The USS Thunderchild (NCC-63549), an Akira class starship

In the Star Trek fictional universe, the Akira class is a group of heavily armed starships used by Starfleet (although this is contested often, as there is no consensus among fans on the ship's true purpose). It was probably first put into service during the 2360s in response to the growing Cardassian threat to the Federation and served during the Dominion War; several Akira class starships were destroyed by Cardassian orbital defense platforms in the Chin'toka system in 2374. The Akira class also served during the Battle of Sector 001 in 2373. Ships of the Akira class are large vessels composed of a circular, saucer-shaped primary hull with a low-slung navigational deflector and two beams rising from the top heading aft; the beams attach to an arch, which supports two warp nacelles at its ends and a weapons pod that fires photon torpedoes at its zenith. Like the Steamrunner class, the main bridge, primary dorsal phaser strip and lifeboats are embedded into the saucer to provide for better protection from enemy fire by blocking against attacks. The ventral saucer is occupied with the navigational deflector, a photon torpedo tube and additional lifeboats. The design of the Akira class superficially resembles a catamaran and the old NX class, particularly from the dorsal profile. This similarity led some fans to dub the Enterprise (NX-01) the "Akiraprise". There are often disputes about the amount of weaponry present on the Akira class, as many tehnical manuals cite that the Akira is only three quarters the length of the Sovreign class, therefore it does not have enough space onboard to stockpile enough torpedoes for fifteen torpedo launchers. In the video game Star Trek: Bridge Commander, the Akira class is shown as a light attack and scout vessel with 8 standard phaser banks and six torpedo launchers (four forward and two aft), which is probably a more accurate account.

In the real world, the Akira class was designed by Alex Jaeger of Industrial Light and Magic and first appeared on Star Trek: First Contact.

Known Akira class cruisers

• USS Akira (NCC-62497, ex-NX-62497)
  • The starship Akira is the pathfinder of its class. In the real world, the ship was named for Katsuhiro Otomo's classic cyberpunk anime and manga Akira.
• USS Rabin (NCC-63574)
  • Named for Yitzhak Rabin, the starship Rabin fought against the Borg at the Battle of Sector 001 circa stardate 50893.5 in 2373 (see Star Trek: First Contact).
• USS Spector (NCC-65549)
  • The starship Spector was sent to recapture the USS Prometheus (NX-74913) from the Romulans in 2374 (see Star Trek: Voyager episode "Message in a Bottle ").
• USS Thunderchild (NCC-63549)
  • Named for the fictional HMS Thunder Child in the H. G. Wells novel The War of the Worlds. The starship Thunderchild fought at the Battle of Sector 001 (see Star Trek: First Contact).
• (Name unknown) (NCC-63646)
  • This starship is believed to exist according to the Star Trek Fact Files. Its name is unknown at this time.

External links

• "Akira class" at Memory Alpha
• "Size of the Akira Class" by Bernd Schneider
• "Akira class" by Stephen Pugh
• "Akira class" at the Neutral Zone Starship Database
• "Designing the Akira-class" by Alex Jaeger.