Historical Commentary
Unknown to civilian defense analysts and to most Starfleet personnel below the highest levels of Starfleet Command in 2297 was that a primary mission of the FURIOUS-class cruiser was to divert attention from the SPECTRE-class destroyer, which was secretly developed and exclusively operated by Starfleet Intelligence. The Starfleet Office of Public Information, which was probably unaware of SPECTRE's existence, had been given data to disseminate that emphasized and exaggerated FURIOUS's offensive capabilities. This misinformation was designed to make FURIOUS an issue of public controversy so that the SPECTRE class would not be. In addition, Commodore Tsieng (who was suspected, but never proven, to have had prior knowledge of the 2293 Chancellor Gorkon assassination plot) and other retired Starfleet officers with links to Intelligence increased the intensity of the controversy by publicly and vehemently championing the FURIOUS class and denouncing any moves towards detente between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. (I should note that although Commodore Tsieng's rabid rhetorical style may now appear ridiculously overblown [which may have been the intended effect], similar unapologetically racist opinions were still voiced openly throughout the Federation and Starfleet, particularly by humans, well into the 24th century).

All these efforts of concealment seem to have been effective, as the existence of the SPECTRE class was not revealed to Federation citizens until 2337, by which time all ships had been withdrawn from service. In fact, the first public reports of the SPECTRE class actually reached the Federation from sources within the Klingon Empire, which had encountered SPECTRE-class ships soon after their introduction in 2296. However, Starfleet Command and Starfleet Intelligence refused to either confirm or deny the existence of this class until 2351.

The SPECTRE class had originated in 2289 as a secret design study by Starfleet Intelligence for a ship capable of delivering and retrieving personnel and equipment from enemy-controlled space. This study, code-named "Havoc," was for a small ship (50,000 tons) with a crew (excluding Marines) of about 30. At the same time, Starfleet Tactical had recognized a need for a battle cruiser that could spearhead advances across heavily defended frontiers. This led to another independent design study, code-named "Archer," for a heavily armed "penetration cruiser" weighing some 150,000 tons.

However, neither project advanced further than the preliminary design stage until the Gorkon Crisis of 2293. Captain James T Kirk and Dr. Leonard H McCoy of USS ENTERPRISE (NCC-1701A) were arrested and put on trial on Qo'noS, the Klingon homeworld, for the Klingon Chancellor's murder. Although Starfleet Tactical Command had planned a rescue mission code named "Operation Retrieve," there was little chance of such a plan succeeding. Then as now, Qo'noS, unlike Earth, is defended by a squadron of home-guard cruisers and armored battlestations out to a distance of some 5 light years. Furthermore, Qo'noS lies more than 50 light years from the border with the Federation. The likelihood of a handful of EXCELSIOR-class and upgraded ENTERPRISE-class cruisers reaching Qo'noS, much less extracting anyone from Klingon custody, approaches zero. Had the mission been attempted, all ships involved would likely have been destroyed, Kirk and McCoy would have remained in Klingon custody and been immediately executed, and the Federation (or possibly Earth alone) would have been at war with the Klingon Empire.

Although the crisis was resolved peacefully, both Starfleet Tactical Command and Starfleet Intelligence were extremely frustrated by their inability to launch a credible rescue mission. Accordingly, both services examined their respective design studies and adapted them for use in such a mission in predictable ways: Starfleet Tactical tends to respond to any difficult situation with higher speeds and greater firepower, whereas Starfleet Intelligence attempts to use greater secrecy and stealth. "Archer" basically became a cut-down ENTERPRISE class cruiser with more powerful weapons and propulsion, whereas "Havoc" evolved into a more radical design requiring more advanced, as-yet-undeveloped technologies.

Unfortunately, the introduction of a new class of ships based on either design study was certain to be controversial given the recent successful conclusion of the galactic peace conference at Camp Khitomer. Although rapprochement with the Klingons was still strenuously opposed by many Starfleet officers, the desire for peace by the Federation was, for the most part, genuine and widespread. Therefore, obtaining funding through the Federation Council for production of ships based on either "Havoc" or "Archer" would be difficult. Another obstacle was that "Archer" had been championed by Admiral Lemuel Cartwright, a co-conspirator in the plot to assassinate the Klingon Chancellor and the Federation President. For these reasons, Starfleet Tactical considered the "Archer" project effectively dead. Although Starfleet Intelligence had control over a publicly unacknowledged "black budget" to secretly finance the production and operation of its own ships, sufficient funds to build "Havoc" were unavailable to be diverted from other projects and missions.

