One of the most popular sci-fi television shows of all time, Star Trek, has been enthralling fans for decades. In recent years, the property has come back with a vengeance. The Prime timeline is in full effect, and multiple spinoffs have made their way to Paramount+.

While Star Trek is known for its big idea sci-fi, it also features some great space battles. The starships of Star Trek are some of the most powerful in all sci-fi, armed with powerful weapons and great designs. From the well-known vessels like the USS Enterprise to the lesser-known ships that appeared for an episode or two, these ships are as powerful as they are cool.

Updated January 22, 2024, by Joshua M. Patton: The Star Trek universe is vast, with nearly 60 years of history behind it, and with that longevity comes dozens or hundreds of vessels. From the physical filming models used through the 20th century to the all-digital models used in the 21st, these ships are basically characters themselves. If the ships don't "feel" real, then Star Trek doesn't work. This article has been updated to match CBR's current formatting standards and include more information about Star Trek's best ships.

25 The Krenim Time Ship Is a Unique Vessel in Star Trek Lore

Starship Details at a Glance

Star Trek captains go too far at times, something Voyager's Captain Janeway was known for. However, there was sometimes good reason for that. The Delta Quadrant was a dangerous place, and Janeway dealt with amazing threats. The most dangerous, even more powerful than the Borg or Species 8472, was the Krenim Time Ship.

The vessel was out of synch with time, which kept the crew from aging while also making the ship itself invulnerable to attack. The Krenim Time Ship's main weapon didn't destroy planets; it erased them from the timeline. On top of that, it was armed with powerful chronometric torpedoes and energy weapons. The Krenim Time Ship was a nearly unstoppable weapon made to change history.

24 The Species 8472 Bioship Was Unlike Any Ship That Came Before It

Starship Details at a Glance

Since their introduction into Star Trek canon, the Borg have had their run over the galaxy, able to destroy entire Federation armadas with only one ship. That is until they opened a portal into fluidic space and met Species 8472. This alien race proved a threat unlike any other to the cybernetic collective, as they could destroy Borg ships with relative ease. Biogenetic in nature, the ships of Species 8472 were as resistant to technological attack as the individuals themselves — rendering conventional weapons, transporters, and force fields useless against them.

The Species 8472 bioships could also emit incredible energies in tandem, destroying Borg ships as easily as the Borg destroyed others. When the crew of the USS Voyager formed an alliance with the Borg to fight them, Command Chakotay said he believed the ship itself might be alive. The ship was designed by Steve Burg and was one of the earliest fully computer-generated models used in Star Trek.

23 The Galor Class Warship Was the Face of the Cardassian Fleet

Starship Details at a Glance

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Sisko and Gul Dukat for one of sci-fi's greatest rivalries. The Cardassians were the show's main villains for much of its run and fans got used to seeing their mainline battleship, the Galor class. This vessel was the backbone of Cardassia's fleet, spearheading its conquest of worlds throughout the Alpha Quadrant after it aligned with the dreaded Dominion.

The Galor wasn't a new ship, but she was a powerful one. The ship wasn't heavily armed compared to something like a Galaxy-class, but its forward disruptor array was extremely powerful. A Galor could do massive damage to targets and could take a beating like few other ships.

22 The Jem'Hadar Fighter Was a Scarab-Like Fighter That Packed a Wallop

Starship Details at a Glance

Jem'Hadar Fighters were the mainline vessel of the Dominion Fleet. The Jem'Hadar were a very powerful Star Trek race, and their ships matched their might. Extremely sturdy, their ships could survive a crash landing on a planet and still be flyable with minimal repairs. Armed with phased polaron disruptors, the Jem'Hadar Fighter's weapons could easily pierce the shields of Starfleet vessels in the early days after their first confrontation.

Over time, the efficacy of the ship's weapons and shields went down after Sisko and his crew captured one to be studied. Still, a group of Jem'Hadar Fighters was still dangerous to just about any single ship in the allies' repertoire. The ship was designed by Jim Martin, influenced by Rick Sternbach's Egyptian-scarab flavored designs. John Eaves also did the mockup of the full ship that appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 5, Episode 2 "The Ship."

21 The D'deridex Class Warbird Revealed How the Romulans Upped Their Game

Starship Details at a Glance

Star Trek: The Next Generation showcased powerful threats, including the return of the Romulans. The main vessel of the Romulan Star Empire's fleet, D'deridex-class Warbirds were massive vessels that dwarfed some of the largest ships the Federation put to space. Powered by a forced quantum singularity, these battlecruisers were armed to the teeth with multiple disruptor arrays and photon torpedo tubes.

Like most Romulan vessels, D'deridex-class Warbirds were equipped with cloaking devices, which was a pretty scary proposition — a vessel with the size and power of a D'deridex being able to sneak behind enemy lines undetected and wreak havoc is something any good commander would fear.

20 The Narada Is a Mining Vessel That Doubles as a Warship

Starship Details at a Glance

As seen in the first of three Star Trek reboot movies starring Chris Pine in 2009, The Narada is a Romulan vessel from the late-24th century. After pursuing Ambassador Spock through a black hole, it arrives in the middle of the 23rd century and continues its relentless vengeance mission against the Federation and its allies.

