The first Nexus-class starship was launched in 2371, replacing the remaining Miranda-class ships, which had served for nearly a century. Like it's predecessor, the Nexus was designed as a versatile platform for various combinations of specialized sensors and weaponry, without the expense and complement of a Galaxy or Nebula class vessel. Unlike the Miranda, the Nexus was designed for a lengthy service life, having been baselined with the latest experimental propulsion and weapon systems instead of then-current technology.

It features a ventrally-mounted super-mega phasor, easily capable of puncturing the shields of a D'deridex-class warbird, and a wing-like tachyon detection grid projecting from either side of the sensor tower. With the grid, one ship can track the movement of cloaked ships, in a technique that, when first employed in 2368, required the coordinated participation of twenty Federation ships.

Other configurations typically featured a triangular-shaped sensor pod instead of the tachyon grid. Occassionally an additional sensor pod was mounted beneath the engineering decks. Several ships had an engineering section expanded to include docking and launching space for 40 fighters and several medium-sized freighters. Two ships had a scaled-back offensive capability, while six had the tachyon-grid augmented with turrets at either end, with an extra third turret installed above the rear-deck.

Note optional turrets above the engine mounts and beneath the ends of the tachyon detector grids.

Go to: Federation Ships