New weapons were in preparation for the next design update due in 2370, but these were not going to be available in the immediate future. However, it was apparent that much of the Sovereign's weaponry was based on that of the Galaxy class - a vessel which had proven ineffective against the Borg during that first encounter. The Sovereign project was activated and construction began on the first four ships of the class. In mid 2365 first contact was also made with the Borg. The re-establishing of relations with the Romulans in 2364 led to a major revision in the 2365 update, and many elements of the Sovereign went into low rate production in order to establish a stockpile ready for rapid assembly. In the design updates of 2350, 55 and 60 much of the technology being developed for the Galaxy class project was incorporated, especially in the nacelle and warp core design. Initially the Sovereign design was a simple re-working of the Ambassador class, emphasizing weapons rather than exploratory and diplomatic capabilities. The basic design was to be updated every five years so as to incorporate technology advances as they occurred. The intention was to create a design that could be put into production with no delay, should a future crisis present itself. Dubbed the Sovereign project it became a theoretical starfleet battlecruiser designed only as a computer model, with specimen hardware occasionally produced to test the design principles.
The warship project was initially to be scrapped, but Starfleet was instead asked to continue the project on a research basis only. This project was in the advanced planning stage when the loss of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C) during the Narendra III incident eased tensions considerably. The President ordered Starfleet to place a design proposal for a new class of starship with very much greater military capability than current designs.
At this time relationships between the Federation and the Klingon Empire had degraded significantly, to the point where war was considered by many to be imminent. The origins of the Sovereign class date back as far as 2338.
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