Centaur Class

This ship is mainly a rearrangement of Excelsior class components.

Type Frigate Unit Run U.S.S. Centaur plus 402 vessels built since 2345. 100 were lost during the Dominion war, 303 remain in service.
Commissioned 2325 - 2342
Dimensions
Length 312 m
Width 240 m
Height 57 m
Decks 10 excluding nacelle engineering spaces
Mass 190,000 tons
Crew 125
Warp Speeds
Normal Cruise Warp 6
Maximum Cruise Warp 8.5
Maximum Rated Warp 9 for twelve hours
Armament 7 x Type VII Phaser banks, total output 2,500 TeraWatts 2 x 2nd class photon torpedo tubes + 50 torpedoes Defence Systems Shield system, total capacity 256,500 TeraJoules Standard Duranium single hull
Standard level Structural Integrity Field
Strength Indices (Galaxy Class = 1,000)
Beam Firepower 50
Torpedo Firepower 125
Weapon Range & Accuracy 95
Shield Strength 95
Hull Armour 10
Speed 750
Combat Manoeuvrability 9,000
Overall Strength Index 150
Diplomatic Capability Grade 2
Expected Lifetime 50 years
Refit Cycle
Minor 1 year
Standard 5 years
Major 25 years

Built in the 2320's, the Centaur was a forerunner of the Saber class. Intended to operate with theAmbassador, Excelsior and Miranda classes, the Centaurs where to act in the role of scouts and conduct general support missions during fleet actions. They where designed to be very small and agile, and as a result the Centaur has limited weaponry and a relatively poor standard of accommodation. This has prevented them from being used regularly on long duration missions, a problem which recurred with the Saber class.

The hull form of the Centaur clearly shows the ship to be a contemporary of the Excelsior/Ambassador generation. Her nacelles are large for a ship of this size, a feature she shares with the Excelsior. She is equipped with phaser banks rather than arrays - Starfleet has attempted to refit the Centaur class with phaser arrays several times during their life span, but has consistently been refused the necessary resources. The Centaur is equipped with two torpedo tubes, one forward and one aft, and a limited stock of reloads.