File:XenonClass.JPG

The Xenon-Class was the mid-2370's upgrade of the Yellowstone-Class / Danube-Class runabout development projects to accomodate the possibility of ongoing victories for either The Borg Collective or The Dominion. Starfleet had to bring its "A-Game" & redeveloped the Danube-Class into a small version of the Defiant-Class. It took several drafts including the Valiant-Class, Prevaricate-Class, Styx-Class, Solidarity-Class & the Talon-Class / Venture-Class medium range scouts seen in "Star Trek: Insurrection". The SCE & its Klingon Black Fleet design collaborators eventually arrived at a craft even a Klingon could be proud of. A series of interchangeable dorsal-mounted EPS/ODN-compatible mission-specific units for surveillance or strafing runs, forward pulse phasers & Voyager-upgraded microtorpedoes (forward & aft much like the Maquis Peregrine-Class courier/fighters), hull-conformal cloak, and aerowing section much like the escape pod capability of Voyager's own (Delta) Flyer-Class multimission shuttle. Regenerative hull plating projectors are installed to protect the Xenon-Class & its crew in the event of exposure & pursuit.