1.1 MISSION OBJECTIVES
Designed during the relatively turbulent end to the 2360s, the Achilles class became the first battle cruiser design fielded by Starfleet in over 50 years. Its primary mission objectives typically include border patrol and threat interception along the Federation border, carrying out unsupported raids and strikes behind enemy lines, and providing support during large fleet actions, as well as serving as a frontline support vehicle during times of war and emergencies.
Length:
Width:
Height:
Weight:
Cargo capacity:
Hull:
Decks:
Crew:
Evacuation Capacity:
Normal Cruise Speed:
Maximum Cruise Speed:
Maximum Speed:
Phasers:
Pulse Phaser Cannons:
Quantum Torpedo Launchers:
Micro-Quantum Launchers:
Danube Class Runabout:
Shuttles:
Argo Shuttles:
Work Bee:
Transporters:
612 meters
273 meters
63 meters
3,255,000 metric tons
45,000 metric tonnes
Tritanium composite with micro-fiber reinforced ablative armor.
18 total, 16 habitable.
410 person crew compliment (50 officers + 320 crew + 40 marines)
1,000
Warp 7
Warp 9.5
Warp 9.93 for 12 hours
8 - Type XII
6
2
6
1
8 - Type IX
1
2
Four personnel, four cargo, two emergency
The Achilles Class arose from the threats from the Borg, the Dominion, and the Cardassians in the late 2360's. Starfleet Command wanted a heavy cruiser equivalent of the Defiant Class starship. Officially, she would be classed as a heavy cruiser however unofficially she will be a battle cruiser designed to fight and defeat the Borg, the Dominion and any other threat that attacked the Federation. With rising tensions within the Federation caused by the Founder Scare in 2372 engineers at Utopia Planitia started work on the Achilles Class.
One of the critical strategic problems faced by Starfleet Command, if the Federation was going to win the war against the Dominion, was that the Federation forces were being spread too thin. Between defending the Federation territory from the Dominion, and keeping a wary eye on the Romulans and trying to go on the offensive against the Dominion, Starfleet found it had too many obligations and too few resources. This problem became even more acute when Starfleet strategists had determined that the 'Achilles Heel' of the Dominion was the dependency of the Jem'Hadar on Ketracel-White. If the Federation/Klingon Alliance could destroy, or even severely threaten, the Ketracel-White facilities, the Dominion's Alpha Quadrant offensive would grind to a halt. Unfortunately the only ships the either Starfleet or the Klingon Defense Force had that could do the job were the Galaxy and Negh'Var class. Unescorted long-range strikes against heavily defended multiple targets currently could not be performed by any existing vessel. The Defiant Class with its firepower had limited operating range and the Galaxy and Negh'Var classes, while having the range were too expensive to be feasible. Neither the Federation nor the Klingons were willing to commit such large fleets to hit these targets. To do so would have entailed compromising defense of key Federation and Klingon systems. A new ship of revolutionary design would be required.
The Achilles Class was one of the most ambitious projects initiated by Starfleet. The Achilles Class was the accumulation of starship research and development in the last ten years. In order to fight small, maneuverable and agile starships the Achilles Class received enhanced pulse phaser cannons. In addition, she was the first vessel to receive a phalanx of micro-quantum torpedo launchers, positioned along the dorsal spine of the ship, designed to defend her against smaller escort vessels while concentrating on its main target. The micro torpedo launchers are capable of a high rate of fire. She would be able to defend herself against small maneuverable targets such as the Jem'Hadar Attack Fighter or the Cardassian Hideki Class. While her redesigned impulse engines are capable of matching the speeds and maneuverability of scout to medium sized vessels. Against larger vessels, she was equipped with several Type-XII phaser emitters and two rapid fire quantum torpedo launchers. For defense, the Achilles Class received ablative armor, enhanced shields and the advance remodulation system from the Sovereign Class. The Achilles Class was build with redundant systems and has a backup impulse and warp system. Therefore, the Achilles could take take a lot of damage and still destroy her intended target. Other systems included a battle bridge, which is surrounded by a layer of one meter thick generation 1 ablative armor in the aft section of the ship, and the new EMH Mark III. In addition, the Achilles Class has the range equivalent of a Galaxy Class.