Though it's a fairly safe bet that in its own time, The Narada is not an exceptionally powerful ship when compared to its peers, that's not the case in the 23rd century. Shortly after its arrival it destroys an entire planet (as well as a starship or two) and it's more than deserving of a place on this list. While not mentioned in the film, subsequent materials and the novelization revealed this ship was made from repurposed Borg technology, which is why it was so powerful.

19 The Excelsior Class Eventually Replaced the Original Constitution Class

Starship Details at a Glance

Ship design was always important to Star Trek's success, and Connie set up the most common design: primary saucer hull connected to the secondary hull, which contained the engines and power systems. The Excelsior was designed to replace the Connie, taking advantage of years of research and development. The Excelsior was built around the new transwarp drive, dubbed "the Great Experiment" by Starfleet, but the project's failure meant it would be years before the Excelsior replaced the reliable Constitution Class.

The Excelsior was an improvement on the Connie in every way — better sensors, better computers, and better defenses. The ship was armed with multiple phaser batteries and torpedo launcher, allowing the ship to cover itself with 3-D firing arcs at nearly every angle. The Excelsior would eventually fulfill its destiny of becoming the main heavy cruiser of Starfleet. It remained in use for over a hundred years, forming the backbone of Starfleet through the Dominion War and beyond, as the class got another refit in the late 2390s/early 2400s.

18 The Miranda Class Starship Was a Versatile Vessel for Starfleet

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The Miranda Class starship is the backbone of the Federation fleet for a reason. First introduced in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, it has since appeared in many movies and television series tied to the franchise. The ship itself has a solid array of weaponry, if nothing truly out of the ordinary, and it can more than hold its own against standard classes of enemy ship.

A fun fact about the ship's design is that it was actually meant to be the other way round, but Wrath of Khan producers looked at it upside down. When the error became clear, they decided they preferred it that way. The repurposed Constitution class design was used to save money since the film had a slim budget.

17 The Sarcophagus Was a Klingon Ship of the Dead

Starship Details at a Glance

The terrifyingly named Ship of the Dead or the Sarcophagus is actually used to transport the preeminent Klingon House of T'Kuvma. The ship was more than 200 years old, and the bodies of slain Klingon warriors are entombed on its hull. It serves as the main ship for their forces during the Federation-Klingon War depicted in Star Trek: Discovery.

The ship packs a heck of a punch and has guns capable of turning the entire surface of a mid-sized, habitable planet into a barren wasteland. It also has spectacular cloaking abilities and is around three times bigger than even the biggest ships in the Federation fleet. It's a truly intimidating leviathan to come up against.

16 The Jem'Hadar Battleship Was Larger Than the USS Enterprise-D

Starship Details at a Glance

The Jem'Hadar Battleship was the largest vessel in the Dominion fleet and the most feared, which is saying something considering just how powerful Jem'Hadar vessels are. Armed with multiple polaron disruptor batteries and torpedo launchers, the Jem'Hadar Battleship was not just one of the most powerful Dominion vessels but one of the most powerful vessels in the galaxy.

Extremely hard to damage, a Jem'Hadar Battleship taking the field was met with apprehension. Twice the size of a Galaxy-class and three times as powerful, no ship that any of the allies fielded could hurt it in a one-on-one battle.

15 The Curiosity Class Was a Small, but Mighty, Advanced Starfleet Vessel

Starship Details at a Glance

Star Trek: Picard was chock-full of nostalgic moments and exciting developments as it charted new territory in the 24th century. Without a doubt, the arrival of William Riker and the USS Zheng He at the head of a Federation fleet was one of those pulse-pounding moments viewers cheered for. It also was one of the most massive assemblage of vessels seen in Star Trek.

Primed to save Captain Picard from a Romulan fleet that was threatening to destroy him, the USS Zheng He had an imposing appearance. A new, Curiosity class vessel, Riker touted the Zheng He as “the toughest, fastest, most powerful ship Starfleet ever put into service.” Although it was never seen in action, it’s reasonable to assume it’d be more advanced than any ship that came before it.

14 The Akira Class Vessels Were Fast, Sleek Fighters

Starship Details at a Glance

The Akira Class was commissioned in the 2370s and was part of the Federation's initiative to field more ships with the main purpose was fighting. It was basically a torpedo boat that had its dorsal weapons pod armed with a large amount of fore and aft torpedo tubes.

The Akira Class even has port and starboard tubes, almost unheard of on Starfleet ships. Like most Starfleet vessels, it also is armed with phasers. The Akira also had fore and aft launch bays, making it an ideal launch platform for Starfleet attack ships. Fast and maneuverable, it could bring a disproportionate amount of power to bear for its size. The ship got its name from the anime film, Akira.

13 The Jem'Hadar Battle Cruiser Was a Near Unbeatable Ship

Starship Details at a Glance

The Jem'Hadar Battle Cruiser was the larger cousin of the Jem'Hadar Fighter and a formidable vessel in its own right. Not seen until after the Cardassian-Dominion alliance, these large cruisers were armed with the standard polaron beam disruptor batteries that made Dominion ships so powerful, as well as multiple torpedo tubes.

