Pendragon class

The Pendragon-class starship was a heavy explorer employed by Starfleet starting in the year 2379. (Star Trek: Pendragon)

Prime timeline

The Pendragon Class Development Project began in 2367 as a variant of the Sovereign-class, which had already been in development for two years. The Sovereign-class had already been refined in the wake of Starfleet's losses to the Borg at the Battle of Wolf 359, but the Pendragon project represented further enhancements, in weaponry, defense, warp capability, computing power and other areas.

After spending several years in the design stage, the keel for the USS Pendragon (NX-85000) was laid at San Francisco Fleet Yards in 2371. Work progressed at a steady rate until the Klingon conflict and the subsequent Dominion War put the fleet's priorities into other areas, like increased production of the Defiant and Prometheus-classes. The bombing of San Francisco in 2375 caused massive setbacks to the Pendragon class project, among others, almost scuttling the nearly-finished spaceframe.

After the war, the Pendragon was rebuilt, but the project was shuffled to secondary status in favor of new designs like the Luna-class. The ship was finally launched in 2379, after incorporating several advances brought back from the Delta Quadrant by the USS Voyager.

Pendragon timeline

Following the end of the Federation Civil War in 2374, work that had been suspended on several starship projects resumed, including the Pendragon-class. Admiral Jonathan Hofmann and Commander Russell Twining coordinated the project, with the final stages of development overseen by Lt. Commander Joseph Carey in 2378, incorporating several new technologies implemented aboard the USS Voyager during her sojourn in the Delta Quadrant.

The first ship of the class, the USS Pendragon was launched on a shakedown cruise in January, 2379, under Twining's command. (PDN: "Restoration")

Work continued at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards on the next two Pendragon-class spaceframes, and elements of the design were further altered. Attempts were made at incorporating quantum slipstream technology into the design, but doing so proved problematic because of the class' subspace geometry. Other problems ensued, delaying the launch of the second Pendragon-class ship for nearly 18 months past its previous estimate. Eventually, the issues were resolved and the USS Avalon was commissioned in early 2382, with the USS Excalibur launched later in the year. (PDN: "Avalon, Part I", "Avalon, Part II", "Stalking the Night")

The next three ships of the class had entered service by late 2385. (PDN: "Above the Wrecks Time")

Pendragon-class starships
Avalon - Caerleon - Excalibur - Lionheart - Pendragon - Tintagel