Work on the prototype was completed in 2374 at Utopia Planitia. The Achilles Class primary mission objectives typically include border patrol and threat interception along the Federation border, carrying out unsupported raids and strikes behind enemy lines, and providing support during large fleet actions. Unlike other Starfleet vessels the Achilles could operate within a fleet or independently and could engage a variety of targets small or large. Unfortunately problems with integrating all these systems in early 2374 meant the prototype U.S.S. Achilles served as a test bed vessel and could not be launched into active service. The second ship of the class, the U.S.S. Imperious, was launched instead.
However due to the complexity of the design it took a standard Federation shipyard over a year to construct an Achilles Class vessel. Although only three vessels were constructed the Achilles Class has been successful during the Dominion War and played a key role in a number of battles. With the end of the war construction of any further vessels has been put on hold. This is due to a variety of reasons. Starfleet wanted a thorough shakedown and testing of the three vessels in active service. Secondly, the Achilles was designed for patrol and defensive duties, not scientific and exploration duties. Starfleet Command believed the Achilles Class would be ideal as a deep space exploration vessel.
With the Federation's bold step into the Gamma Quadrant, an obvious need for such a vessel was realized and the fourth Achilles Class starship was constructed. The USS Knight NCC-60572-C was launched in 2380 and designated the flagship of the Federation fleet assigned to the Gamma Quadrant.
PHASERS
The Achilles Class currently employs eight Type-XII phaser arrays at key locations throughout the ship's hull. Traditionally, the choice defensive weapon onboard Starfleet vessels since close to the dawn of the Federation, the standard emitter makes use of a particular class of super-conducting crystals known as fushigi-no-umi, which allow high-speed interactions within atomic nuclei that create a rapid nadion effect, which in turn is directed into a focused beam at a target. The resulting beam is discharged at speeds approaching .986c, and as per standard tactical procedures, the frequencies of these beams are rotated to make it more difficult for a threat vehicle's shields to adjust to the beam. Through the use of ACB jacketed beams, phaser arrays now have limited capabilities in warp environments, though the power output is greatly limited and is by no means as useful as a torpedo weapon in this environment. The Type-XII shipboard array is by far the most powerful phaser to be fielded by a starship to date.
Phaser array arrangement: Two dorsal phaser arrays on the primary hull, one on the port side of the dorsal saucer section, one on the starboard side. Another two phaser arrays are located on the dorsal side of the nacelle pylons; one on the port nacelle pylon and one on the starboard side pylon.
Two phaser arrays are located on the ventral surface of the saucer section, one on the port side and one on the starboard side. Another two arrays are located on the ventral surface of the engineering section, both running parallel to each other from fore to aft, one on the port underbelly of the ship, and the other on the starboard underbelly.
Phaser Type: The Achilles class utilizes the latest in starship armament technology, the Type XII array system. Each array fires a steady beam of phaser energy, and the forced-focus emitters discharge the phasers at speeds approaching .986c (which works out to about 182,520 miles per second - nearly warp one). The phaser array automatically rotates phaser frequency and attempts to lock onto the frequency and phase of a threat vehicle's shields for shield penetration.
Phaser Array Output: Each phaser array takes its energy directly from the impulse drives and auxiliary fusion generators. Individually, each type XII emitter can only discharge approximately 8.0 MW (megawatts) per second. However, several emitters (usually two) fire at once in the array during standard firing procedures, resulting in a discharge approximately 16 MW.
Phaser Array Range: Maximum effective range is 300,000 kilometers.
Primary purpose: Assault
Secondary purpose: Defense/anti-spacecraft/anti-fighter
PULSE PHASER CANNONS
A total of six pulse phaser cannon assemblies are located in forward-facing locations onboard Achilles class vessels. The cannons are located on the dorsal side of the saucer section, with three cannons on each side of the hull. Due to the ship’s extreme maneuverability, yard engineers deemed it unnecessary to mount aft-facing cannons onboard vessels of this class. Computer simulations also indicated an unacceptable loss in phaser power performance due to increased strains on the power systems from the proposed aft-mounted cannons.