Despite these obstacles, Starfleet Intelligence was determined to build this new ship class and was willing to go to extreme lengths to do so. Although Intelligence normally operates in a state of nearly paranoid secrecy, in January 2294 Admiral Iqbal Gyandzha, Director of Starfleet Intelligence, took the unprecedented step of inviting Admiral Marcellus Vo, Chief of Starfleet Tactical, to a meeting in the Pakoreh Nebula, where he proposed a way of producing both their ships. At first, Admiral Vo was, to put it mildly, unpleasantly surprised that Starfleet Intelligence was even aware of "Archer." Evidently, not even the highest levels of Starfleet Command were immune to Intelligence surveillance. Since any attempt to increase funding for Intelligence would be likely to arouse suspicion, Admiral Gyandzha proposed that "Archer," the less controversial project, would be built with public funds, which could be obtained from the Federation Council with the help of Starfleet Intelligence. Some of these funds would be secretly diverted to help finance the building of "Havoc." In this way, "Archer" could serve as a lightning rod for public criticism so that the development of "Havoc" would remain secret and protected. In addition, technological advances from the development of "Havoc," particularly in weapons, propulsion, materials, stealthing, and countermeasures, could be applied to "Archer." Although Admiral Vo was justifiably suspicious about intelligence agents bearing gifts, he put aside his wariness and agreed to the plan.

Admiral Gyandzha next approached the Braxton/Callisto Corporation to propose that a new class of ships based on "Havoc" be built by its famous Advanced Projects Development Division, better know as the Weasel Works. The Weasel Works had a well-deserved reputation for producing extreme technology under conditions of utmost secrecy. They had been responsible for the introduction of the first-generation photon torpedo in 2215 and for numerous weapons systems designed to fight the Borg in the 2370's. Admiral Gyandzha made assurances that if Braxton/Callisto could agree to deliver a ship based on "Havoc" within 18 months, they would also receive the contract to build the as-yet-announced class of ships to be based on "Archer."

In June 2294, a budget request was made to the Federation Council to fund the development of a new battle cruiser class. Although some council members had publicly questioned the need for this new class, opposition soon faded when Starfleet Intelligence held "candid and confidential meetings" with these members. As promised, Braxton/Callisto was selected as the prime contractor. By August 2295, construction of the lead ship of the new FURIOUS class (NCC-2370) was underway at the Supra-Yokohama and Utopia Planitia Starfleet Yards. Meanwhile, at Braxton/Callisto's Weasel Works division, which had recently relocated to a hollowed-out asteroid in the Eltanin system, development continued on "Havoc."

USS FURIOUS joined the fleet in October 2296. As had been intended, FURIOUS was rather conventional in its technology, if not its layout. Most of its components, including the primary hull, bridge module, shuttlecraft bay, impulse engines, warp core, hull phasers, and the command and control system were derived from the ENTERPRISE class. The primary hull was narrowed and topped with a large faired weapons housing containing four photon torpedo tubes and four megaphaser cannons. The small secondary hull contained the matter/antimatter (M/AM) reactor, AM storage, the shuttlecraft bay, and rearward torpedo tubes. New linear FGD-135 linear warp drive nacelles were developed in house at Braxton/Callisto for use in both the FURIOUS and SPECTRE classes.

FURIOUS's capabilities and weaponry were almost certainly exaggerated by contemporary disinformation to make it appear more threatening and to facilitate confusion with the secret, unacknowledged SPECTRE class. All measures of performance seem to have been exaggerated by at least 20%. FURIOUS could carry fewer marines and fighter craft than publicly stated and had no cloaking device but did have a limited sensor ghosting capability.

