Defiant Class

Though officially classed as an escort, the Defiant Class was originally developed as a small, agile and powerfully armed warship to meet the Borg threat. When the Borg threat receded, and design flaws discovered during the lead ship's shakedown cruise, the project was suspended (it would later be restarted with the outbreak of the Dominion War). The USS Defiant was assigned to Deep Space 9 in 2371, in part to meet the Jem'Hadar threat. First seen in DS9 "The Search", the Defiant has also appeared in "Star Trek: First Contact". It was designed by concept artist Jim Martin under the direction of Herman Zimmerman; the studio model was built by Tony Meininger with Gary Hutzel.