2.38 Klingon Ships
Describes Klingon starships and their cloaking devices, detailing the Bird-of-Prey, K't'inga, K'Vort, and Vor'cha classes, plus notes on the cloaking device.
Klingon ships are roughly comparable to those of the Federation Starfleet. Thanks to a previous alliance with the Romulans, most Klingon ships are equipped with a cloaking device which renders them nearly invisible to most sensors. Because of the tremendous power drain involved, weapons systems cannot be used while the cloaking device is engaged.
Klingon Bird-of-Prey: We have most frequently seen the Klingon Bird-of-Prey (first seen in the feature film Star Trek III). This is a small vessel with a crew of about twelve. Propulsion is matter/antimatter warp drive, main weapons are called disruptors.
Klingon K’t’inga class Battle Cruiser: First seen in the feature film Star Trek I. This is about the size of the original Enterprise. Propulsion is matter/antimatter warp drive, armed with disruptors and torpedoes.
Klingon K’Vort class Battle Cruiser: This is a larger version of the Bird-of-Prey. Propulsion is matter/antimatter warp drive, armed with disruptors and torpedoes. Power and range approach that of a Galaxy class starship.
Klingon Vor’cha class Attack Cruiser: This newest, most powerful member of the Klingon fleet is about three-fourths the length of the Enterprise, but is equipped with a formidable array of disruptors and other weaponry. The forward part of this ship is normally a massive disruptor cannon which can be ejected in situations where speed is more important than firepower. In some attack cruisers, the forward disruptor cannon is replaced with other mission-specific weapons or hardware.
Notes on the cloaking device: Ships of the Federation Starfleet have only recently been equipped with cloaking devices. Although Starfleet has a reasonably good understanding of the technology involved, Federation policy prohibited the use of these devices in what is a primarily nonmilitary fleet. As Gene Roddenberry put it, “Our people are explorers — they don’t sneak around.”
The question of how accurately sensors can detect a cloaked ship will have a different answers at different times. The reason is that cloaking devices, like present-day stealth aircraft, represent a continually evolving technology whose designers always try to stay one step ahead of Federation sensor designers. Like any arms race, technical advances on both sides are frequent, but advantages are brief.