship had been commissioned to act as the tested for the new "Grand Experiment".  Unfortunately the first trans-warp trials were a failure however the Excelsior starships proved to be one of the most successful starship designs that Starfleet ever produced.  With the encounter with the Borg, Starfleet command decided that it was important to create a new starship design that could travel farther and faster than any other vessel they possessed in the hopes of scouting far beyond the boundaries of Federation space, even beyond the Alpha Quadrant, to scout and explore possible future threats to the Federation

The philosophy of, "Fore warned was fore armed", was the compelling drive behind the new experimental ship.  In the search for a way to create a ship that could reach farther and faster numerous trans-warp theories were examined and discarded until promising new information came to the attention of Starfleet's Corps of Engineers about several breakthroughs in the use of Quantum Slipstream theory.  It was found that a Quantum Slipstream, a narrowly-focused, directed warp field, could be produced by a starship with the power output equivalent  of a Galaxy class cruising at warp 5, well within the power requirements needed for a ship that would be called upon to travel vast distances without refueling.

With the trans-warp technology well underway to being developed, all that remained was to decide what type of ship design to use.  From the beginning it was agreed upon that the ship would be created using existing space frame technologies under development for other classes of vessels for ease of construction and to insure that if the second "Grand Experiment" failed then at least the new design may prove useful as the Excelsior design had.  With the Dominion War on the new ship was placed on the back burner in favor of producing more serviceable starships for use in the war effort, but after the War ended, there was a surplus supply of many available space frames with which to resume the construction of the experimental craft.

Starfleet Command also realized that the vessel would be required to be self sufficient, being able to fabricate much of its own needed materials for construction and repairs so it was designed with fully automated robotic fabrication workshops and industrial level replicators.  As the ship would be exploring distant space it would also be outfitted with the best in available scientific technologies, the latest probes available, and eighteen modular sensor pallets for mission specific equipment. Thirty large dedicated laboratory facilities are included in the ship, along with facilities to convert three of the cargo bays to hold extra scientific equipment if necessary.

An unexpected development from the Dominion War was the sharing of engineering techniques and technologies from the Klingon and Romulan Empires.  Technologies included in the new ship, now being called Alliance class because of the shared effort in creating it, incorporate the superior shielding technologies of the Klingons and the sensor arrays of the Romulans, as well as many other new devices and facilities.

The USS Alliance was launched on October 23, 2375. No plans are currently underway for the further production of this series of starship at this time.