Part of Starfleet's advanced-technology starship program, the Defiant class began development in 2366. The design goal was to create a small but heavily-armed and highly powered ship to defend the Federation against the Borg.

Design flaws appeared during the prototype's (NX-74205 USS Defiant) shakedown cruise, prompting Starfleet to scale down the features of the production run Defiant class vessels. While the standard Defiant class now fills the fleet roles of destroyer and escort, some of the advanced technology first implemented in the experimental ship was later carried over to the Sovereign and Akira class projects.

The prototype played a pivotal role in the Dominion War, and was later involved in the battle surrounding the Borg attempt to alter Earth's timeline. 

Class: Light Cruiser Advanced (CL)

Model and textures: Pneumonic81  
Texture and model adjustments: Nightstorm
Damage maps: red_green