Federation playable starship

There is a wide variety of Federation playable starships currently available in Star Trek Online for Starfleet, DSC Starfleet and TOS Starfleet characters. Most Federation ships are also available to Starfleet-aligned Romulan Republic and Dominion characters.

There are three specific types of starship (if carriers are attributed to one of the pre-existing types), and each starship has multiple variants and differing statistics depending on the type and tier of vessel. These details are explained on the starships' individual articles.

Note: Many of the Tier 6 starships have hull values that are at level 50, in contrast to most other ships which are valued at level 40. Thus comparisons are inaccurate unless all values are at the same level.

Escorts
At the forefront of the smallest skirmishes and the largest battles, you will find Federation Escort vessels. These smaller, more nimble craft are vastly more maneuverable and are built for one purpose and one purpose only. With the ability to equip cannons, these ships are designed to damage and destroy enemy vessels quickly and efficiently, and it is at this single role that they excel.

The Escort is a Tactical vessel, and any Captain with a thorough understanding of tactical warfare will be able to maximize the effectiveness of their vessel at the forefront of battle. With a small crew compliment typical for vessels of this size and role, the Escort class vessels are unable to man full medical facilities onboard, but with extensive armour and weaponry, coupled with its speed and agility, this is of minimal concern for astute Captains.

Raiders

 * See also: Raider, .

Destroyers & Warships

 * See also: Destroyer, Science Destroyer.

Frigates
Frigates represent a unique combination of Cruiser capabilities, in a smaller, faster and more fragile package. They come with the and  Cruiser Commands, and are able to benefit from  bonus as well. These nimble vessels are also similar to a Raider in that they boast an abundance of Universal BOff seats, can load dual cannons, and have similar weapon slot configurations.

Cruisers
Federation Cruisers are the workhorses of fleets far and wide, and as such they are capable of filling a multitude of roles depending on their configuration. The Cruiser favours Engineering tasks with the bridge officer stations reflecting this, and is well suited for those Captains who have an in-depth understanding of Engineering functions and duties.

Despite their slow maneuvreability, Cruisers have Advanced Warp cores, and with the extra power produced are capable of withstanding large amounts of damage, extending their shields to nearby damaged vessels, and equiping multiple phaser arrays to in their bow and aft equipment bays. These vessels also have large cargo holds making them ideal for moving equipment or personnel on long journeys.

Battlecruisers
Following the end of the Federation-Klingon War of 2405-2410 and the advent of the Alpha Quadrant Alliance formed between the United Federation of Planets, the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Republic, joint operations were prioritized by Starfleet. Based on after-action reports by its captains, Starfleet Command had the SCE develop the command battlecruiser at the San Francisco Fleet Yards.

The Allied militaries Starfleet, the Klingon Defense Force and the Romulan Republican Force developed three modular command battlecruiser starship classes each. The command battlecruiser was designed to function as mobile command center. Its advanced communications array was capable of relaying battle-critical information instantaneously. In addition, command battlecruisers were equipped with a technology allowing them to inspire Allied crews to improve combat performance.

All nine command battlecruiser starship classes were tier 6 vessels. Commanding officers required a minimum rank of vice admiral or its KDF/RRF equivalents, respectively, to attain command of such a ship.

Science Vessels
The Federation Science Vessel is perhaps the most versatile and useful ship found on the front lines of combat, and can be configured to support other vessels in a variety of different ways. The Science vessel shines when it comes to scientific research and application with the majority of the Bridge Officer stations focussed to Science personnel. Captains with a deep understanding of Scientific research and theory will find themselves and their vessels sought on the battlefield for the multitude of tasks they are able to perform.

Although Science vessels are not the most powerful, indeed some may see them as the most vulnerable, they are not unarmed and can still be formidable vessels.

Carriers & Strike Wing Escorts
Although their Bridge Officers slotting and consoles can be attributed to one of the pre-existing ship types, Carriers, Flight Deck Carriers and Strike Wing Escorts are relatively new additions to Starfleet and follow similar developments by the Klingons. They carry smaller vessels into combat via hangar bays which are capable of launching various different types of vessel, depending on the type of carrier, that are equipped by the player in the shipyard and deployed while in combat.

Small Craft

 * See main article: Small Craft

Fleet Charts
The following are player-made size charts.

For a key and notes on each chart see here.

Procurement
Most new ships can be purchased on Earth Spacedock from Lieutenant Laurel in Ship Requisitions, on Deep Space K-7 from Lt. Commander Dant Kroll in the Shipyard, and on Deep Space 9 from Eclia in the docking ring.

New vessels come with standard equipment and weapons, but players may wish to upgrade this immediately by purchasing items of a higher mark before undertaking missions. Better equipment can usually be found on the exchange, or purchased with Energy Credits or Dilithium from vendors.