Federation Starship Types (Main Classes, 2250-2300)
Imperial Klingon Navy/ House Defence Force Vessels, 2250-2300The Klingon Navy does not class ships as “Heavy” or “Light” Cruisers by tonnage. Cruiser-level ships are instead definied by role as "Battle" cruisers, "War" cruisers or "Patrol" cruisers; the latter are usually old iterations of the first two types that have refitted or modified under life-extension programmes. The term "Destroyer" was co-opted from Starfleet in the late 2180s, replacing the designation "Raptor".
The "Bird of Prey" designation covers all Klingon light craft, from Scouts and light destroyers all the way through to commerce raiders, intelligence vessels and pickets. The closest comparison to the "Bird of Prey" would be the old earth sailing frigate, or the Andorian usage of cruiser. The Bird of Prey, while dominant in Klingon fleets of the 22nd and 24th century, played a minor role in mid to late 23rd century strategies; the inability to find a powerful enough engine for the design that did not bleed emissions through a cloaking shield limited the potential firepower of the early marks of B'Rel. The restructuring of the Imperial Navy as well as the arms reduction treaties, turned the B'Rel and its' successors like the K'Vort into the primary ships of the new Klingon Defense Force. Note: The Romulan "Warbird" - sometimes translated as "Bird of Prey" is not an equivalent to the Klingon term, even if there is overlap. Klingon Imperial Navy Alphanumerics date back to the early 22nd century, as part of an attempt to standardise terminology across the great houses. The resulting Alphanumeric code - influenced both by Vulcan High Command identification code and Vulcan "advisors" within the Klingon court - classed Imperial vessels according to their engine design type and output. This proved a useful measurement of the size, age and firepower of the ships, which was almost always defined by their power output. The original code ran from A to I, with A reserved for ship designs pre-dating the 3rd Restoration (2044). The use of Alphanumerics over Class names peaked between 2240 and 2270, based on the shipbuilding programmes of Durak, L'Rell and Sturka. From the late 2270s onwards, however, both the Klingon Navy and Starfleet moved to the use of Class names as an identifier over Alphanumerics. The codes are still in used with the KDF for bureaucratic purposes, even if they are essentially defunct.
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