Fighter, Kestrel-type

Last crawled date: 1 year, 10 months ago

Kestrel Kestrel-class Type: escort fighter Operator: UFP Starfleet Active: 2374-2420 Decks: 1 Length: approximately 15 meters Capacity: 2 humanoids Max. Speed: warp 9.81 Max. Cruising speed: warp 9.4 Armament: turret-mounted micro torpedo launcher (x2); up to 2x weapon modules Defenses: deflector shields; ablative hull armor ======================================== Starship Background Following the massacre at Wolf 359, Starfleet was forced to reevaluate their military tactics and starship design philosophies. To counter Borg assimilation techniques, Starfleet began designing small fighter craft—these small attack ships would be harder for Borg weapons to target, and assimilation would only incapacitate a relatively small, weak vessel rather than a larger starship. The basic strategy devised was for large carrier ships (like what would later become the Akira-class) to provide heavy fire support from a relatively safe distance while launching small support craft to harass the Borg ship at close range. Ultimately the Kestrel-class fighter saw little action against the Borg, but proved a crucial asset during the Second Federation-Klingon War and the Dominion War. Their speed an maneuverability allowed them to get very close to enemy warships, where their complement of micro-torpedoes enabled them to cause significant damage. Model Background I began with a simple mission: I wanted to take the Federation fighter, seen in DS9, and make it look 'cool.' The fighter we saw in the TV show always struck me as a design more at home in the Star Wars universe than Star Trek (it's too busy, too boxy, etc.). That mission failed. I then set about designing a wholly unique Federation fighter to sort of mentally retcon the ugly Federation fighter/attack ship. I ended up going through about 4 different models before I hit upon one I liked—this is the 4th and final design. It's clearly inspired by DS9. Specifically, I used the Bajoran fighter as a base (for the overall profile) and modeled the warp nacelles on those of the Defiant (only these have, if you look closely, pylons!) I'm fairly happy with how the design turned out. It's not very angular or threatening-looking, thanks to its stubby nose and sloped-down nacelles, which I think is a good fit for a Federation fighter. This is the UFP, after all: none of their ships should ever look threatening or warlike, not even their warships. I also rather like how the torpedo turret can be stowed, effectively hiding it, and the phaser modules removed—allowing the Kestrel to be, or at least appear to be, completely unarmed. (Please see the model information on the Kestrel prototype for my explanation of starship and fighter registry codes). #fighter #star_trek #starfighter #starship