Guide:Drexler

Drexler
Class Overview
Category	frigate
Operational	2169-2241
Constructed	39
Dimensions
Length	81.0 m
Beam	50.1 m
Height	26.3 m (deflector extended) 22.8 m (deflector retracted)
Mass	95,200 tons
Performance
Cruise Speed	w 3
Max Speed	w 3.5
Endurance	1 year
Complement
Officers	13
Enlisted	47
Tactical Systems
Beam Weapons	2x laser emitters (800 MW) (port/stbd fwd primary hull) 1x Type B phased particle cannon (200 GW) (ventral aft hull) (original) 1x laser emitter (800 MW) (ventral aft hull) (refitted in place of phase cannon in 2187-89)
Missile Weapons	1x torpedo tube (w/ 20 photonic torpedoes) (primary hull bow) (removed in 2202)
Shields	4-layer graviton/subspace globular forcefield Polarizable armor (hull) Retractable navigational deflector (below primary hull)
Laboratories	1x GP (standard) 1x astrography (NCC-226)
Transporters	2x GP (2-pad), Mk I
Auxiliary Craft	2 atmospheric shuttlepods
Historical
Ships of Note	USS Gilmore (NCC-226) USS Helios (NCC-223)
Canonicity
Design	SFB
Name	SFB, Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore ‘Distant Early Warning’
History	SFB, Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore ‘Distant Early Warning’, own

Caught at the moment of separation, USS Breeman (NCC-219) has just spread her wings and prepares to retract the ventral antenna. The massive firepower packed in the tiny forward section carries the penalty of low endurance, made good after redocking by replenishment of fuel and consumables from the voluminous aft hull.

Fought far away from Sol, the Romulan War provided precious few opportunities for operating starships out of surface bases. Nevertheless, the trans-atmospheric, warp-capable interceptor destroyers typical of the early 22nd century UESF were pressed to duty in the distant front lines, and found a tactical niche there. Many a battle involved the use of planetary atmospheres for diversion or protection. Others called for surface reconnaissance and strike, tasks for which starships usually were the only assets available. Thus, even though the saucerlike primary hull of the Tritons and Enterprises already dominated Earth capital warship design, it was no surprise that one further lifting-body warp combat ship would be fielded at the end of the war.

The design for the smallish frigate-type vessel that the UFP Starfleet coveted featured modularity fashionable in the late 2160s. This brought forth the best attributes of trans-atmospheric and interstellar vehicles by segregating the functionalities into two distinct hull sections.

Yet the resulting reduction in integration effort and costs was every bit as significant at this time of financial problems. To the surprise of many analysts, Earth’s first true interstellar war had not given the economy an upward boost of the kind created by previous conflicts on the planet’s surface and vicinity – possibly because only one side of the conflict now came from that planet. The overall economy of the newly formed Federation had improved from the increasing interaction, that much was evident, but the individual planetary systems did not yet know how to translate that to net profit without beggaring some of the member worlds and hyperinflating the economies of others. Thus, funds to UFP Starfleet were a mere trickle in comparison to the quantities pumped into UESF during the war.

The Drexler class frigate reflected the budgetary austerity in compactness and simplicity of form. The forward hull was a clean-lined lifting body devoid of interstellar or interplanetary propulsion systems, dedicated instead to those pieces of mission gear that would be needed on atmospheric or planetary forays, be they exploratory or combative in nature. Two powerful forward-firing lasers flanked a twenty-shot torpedo tube for a devastating combination of firepower in minimum dimensions. Crew facilities lay to port and starboard of the weapon systems, while the bridge sat atop the four-deck hull, tying to general C3I assets in combined flight mode but catering only for the needs of the aerodynamic combatant in case of separation. A two-pad transporter was provided next to a planetfall ramp astern, both these means of egress being supported by an armory and a staging area. Basic atmospheric and trans-orbital propulsion came from simple fission engines that would only come to play when the forward hull was separated from the interstellar propulsion section.

The aft hull eschewed with all pretension of aerodynamics, being a simple cylinder with a conically tapering impulse section abaft and two 38 m, 10,000 ton nacelles of PB-9 type mounted laterally. Internal arrangements and power systems owed much to Daedalus technology, quite evident also in the exterior geometry. A single war surplus Type B particle cannon on a ventral mount made possible space combat at warp and impulse alike. Later on, this weapon would be discarded and a third laser cannon installed instead, as the power needs of lasers were much lower with respect to their destructive potential. It was in fact largely due to the power limitations of the small postwar vessels that Starfleet put its faith on warp laser armament, even though the policy soon extended to far larger vessels.