Despite its somewhat nonsensical designation as a "deep reaction penetrator," FURIOUS was a very capable medium cruiser which performed well in traditional roles. When introduced, FURIOUS had firepower exceeding that of the ENTERPRISE and EXCELSIOR classes. Tactical systems advances included a new rotary photon torpedo launch system, more powerful megaphaser cannons, and improved deflector shielding, which were also applied to the SPECTRE class. FURIOUS was faster and more maneuverable at both impulse and warp speeds because of its lower weight and smaller size. However, its narrow focus on speed and weaponry over scientific facilities meant that FURIOUS-class ships rarely strayed far from designated stations except for training and during times of crisis. FURIOUS-class ships were usually based at remote border areas along with Starfleet Intelligence's SPECTRE-class ships.

Because of the self-imposed isolation of the Romulans after the Tomed Incident (2311) and the warming relations with the Klingons, FURIOUS-class ships saw few major actions and were never used in their intended role of "deep-reactive penetrator" against either of these powers. However, FURIOUS-class ships remained in service until 2351 and were involved in numerous smaller actions in which they acquitted itself well. In October 2307, Ambassador Constanza Lowell and her embassy staff were taken hostage during the attempted coup d'etat on Jacarrh II, which was not yet a Federation member. Ships participating in the successful rescue included three FURIOUS-class ships under the command of Admiral Petra Gernreich: USS MAJESTIC (NCC-2380), USS SPLENDID (NCC-2391), and USS HORRIBLE (NCC-2372), which is now on display at the Starfleet Museum. In 2327, USS AUDACIOUS (NCC-2378), USS SWIFTSURE (NCC-2381), and possibly USS INDOMITABLE (NCC-2394) were involved in a still-classified action along the frontier with the Cardassian Union.

created by The Chief

Three quarters of a century after the SPECTRE class entered service, much about these ships remains classified. For reasons of "Federation security," SPECTRE's exact service displacement, weaponry, internal arrangement, complement, performance, and operational history have never been revealed. The example in the Starfleet Museum collection, the only example ever publicly displayed, was obtained directly from Starfleet Command in 2355. Although hull markings identify this ship as "USS BANSHEE" (hull number 6), we cannot confirm whether this is her true designation. Nearly all equipment, including the impulse reactors, warp powerplant, warp nacelles and weaponry, had been removed before delivery to the museum.

However, from what we have learned from declassified Starfleet files and from information, including sensor data and visual records, from private and industry sources, we have been able to piece together a profile of this class. SPECTRE appears to have entered service with the "Black Fleet" of Starfleet Intelligence in early 2296. Eventually 15 to 20 ships were built and remained in service until at least 2330. Complete ship names are unknown, but did include SPECTRE, BANSHEE, YUREI, EIDOLON, WRAITH, PHANTOM, SHADOW, DUKHI, SPIRIT, UMBRA, and MRAKZHIL.

SPECTRE was 143 m long, and our analysis of the materials and structure suggests a displacement of approximately 85,000 tons. The layout of the SPECTRE class was highly unusual for its time. Rather than the flat disc of the 1b starship primary hull, SPECTRE had a dorsally streamlined, blunt arrowhead-shaped primary hull. The bridge module was buried deep within rather than atop the primary hull. Five spines of unknown function projected from the rear crest of the primary hull. The secondary hull was extremely small and housed only the warp power assembly (M/AM reactor, AM containment bottles, warp plasma conduits, nacelle supports) and twin rearward-firing photon torpedo tubes. A shuttlecraft dropbay was located in the ventral primary hull, immediately in front its junction with the secondary hull.

SPECTRE was powered by a specially modified, high-capacity M/AM reactor, designated SSWR-15-D4, which had originally been developed for use in the 170,000-ton PANTHER class of 2295, also built by Braxton/Callisto. The warp nacelles were scaled-down versions of the FGD-135 units of the FURIOUS-class which had been modified to muffle the warp signature. The nacelles each weighed approximately 20,000 t and together accounted for nearly 50% of the ship's total displacement. Recent performance simulations suggest that the maximum speed of SPECTRE exceeded the Warp 12 (old scale) of the ENTERPRISE and BELKNAP cruisers. However, because of the relatively small amounts of fuel carried by SPECTRE, this maximum speed could probably not have been sustained for more than a few hours. Impulse power was provided by twin spherical fusion reactors, again originally developed for use in the PANTHER class.

