The Akira Class vessel is one of the few StarFleet vessels which was mostly designed for combat.The ships carry a extremely heavy torpedo armament for their size with no less than 15 photon torpedo tubes.Seven of them are facing foward,while the remaining eight are located near the aft section. The hanger bay arrangment in the Akira is unusual in StarFleet vessels.There are two large shuttlebays in the saucer section of the ship,one near the foward edge and the other at the rear.This allows for large numbers of launch and landing operations to occur simultaneously.During peactime, this allows the Akira to evacuate large numbers of small survey craft, and during wartime these shipsto serve as fighter carriers since they can carry up to one hundred attack fighters.
The Akira Class ships were entered into service in 2363, and rapid production put nearly a hundred in the Federation fleet in twelve years.Most are assigned to outer Federation territories for patrol,mapping, and exploration missions.During the rising tensions at the Federations core, almost all of the Akiras have been recalled to operate closer to Earth to patrol the Cardassian,Romulan and Klingon borders.Akira Class ships were prominent in the 2372 Borg attack on Earth.Many of the Akiras were destroyed in this battle.The USS Thunderchild,NCC 63549, participated in the final assualt and destroyed the Borg Cube. The Akira ships had been due to cease production in 2373, but with the Dominion War conflict, StarFleet decided to boost production.Akira ships have become common on front battle lines,participating in most major battles.
Type- Heavy Cruiser
Units- NCC 62497 USS Akira, NCC 61473 USS Spector, NCC 63293 USS Rabin, NCC 63549 USS Thunderchild, plus 187 others. 57 were lost in the Dominion war, but the Akira class remain in production.
Date of Commission- 2363
Dimensions- 464.43 meters X 87.43 meters - 15 decks
Mass- 3,055,000 metric tons
Crew Compliment- 500
Armaments- 3 Type 10 phasers arrays -total output of 22,500 terawatts , 15 pulse fire photon torpedo tubes + 3000 torpedoes
Defence Systems- Shield system-total capacity of 1,876,500 terajoules , duranium/tritanium double hull , 5.4cm high density armor , standard level structual intregrity field
Warp Speed Capability- Normal cruise: Warp factor 6 , Maximum Cruise: Warp factor 9.3
Strength Indices(1000 is equal to a Galaxy class ship)- Beam firepower: 450 , Torpedo firepower: 3750 , Weapon range and accuracy: 900 , Shield strengh: 695 , Hull Armor: 640 , Speed: 1285 , Combat Manuverability: 5000
Overall Strengh Index(out of 1000)- 1530
Expected Hull Life- 80 years
Refit cycles-Minor: 1 year , Standard: 5 years , Major: 20 years