The development of the pulse phaser cannon applies a number of lessons learned at the Starfleet Tokyo R&D facility, where large, nearly flawless emitter crystals had been grown in ground-based microgravity chambers. The new crystals, combined with rapid-discharge EPS capacitance banks and high-speed beam-focusing coils, allowed the phaser discharge to be stored temporarily (up to 2.1 nanoseconds) within the coils and then released as a layered pulse structured something like an onion and is able to land a target contact that is more difficult to disperse than a standard phaser beam.
Pulse phaser cannons store up their charge between 2.1 and 3.9 nanoseconds, resulting in an energy pulse more powerful then standard Type-XII phaser emitters. Rapid fire of multiple bursts is accomplished through a direct EPS shunt from the warp reactor. If situations warrants, power can be routed from the impulse engines through a secondary plasma tap. For maximum effectiveness, all six cannons fire several bursts at the same time, resulting in a large amount of energy impacting a relatively small location. This tactic has been proven to pierce the shields of threat vessels without having to collapse the entire grid. Maximum energy output of a pulse phaser cannon is classified as of this date.
Pulse Phaser Range: Maximum effective range is 150,000 kilometers.
TORPEDO LAUNCHERS
Arrangement: The Achilles class starship is equipped with two torpedo/probe launchers. One swivel-mounted torpedo launcher, mounted on the forward end of the saucer section. This launcher design is the latest development in launcher technology to better accommodate the usage of torpedo-based weapons on highly maneuverable starships. Capable of moving 15-degrees port or starboard off the vehicle's primary axis, this new launcher allows for easier tracking of targets at shorter ranges where torpedoes launched from traditional fixed-focus launchers where often unable to track due to the lack of space for course corrections. A custom assembly for the Achilles class, it is a second-generation automated launcher located on Deck 16 and is capable of preloading ten torpedoes for rapid fire. The launcher is capable of full reload in 6.2 seconds, wich equates to 96 rounds per minute; 4.16 minutes of continuous fire before ammunition depletion.
The aft torpedo/probe launcher is located in the engineering section on deck 12, between the impulse engines. The launcher design is identical to the forward launcher assembly.
Type: Mark Q-II Quantum Torpedoes. All torpedoes are capable of pattern firing as well as independent launch. Once in-flight, torpedoes are capable of individual targeting through use of onboard sensors and encrypted feeds from the ship's targeting arrays. Should a threat vessel outmaneuver an inbound torpedo, the weapons package can automatically detonate in an effort to impact the vessel with splash damage. Further, each launcher is capable of pattern firing as well as independent launch. Due to the ability for the quantum torpedoes to be independently targeted, the Achilles class can fire at ten targets at once, with one torpedo per target, or the ship can engage fewer targets at once, or just a single target with all torpedoes.
Payload: 350 quantum torpedoes (300 in the forward magazine, 50 in the aft magazine).
The Achilles class starship has also been upgraded to utilize the new transphasic torpedoes that were brought back by the USS Voyager. All data and information on the transphasic torpedoes are currently classified by Starfleet Command.
Payload: 50 transphasic torpedoes (40 in the forward magazine, 10 in the aft magazine).
Range: Maximum effective range for both the Mark Q-II Quantum Torpedo and transphasic torpedo is 4,050,000 kilometers
Primary purpose: Assault
Secondary Purpose: Anti-spacecraft
"PHALANX" MICRO-QUANTOM TORPEDO LAUNCHERS
One of the main features of the Achilles class starship is the "phalanx" array of micro quantom torpedo launchers along the dorsal surface of the engineering section of the ship. There are a total of 6 launchers, 3 along the port dorsal spine of the vessel, and 3 on the starboard side spine of the vessel. Each launcher is capable of firing in a 90 degree arc, from directly above the ship to the immediate side (such as to the port or starboard).
Each launcher can fire individual shots, or up to 10 rounds at a time, with a full magazine reload in 2.5 seconds, which equates to 240 rounds per minute.
Payload: 3,000 micro-quantum torpedoes (500 torpedoes per launcher).
Range: Maximum effective range for the Mark I Micro-Quantum Torpedo is 1,010,000 kilometers
Primary purpose: Assault
Secondary Purpose: Anti-spacecraft
