Canon Facts Backstage Info  Speculation

Notes : Another member of Starfleets "Frankenstein Fleet", the Yeager class was rushed into service in 2374 during Starfleets retreat from the Dominion during the early phase of the war. The design melds a standard Intrepid saucer section, of which Starfleet had something of a surplus in this period, with an engineering hull which is based on a scale-up of a Peregrine variant. The latter was chosen because of the extreme ease with which it could be constructed by the Starbases involved.

Like all of the Frankenstein Fleet, the Yeager is significantly below its properly designed counterparts in terms of performance. The area in which the Yeager suffers most in speed; while the Intrepid is amongst the fastest classes in the fleet, the Yeager can only break Warp 8 for relatively short periods. This is largely due to the rush in which the ships were completed - there was insufficient time to properly match the hull configuration to the warp field, resulting in a serious loss of efficiency.

The Yeagers also suffer somewhat in firepower. The forward facing torpedo tubes of the Intrepid are located in the Engineering hull, and so are not present on the Yeager. The ship is thus left with only the aft firing tubes. The number of phaser banks is also reduced; although the presence of two large phaser cannon on the engineering hull largely compensates for this in terms of absolute firepower, there is a significant lack of phaser coverage to the ships aft.

The Yeagers participated in the operation to recover Deep Space Nine, but this is their only offensive action so far. They are largely used in a defensive role due to their inherent deficiencies - Yeagers are often to be seen as part of Deep Space Nines defensive screen, and have operated in several other locations in this area. Despite their relative "backstage" role, many of the ships have been lost during Dominion attacks.