Separation was a fairly simple operation featuring the closing of two passageways and a dozen leadthroughs for fuel, data and power, a physical unlatching, and a gentle puff from the RCS systems. Control surfaces would then unfold from the upper and lower flanks of the forward hull stern, the ventral sensor array would retract, and the forward section would become a maneuverable atmospheric combatant. Up to 20 separation and reattaching maneuvers could be performed before major maintenance would be needed. A standard communications array and a second transporter platform in the aft hull would help in keeping the two sections in operational contact. Even a pair of tiny shuttlepods was provided, in a dorsal bow hangarette. Indeed, the drive section was an independently operating space vessel on its own right, with a navigation bridge surrounded by the combat management and sigint facilities also needed in combined flight mode.

In pennant paint befitting the 2238 date, USS Justice (NCC-227) leaves orbit for another training mission. The modifications made to the single impulse engine are not prominent from this angle, but the removal of aerodynamic surfaces from the flanks of the forward section is evident, belying the reduced operability of the aging vessel. Gone as well is the torpedo armament.

During these early years of UFP Starfleet operations, even a short range mission could well take a ship to an area of exploratory or general scientific interest. Since the Drexler class was actually tasked with interstellar operations, some investment in scientific instrumentation was clearly warranted. A permanent laboratory was included in the aft hull to coordinate the research efforts, and three science operations officers brought aboard – giving the ship a larger officer complement than wartime destroyers or some cruisers had carried, and hinting at things to come. Little sensor gear was installed overall, however, save for the austere, retractable navigational array beneath the forward hull. In 2171, UESPA took a special interest in USS Gilmore, outfitting her with hyper-modern mapping sensors for the 'Interstellar Year of Astrography'. Unfortunately, the postwar funding of this venerable organization was no better than that of Starfleet. In terms of the scope of Starfleet’s new mission, the scientific systems and resources of the frigates and other military vessels received all too little attention.

Nor did the Drexlers get as much chance to loiter into uncharted space as originally expected. Convoy duty and deep space escort no longer was a mission requirement in the postwar threat environment. The piracy issue was given low priority, and perhaps rightfully so: the marauders had down-scaled their operations drastically during the war, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire. Just 39 of the total production run of 66 were thus delivered to their intended use, and the remaining 27 shunted to local defense duty. Standing by to repel a future Romulan invasion, yet utilized and, more significantly, funded by the Federation Customs Service in the meantime, the ships suffered relatively little fatigue and damage. In the 2180s-90s, most were still in good condition and did their part in helping Starfleet through its period of postwar block obsolescence.

Starfleet was in no hurry to develop a follow-on design until its mission requirements and the overall Starfleet charter would be further clarified. In the end, this took more years than the Drexler class had left. The retirement from frontline service in 2202 reflected both the growing obsolescence of the type and the expansion of the Federation to dimensions that no longer could be efficiently spanned by light combat vessels. When interest in light combatants was re-sparkled by the Klingon offensive, the call to arms only concerned newly designed types; the Drexlers were restricted to training duty, a role in which they performed admirably until the early 2240s.

Other Federation organizations less choosy with their equipment, and more concerned with the continuing bane of piracy, carried on the Drexler heritage. In the 2250s, Federation Transit Authority took on a modernization program where PB-40 propulsion and phaser armament was installed, reinvigorating the design for police cutter use. Under the guise of Masterson class high endurance cutters, the newbuilt vessels complemented the lower endurance Thunderbolts in spacelane patrol, SAR and anti-piracy tasks. A top speed of warp six afforded by the new engines made the design attractive for Starfleet use as well, and the vessels were considered part of Activation Class Three reserves, much as the FCS Thunderbolts. None entered active Starfleet records, though; thus, the type is not discussed further in Part II of this work.

Easily distinguishable from the original Drexler frigates, this Masterson high endurance cutter sports an all-new forward section of simplified aerodynamics and a pair of smoothly faired PB-40 nacelles. A dilithium-focus reactor provides significantly improved performance for propulsion and weapons alike. Some seventy vessels of this type were utilized by the FTA from the fifties to the late nineties, as the last remnants of the immediate postwar ship generation.

Gallery

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