Akira class starship
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The Akira class starship is a type of Starfleet starship serving in the Star Trek fictional universe. With its impressive array of defensive and offensive capabilities, the Akira class of starships is often well-represented at the front line of Federation battle fleets. Akira-class starships served during the Dominion War; several Akira-class starships were destroyed by Cardassian orbital defense platforms in the Chin'toka system in 2374. The Akira class also served during the Battle of Sector 001 in 2373.
Ships of the Akira-class are large vessels composed of a circular, saucer-shaped primary hull with a low-slung navigational deflector and two beams rising from the top heading aft; the beams attach to an arch, which supports two warp nacelles at its ends and a weapons pod that fires photon torpedoes at its zenith. Like the Steamrunner class, the main bridge, primary dorsal phaser strip and lifeboats are embedded into the saucer to provide for better protection from enemy fire by blocking against attacks. The ventral saucer is occupied with the navigational deflector, a photon torpedo tube and additional lifeboats. The design of the Akira-class superficially resembles a catamaran and the old NX-class, particularly from the dorsal profile. This similarity led some fans to dub the more recently designed Enterprise (NX-01) the "Akiraprise".
In the real world, the Akira class was designed by Alex Jaeger of Industrial Light and Magic and first appeared on Star Trek: First Contact. Jaeger said of the design in an interview with the Star Trek Magazine, "This was my gunship/battlecruiser/aircraft carrier. It has 15 torpedo launchers and two shuttlebays - one in front, with three doors, and one in the back. I really got into it with this one, with the whole idea that the front bay would be the launching bay, and then to return they'd come into the back, because they'd be protected by the rest of the ship." 15 torpedo tubes is a notably large number compared to other featured starship designs - in particular the larger Galaxy-class starship had only three torpedo launchers, capable of firing spreads of torpedoes in a single burst. Its status as a warship is also questionable: in the Deep Space 9 episode "The Search" (set in 2371), Major Kira indicates that Starfleet doesn't have warships. While the registries of ships are not necessarily strictly chronological, the registries of Akira-class ships would seem to indicate a commissioning date of the early 2360s at the very latest.
The Star Trek: The Next Generation: Sketchbook: The Movies states that the class is named for the anime movie Akira.
Known Akira class cruisers
- USS Akira (NCC-62497, ex-NX-62497)
- The starship Akira is the pathfinder of its class. In the real world, the ship was named for Katsuhiro Otomo's classic cyberpunk anime and manga Akira. This vessel has never been seen or mentioned onscreen, however fans assume its existence given the implied Starfleet tradition of the first vessel of a class sharing its name with the class.
- USS Rabin (NCC-63574)
- Named for Yitzhak Rabin, the starship Rabin fought against the Borg at the Battle of Sector 001 circa stardate 50893.5 in 2373 (see Star Trek: First Contact).
- USS Spector (NCC-65549)
- The starship Spector was sent to recapture the USS Prometheus (NX-74913) from the Romulans in 2374 (see Star Trek: Voyager episode "Message in a Bottle").
- USS Thunderchild (NCC-63549)
- Named for the fictional HMS Thunder Child in the H. G. Wells novel The War of the Worlds. The starship Thunderchild fought at the Battle of Sector 001 (see Star Trek: First Contact).