The class's deflector dish was heavily armored, and only exposed a small portion, unlike the larger, open dishes of other Starfleet designs. The warp nacelles, mounted on upward curving pylons, were blocky and rectangular in design, with optional fins for atmospheric stability. The bridge was protected by two armored braces that merge with the split neck. It was compact with a thick, reinforced hull. New construction of Avenger vessels was suspended with the creation of the Arbiter-class, an updated subclass of the Avenger design, in 2409.ĭespite adhering to Starfleet's traditional cruiser design pattern of a large saucer connected to an engineering hull, with two outboard warp nacelles, the combat focus of the Avenger-class was expressed in nearly every aspect. Moving forward, when Avenger vessels came in for maintenance they would be refit to the new specifications. Two years later, Starfleet engineers applied some minor updates to the USS Bellipotent, creating a new Mark II variant of the class. The class's development sparked a minor arms race between Starfleet and the Klingon Defense Force, resulting in the Klingon Empire's introduction of the similarly performing Mogh-class battlecruiser in 2407. The USS Avenger, prototype of the class, entered official trials in 2406 and was followed by five additional vessels in 2407. The inclusion of a unique launcher for a ship-killing warhead, known as the Variable Auto-targeting Armament (VATA), did not sit well with those within Starfleet who saw their starships as a means of defense and exploration. The cloaking device was not the only controversial addition to the Avenger-class. With an emphasis on combat rather than exploration, the engineers put mobility and weaponry in a small design. The Avenger-class was designed by the Starfleet Corps of Engineers as a replacement for the Inquiry-class in order to compete with the smaller, more agile vessels in use by the Klingon Defense Force in the Last Federation-Klingon War.
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