Starfleet Third Fleet

The Third Fleet was a Federation fleet that was involved in the Dominion War.

When the war began in late 2373, the Third Fleet was assigned to the defence of Sector 001 and in particular, Earth. A large number of ships from the fleet were in the Sol system not long after the first shots of the war were first. (: "Deployment")

In planning for Operation Return a significant number of ships were diverted to take part in the operation. This left the Third Fleet as the only significant Starfleet force between the Dominion and Earth. Starfleet Command was initially concerned that if the Dominion ignored the strike at Deep Space 9 and instead headed for Earth that the Third Fleet would not be able to hold the line until it could be reinforced.