Interceptor Class: Better late than never...

Today we take a closer look at the Fan Created Interceptor Class Designed by Stuart Baldwin it has seen many incarnations and interpretations with some casting it as a small frigate and others claiming it as a Destroyer. But today i will discuss the Interceptor as a small Fast Attack Ship. with a modest but effective armament, relying on speed and numbers to defeat its foe in the latter half of the Dominion War.

Sources:

[spartanben]

The Interceptor-class is what happens when a Defiant and an Intrepid love each other very much....

[anonymousplayer]

It's funny when people say "jack of all trades, master of none" because there's another part of that saying; "Better than just one"

[spatialgaming]

The Interceptor class: A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.

The full quote is quite enlightening.

[Relav]

You know what, I just love the way Interceptor looks. She looks sleek, nimble, and mean looking all the same. Exactly what an attack ship should be, no?
Yay for fanverse shout outs! Love seeing the underloved works get a spotlight, especially from you!

[xarglethegreat]

the thing is that realistically the defiant class would have been the attack ship of the federation, it was cannonically designed as a swarming close in attack ship andcould have very easily been modified from the prototype for series production. things like the interceptor class while well conceived and a very nice looking design are post hoc rationalisations for the showrunners choice to not use the defiant class in large numbers on screen so as to not dilute its value as a hero ship, this is one of the areas where babylon 5 handled it so much better introducing the first whitestar as the hero ship for the station and first of its kind, the harbinger of things to come, but revealing later that the minbari had been mass producing them for the rangers after the prototype proved successful

[richt.]

I dont understand why you say the Defiant is not maneuverable. In the shows it is seen manuevering just as fast and tight as Birds of Prey and Jem Hadar attack ships.

[theodoremccarthy]

The Defiant is an attack ship, but it’s a heavy attack ship purpose built to slug it out with larger and more powerful vessels. It just got pressed into service as a line breaker during the Dominion War because of its combination of speed, firepower and survivability.

[paulzy]

Have you seriously watched all of DS9?? - The Defiant is an extremely manueverable and evasive ship.

[NardoVogt]

"But the Federation doesn't believe in Warsh..."
*Interceptor comes into the room, slits throat, runs out and acts like it did some anomaly research*

[chriseash]

The Interceptor would have been invaluable after the war as well. After a big war there are always groups that would try to capitalize on all the instability, the variability of the design would make it perfect as a Coast Guard type of roll.

[jamesabernethy]

I like the way you describe how these ships fit in. Although I like both of your channels, your collaboration with Drachinifel really was a highlight. This is a really beautiful design, it has a very clear design lineage. It also fits in well with the lore and would be believable as a cost effective design for the role it played

[jerryc]

5:07 - what would mass production of the Defiant be too expensive? When Sisko first brought it DS9 to make contact with the Dominion before the war, he, then later Bashir, remarked about its very spartan design(Bashir indicated that it did not have a sick bay).

[admiralcasperr]

I'd describe the Defiant as a gunship.

[alexandercaires]

Been waiting patiently for an Interceptor video. Was shocked that was also about Attach Ship type vessels as the Interceptor seemed more like a simpler Intrepid Class Starship, but fleshing out the use and role of Attack Ships helped understand better a few battles from the Dominion War.

[mephistoxarses]

Notable ship names during the Dominion war.
USS. Spitfire ( Interceptor class)
USS Hurricane ( Defiant class )
USS Mustang ( Interceptor class )
USS Lancaster ( Akira class )
Dominion forces pull a quote from Monty python "Run away! Run away!"

[lovenicholson]

Love your passion for the Star Trek Universe brother, be well.

[casbot]

Starfleet once again having to relearn old lessons again _the hard way._
If they had kept the Akayzi class's niche updated with each new generation of ship paradigms, Starfleet would have been far better prepared and just more effective on a day to day basis.

They needed a small planetary landing capable counterpart to the Bird of Prey to act as a patrol ship and light general duties ship.
And be cheap enough that Federation space was swarming with them. So that colonies and stations have a quick response helper for everything from raiders to weird phenomenon, to light cargo duties.

And all the capital ships have a screening vessel and escort in case they run into weird space phenomenon of the week.

No doubt Starfleet would retire the Interceptor class a few decades after the Dominion war anyway.

[merafirewing]

I wonder if the old Destroyers in the Federation could be upgunned as very large gunship.

[samuel]

I think you might’ve slept on the Defiant too hard. I agree that the Interceptor was probably more versatile outside of combat. It had more internal space for equipment and higher warp speeds.

However, in combat I don’t agree that Defiant was slower and less maneuverable. Everything we’ve seen shows it just as capable as other attack ships. In addition, it had twice the firepower and significantly better durability.

I would frame them more as a high/low mix of Attack ships due to the cost of Defiant. There are fewer of them but they last longer and hit harder. You send them to do the most critical missions/tasks with the best crews.

In real world terms think of them like the F-15/F-16 or F-22/F-35. Both capable but one is more capable and also more expensive. F-16/F-35 are also more well rounded multi-role planes vs their larger siblings that more specialized into Air Superiority. They can all do the same jobs however.

[kamenriderblade]

The USS ProtoStar could also be seen as a evolution of the "Patrol Ship" concept.

It's slightly smaller than the Interceptor class.

Armed well enough, and is adorned with the latest StarFleet tech.