Background

An advanced cruiser design, the Wasp-class vessels were conceived of to replace aged Constellation-class vessels approaching the extreme end of their operational lifetimes and were not intended for service inception until 2379. Unfortunately, the inconveniences of the recent Borg invasion, plus the protracted hostilities with the Klingon Empire in 2372 and the current needs of the Dominion War caused the acceleration of the program and the first ships off the line did their systems workups while on the way to their forward stations.

Starfleet's need for rapid vehicle replacement also drove a serious redesign of the class, taking it from a highly advanced theoretical design and rapidly prototyping it into a viable hull that could be quickly constructed using off-the-shelf parts. 538 meters in length, 236 meters in width, and with a 69-meter draught, the Wasp-class ships combine older proven technologies with systems developed for the Sovereign and Intrepid classes of starships.

• Rear View
• Bottom View

Indeed, the first 2 vessels started their lives as Sovereign-class spaceframes, but were rapidly converted on the ways. Speed was the key here, and so the sleek Sovereign lines were combined with the classic shapes of nacelles originally designed for use on Excelsior-class vessels; in fact, the nacelles allocated were surplus salvage from Wolf 359 that had been reconditioned for use. As frontline battle reports filtered back to ASDB centers, it was decided that the existing armament would be supplemented by a slightly redesigned version of the pulse phaser cannon system so exceptionally proven aboard Defiant-class starships. The expenditure was deemed cost-efficient, and the cannons were installed port and starboard at the forward hull extension root on Deck 16.

Named after the 13th-century Crown Prince of Novgorod who drove back invading German knights, USS Aleksandr Nevsky was the second production vessel in the class. Constructed in early 2375 at United Terran Shipbuilding's Zhdanov Shipyards, Nevsky distinguished herself during the recent invasion of Beta Portolan by Dominion forces.