Star Trek Expanded Universe
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The Deception-class decoy/jamming cruisers were a type of starship on active duty in Starfleet from ca. 2262 to the late 24th century. (Starship Recognition Files 2)

Apparently based on the Greer-class or Gagarin-class spaceframe, the Deception class replaced all sensor pallets with communications and electronic countermeasures equipment. The vessel has the ability to create the subspace communications traffic of an entire fleet or starships and can generate the warp signature of any vessel. This ability can be used to draw assets of threat forces away from the main battle group.

A couple of years after a Romulan cloaking device had been stolen in 2268 (TOS: "The Enterprise Incident"), the ability to cloak was added to this class of vessel, though taken away in 2311 by the Treaty of Algeron.

One of these vessels, USS Echo was effective in drawing a Borg cube towards Wolf 359 in 2366-67. Another, USS Churchill spent many months making the Romulans believe that Outpost 23 was at a certain location, when in fact it was three sectors away.

Only five of these vessels were publicly known to be constructed. It is probable that a successor class was developed and implemented, but details were classified as of the 2380s.

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