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The USS Defiant (NX-74205) is the lead ship of an experimental class of starship design in the Star Trek fictional universe. It was featured in the television series as well as the feature film . The ship first appeared in the Deep Space Nine episode "The Search, Part I," after which it continued to play a significant role through the rest of the series.
This ship was reportedly named after the Constitution class starship USS Defiant (NCC-1764) from the The Original Series.
The Defiant was a prototype vessel for the Defiant class of warships, originally developed to counter the threat of the Borg. Following the Borg invasion of 2366 – 2367 the Federation approved a project committed to enhancing the strength of Starfleet's offensive and defensive military capabilities. Benjamin Sisko was assigned to Utopia Planitia Fleet YardsStar Trek locations In the fictional world of Star Trek, the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards is a large Federation shipyard in synchronous orbit over Utopia Planitia on Mars. The facility is known for the development and construction of starships and its dry to oversee the project after the Battle of Wolf 359Star Trek wars and battles In the Star Trek fictional universe, the Battle of Wolf 359 was the Federation's first major battle against the Borg. In 2366, a contingent of forty Starfleet starships assembled near the star Wolf 359 under the command of Admir.
Designed to be fast, highly maneuverable, and have extremely powerful weaponry, the ship was almost too powerful and needed extensive work done to keep itself from being torn apart. The ship was designed specifically for the task of battle, and was relatively spartan by Starfleet standards of the time. The ship was not designed to carry family members, had no science labs, and had a limited infirmary .
Additionally, the Defiant was the first Starfleet ship to legally carry a cloaking deviceIn the fictional Star Trek and Star Wars universes, a cloaking device is an advanced stealth system which causes a spaceship to be invisible and extremely difficult to detect with normal sensors. However, the idea of a cloaking device could be extended to. Supplied by the RomulanThe Romulans a fictional race in the Star Trek universe, are descended from Vulcans and are characterized as being deceitful, cunning, and treacherous. They are the principle species of the Romulan Star Empire one of the larger empires in the Beta Quadran government, it was meant to be operated by an agent of that government for the crew of the ship. Primarily, the cloak would only be used in the Gamma QuadrantIn the fictional Star Trek series, the Milky Way Galaxy is divided into four quadrants. Alpha quadrant The Alpha Quadrant would be located between 6 and 9 o'clock positions if the plane of the galaxy were seen as a clock face with the 6 o'clock position b, but the cloaking device also ended up being used (illegally) in the Alpha Quadrant.
After failed systems tests on the original pathfinder the project was scrapped in 2368 until first contactFirst contact is a term used to describe a first meeting of two previously unknown cultures. It is also used in astronomy to describe a moment when the apparent positions of the two bodies first touch. First contact in literature Science fiction First con with the Jem'HadarIn the fictional Star Trek universe, the Jem'Hadar are the shock troops of the powerful Dominion of the Gamma Quadrant. Genetically engineered for strength and courage, they are also very short-lived and believe that 'Victory is life'. They treat the Foun (the shock troop s of the Dominion) in 2370 . The following year the prototype was launched under the command of Benjamin Sisko and stationed at Deep Space Nine. It allowed the crew of DS9 to travel faster and farther and with more firepower than they could with the Runabout-class ships that had originally been supplied to the station.
In 2373 , the Defiant played a crucial role in the Battle of Sector 001, but was facing destruction by the Borg before the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard arrived and was successful at leading the remaining Federation vessels to destroy the Borg Cube. During the battle the Defiant was under the command of Commander Worf.
The Defiant was destroyed in early 2375 by the Breen during the the invasion of the Chin'toka system. During the planning of the invasion of Cardassia some months later, a new Defiant class starship, the USS São Paulo (NCC-75633) was stationed at Deep Space Nine. At Captain Sisko's request the São Paulo was renamed Defiant for the invasion.