SPECTRE was extremely heavily armed for a ship of its size. The improved megaphaser cannons and photon torpedo launch system were similar to those used in the FURIOUS class. However, because of space limitations the number of photon torpedoes was likely about 48, half the number carried by the FURIOUS and ENTERPRISE classes. Some ships may have mounted an as-yet unidentified "super weapon" in a blister at the front of the primary hull. In addition, facilities were available for a platoon of 40 power-suited Marines, who could land on planetary surfaces with transporters or assault shuttles or could enter ships or space stations with specialized grapples and hull bores.

SPECTRE also carried an outstanding sensor-countermeasures array. This is believed to have included a cloaking device, the ability to clear a sensor-blind corridor several hundred kilometers wide along which others ships could follow undetected, and a "ghost" capability that allowed multiple false sensor images to be projected a distance of several hundred thousand kilometers. For intelligence gathering, SPECTRE carried a wide array of active and passive onboard sensors as well as facilities for releasing sensor probes and servicing sensor buoys.

Although the service records of the SPECTRE-class ships remain classified, it is possible to speculate on the types of missions they may have carried out. Warp signatures not matching those of any known Federation vessel suggest that SPECTRE-class ships were involved in numerous intelligence raids, surveillance missions, and defections across the Klingon, Romulan, and Tholian borders until its retirement in the mid-2320's. The aforementioned embassy rescue on Jacarrh II in 2307 probably involved at least two SPECTRE-class ships in addition to the publicly acknowledged FURIOUS-class ships. Recent scholarship has even suggested that the Tomed Incident of 2311, which led to the Treaty of Algeron prohibiting the Federation's use of cloaking technology, may have been precipitated by the actions of one or more SPECTRE-class ships.

Commissioned Furious-Class Ships

FURIOUS
GLORIOUS
HORRIBLE
MERCILESS
RELENTLESS
TERRIBLE
SAVAGE
SPITEFUL
AUDACIOUS
DAUNTLESS
MAJESTIC
SWIFTSURE
SUPERB

NCC-2370
NCC-2371
NCC-2372
NCC-2373
NCC-2374
NCC-2375
NCC-2376
NCC-2377
NCC-2378
NCC-2379
NCC-2380
NCC-2381
NCC-2382

PEERLESS
COURAGEOUS
INVINCIBLE
INFLEXIBLE
BRILLIANT
TRIUMPHANT
VIGILANT
RESOLUTE
SPLENDID
VENGEFUL
FORMIDABLE
INDOMITABLE
TENACIOUS

NCC-2383
NCC-2384
NCC-2385
NCC-2386
NCC-2387
NCC-2388
NCC-2389
NCC-2390
NCC-2391
NCC-2392
NCC-2393
NCC-2394
NCC-2395

Furious-Class Specifications

Standard displacement: 158,720 t

	Overall	1° Hull	2° Hull	Nacelles
Length [m]	246.09	171.35	69.63	84.49
Beam [m]	111.16	111.16	20.54	12.17
Draft [m]	37.41	27.10	26.91	21.17

Complement: 339 (40 officers, 219 crew, 80 Marines)
Weapons: 12 phaser turrets in twin mounts, 6 photon torpedo tubes (4 fore, 2 aft) with 96 torpedoes, 4 megaphaser cannons
Embarked craft: 2 personnel shuttlecraft, 4 assault shuttlecraft, 4 fighters
Velocity: Warp 9.5, standard (old scale); Warp 12, maximum

Spectre-Class Specifications*

Standard displacement: 85,000 t

	Overall	1° Hull	2° Hull	Nacelles
Length [m]	186.91	121.80	66.23	69.73
Beam [m]	91.32	69.09	21.60	13.09
Draft [m]	21.94	19.30	14.97	18.50

Complement: 150 (15 officers, 95 crew, 40 Marines)
Weapons: 10 phaser turrets in twin mounts, 4 photon torpedo tubes (2 fore, 2 aft) with 48 torpedoes, 2 megaphaser cannons
Embarked craft: 2 personnel shuttlecraft, 2 assault shuttlecraft
Velocity: Warp 10, standard (old scale); Warp 12.5, maximum

*All figures are estimates.

PI Breen IV

Super Admins