Dervish class

The Dervish-class was a type of patrol escort starship developed by Starfleet after the Dominion War. It remained in service, and spawn several subclasses, into the 25th century.

History
After the success of the USS Defiant (NX-74205) in the Dominion War, Starfleet Command sought to emulate the best elements of that class in a new era of small, combat-oriented starships. The mobility and weaponry were combined with a more armored hull design to create a new patrol escort: the Dervish class.

The USS Dervish (NX-96010), prototype vessel of its class, was launched in 2379 and saw service for a decade before engineers at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards felt that the design was in need of an update. The new incorporated much of the style and design of the Dervish-class with upgrades and knowledge gained from the service of its namesake, the  USS Gryphon. The Gryphon subclass was also the first design created under the principle of modular design; in fact, it was developed in order to show the worth of such a principle. The success of Dervish and Gryphon starships led Starfleet Command to officially approve the Modular Design Program in the early 2390s.

A few years later, another class of patrol escort was commissioned to provide additional variability in the series of vessels. The lead vessel of the new was launched in late 2394.

Technical information
The Dervish class had a traditional saucer section, with a large deflector nose. It had four reaction control thrusters and protruding impulse thrusters at the back of the saucer. The large nacelles, connected to swept-back pylons, featured wide-angle Bussard collectors at the front.

Gryphon
With an elongated saucer section and a fin underneath its deflector nose, the Gryphon subclass was quite the stylistic change from the original Dervish-class. Also below the saucer were rib-like sections leading to the impulse thrusters. In the style of the, the Gryphon had deflectors on both sides of the saucer, as well as having only two reaction control thrusters. The nacelles were much longer than those on the standard Dervish-class, with bigger recessed Bussard collector ports and arched side pylons.

Hermes
The Hermes class was the shortest subclass of the Dervish. The saucer was carved out, beginning at its smaller deflector nose. The side pylons were forward sweeping, with a lower angular center pylon. The nacelles were also the shortest of the variants, with smaller Bussard ports and a dark red particle aperture strip at the center front. The class's reaction control thruster ports were much larger as well.

Maelstrom
The Maelstrom class had sharper angles, flatter surfaces, and a more armored appearance than the previous Dervish subclasses. The saucer was wide, due to its forward-swept "wings". The vessel's nacelles were flat and straight, with ventrally located Bussard Collectors. The deflector was also smaller than others of the Dervish line and was square-shaped.

Tempest
The design of the Tempest subclass was the Dervish class with a 25th century aesthetic. The Tempest class had a round saucer section, but the central deflector hull was less pronounced and the main deflector was set deep into the vessel's saucer.

Ships commissioned

 * USS Dervish (NX-96010) (prototype, NX-96010)
 * USS Forrest (Gryphon-class, NCC-94996)
 * USS Gryphon (prototype Gryphon-class)
 * USS Hermes (NCC-95208) (prototype Hermes-class, NCC-95208)
 * USS Nellore (Tempest-class, NCC-93475)
 * USS Pangolin (Hermes-class, NCC-95380)
 * USS Planck (Hermes-class, NCC-95208)
 * USS Tempest (NCC-97700) (prototype Tempest-class, NCC-97700)