Extremely durable vessels, even one Jem'Hadar Battle Cruiser was considered a substantial threat to Deep Space Nine even after its massive weapons upgrade. They often anchored Dominion lines in battle and could take down even the most powerful allied vessels single-handedly.

12 The Reman Warbird Was a Nemesis to the USS Enterprise-E

Starship Details at a Glance

Star Trek: Nemesis was a divisive film to fans of The Next Generation, but one thing that was undeniably awe-inspiring was the power of the Reman warbird, the Scimitar. Armed to the teeth, the ship had fifty-two disruptor banks and twenty-seven photon torpedo bays, which allowed it to lay waste to the Enterprise-E and several other ships with ease.

The Scimitar was also heavily armored, able to withstand double the damage other ships could. Its cloaking technology has Geordi LaForge’s stamp of approval as “perfect,” and its thalaron radiation weapon could strip a planet of life in seconds.

11 32nd Century Federation Fleet Is Sleek and Near Magical

Starship Details at a Glance

Star Trek: Discovery turned its narrative on a dime at the end of Season 2 by transporting its crew from the Kirk era to almost one thousand years in the future. Here, the Federation has been decimated by a phenomenon called “The Burn,” during which all dilithium in the galaxy grew inert and devastated the ships that used them. Using "programmable matter" the nacelles and some saucer sections could appear detached from the main hull.

However, the crew of the Discovery was treated to a tour of a shipyard filled with ships of the 32nd century, including the USS Nog and the USS Voyager-J. Although these ships weren't seen in action, it can be assumed nine hundred years of technological advancement would make them the most sophisticated and powerful ships on this list.

10 The Prometheus-Class Was a Multi-Attack Vessel

Starship Details at a Glance

Starfleet's subtle change into a more war oriented power was heralded by multiple new warship designs. This war fleet was first meant to defend against the Borg, but the Dominion's threat kept them making ships made for war, including the Prometheus class. However, this ship wasn't just kitted out with the latest in weapons and shield technology.

The Prometheus class was created around multi-vector attack formation. The ship split into three, and was suddenly three times the threat it was before. The USS Prometheus could single-handedly destroy a D'deridex class ship with multi-vector attack mode, using only phasers. That's a powerful ship and a great weapon in Starfleet's arsenal.

9 The Defiant Class Was Starfleet's First Warship

Starship Details at a Glance

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is amazing, and it got better when the USS Defiant arrived. The Defiant class was originally designed to fight the Borg and was brought out of mothballs to counter the Dominion threat. Armed with four phaser cannons, three phaser banks, and four forward and two aft quantum torpedo launchers, the Defiant packs a tremendous wallop for a ship of its size.

The Defiant Class had powerful deflectors and ablative armor to make them extremely hard to damage, but their speed and maneuverability also make them very hard to hit. Able to destroy smaller vessels with a few shots with phaser cannons, the Defiant Class turned the tide of the war with the Dominion.

8 The Sovereign Class Signified Starfleet's Turn Towards the Militaristic

Starship Details at a Glance

The most powerful vessel in Starfleet, the Sovereign class takes all the lessons Starfleet learned and puts them into practice. More powerful after a class-wide refit, the Sovereign class boasted sixteen phaser arrays, a forward quantum torpedo launcher, three forward photon torpedo launchers, and six aft photon launchers.

The Sovereign class was built for a wide variety of missions, like the Galaxy before it, but Starfleet made sure to arm it with the latest in weaponry, allowing it to hold its own against even the most powerful enemy vessels without needing reinforcements.

7 The Borg Cube Is Simplistic and Terrifying

Starship Details at a Glance

The Borg cube is easily the most powerful ship encountered by any of the Alpha Quadrant powers. Armed with a variety of powerful beam weapons, torpedo launchers, and tractor beams, a Borg cube was more than a match for fleets of ships. In fact, it could destroy multiple ships before they could even scratch it. As the Borg assimilated new species and technology, their vessels were consistently being updated but the basic shape stayed the same.

Equipped with regenerative shielding and the adaptive technology that make the Borg so formidable, the only way Borg cubes have ever been defeated was with computer-based trickery, knowledge from when Captain Picard was assimilated, or future technology. Much from Star Trek's past holds up, including the power of a Borg Cube.

6 The Shrike Was a Sinister Vessel for Even More Sinister Villains

Starship Details at a Glance

Star Trek: Picard gave viewers several amazing ships, and one that grabbed fans' attention was the Shrike. Commanded by the changeling Vadic, this warship had an eye-catching design, with four claw-like protrusions extending forward from its body, giving it a fierce, insectoid look. It was also armed to the teeth.

Vadic allowed the Titan to scan them, revealing the Shrike's armament comprising forty isolytic burst warheads, eighty-eight plasma torpedoes, two hundred thirty-six photon torpedoes, eighteen anti-matter missiles, twenty pulse wave torpedoes, and an unknown number of directed energy weapons. On top of that, the Shrike was equipped with a portal weapon, which could transport ships it engaged through space into more vulnerable positions.