ROMULAN STARSHIPS

The Star Trek fictional universe has presented a number of designs for '''Romulan'' starships'. Since '', larger Romulan starships have been referred to as 'Warbirds'.

Contents

Bird of Prey (22nd century)

Drone ship

Bird of Prey (2260s)

D-7 class

Scout ship

Known scout ships

Science vessel

Known science vessels

''D'deridex''-class warbird

Romulan Shuttle

''Valdore''

Trivia

Bird of Prey (22nd century)

The 'Bird of Prey' was an advanced starship encountered first in the '' episode ''Minefield'' named for its aggressive bird-like styling; the earliest featured Bird of Prey was encountered by humans – specifically those aboard the Earth starship ''Enterprise'' – in 2152, and was revealed to have advanced tactical systems including a cloaking device.
This type of Bird of Prey was only seen in the episode "Minefield"; at least two were in service in the year 2152 and were encountered when the Enterprise struck a mine during a survey of a Minshara class planet. The two Birds of Prey ordered the Enterprise to leave the system at once notifying them that the planet they had attempted to reach was "annexed" by the Romulan Star Empire.

Drone ship

The drone ship was designed to be remotely controlled across vast distances of space, using the telepathic abilities of captured Aenars. The vessel was heavily armed and extremely manuverable, capable of dodging torpedoes fired at close range.
The vessel's primary task was to imitate the visual and sensory appearance of alien vessels such as the Andorians and Vulcans using holographic technology and specially configured disruptors, attack a vessel of another race and so create instability and distrust among the powers of the time. Upon its discovery, however, the vessels' actions may have served instead to promote greater co-operation. The drone project was overseen by Admiral Valdore, a former Romulan Senator and presumably the namesake of the later ''Valdore''-class of Warbird. There were at least two of these vessels constructed by the Empire. The two featured craft were destroyed by each other when the captured Aenar pilot was contacted telepathically by another member of his race.
In the original script, Valdore referred to the drone vessels as "Raptors" though this never made it to the screen. However, the Romulan senator did refer to them as "Warbirds"...

Bird of Prey (2260s)

The 'Bird of Prey' was a variety of Romulan starship in use during the 2260s (not to be confused with the Klingon platform also known as the Bird of Prey). Ships of this class were built as a saucer-shaped primary hull with two nacelles attached by forward-angled pylons; the most distinctive feature, however, was a red and white bird in flight painted onto the bottom of the hull. According to background lore, the original script for the episode "Balance of Terror" called for the Romulans to have a ship that was a copy of the USS ''Enterprise'', which the Romulans had built using Federation technology that they obtained through espionage. However, the producers ultimately decided to have the Romulan ship only vaguely resemble the ''Enterprise'', as evidenced by the saucer-like hull and pylon-mounted cylindrical nacelles.
In the episode "Balance of Terror", one such vessel crossed the Romulan Neutral Zone, destroyed three outpost satellites, and retreated as a test of Federation strength; however, the ''Bird of Prey'' was destroyed by the USS ''Enterprise'' before it reached Romulan space, possibly causing the century-long wait before another Romulan vessel was seen.
Birds of Prey had advanced weapons compared to Starfleet ships of the period, featuring a cloaking device and powerful plasma-based weapon; however, the ships were slower than Federation craft, possibly even lacking warp drive. This ship also seemed to suffer from an acute fuel shortage in the episode, which implies limited range, and also more of a Federation-style fusion or antimatter-based drive system as opposed to the artificial quantum singularity power sources of the later Romulan ships in ''.

D-7 class

In the , at least three starships of the Klingon D-7 class were used by the Romulans. (This came to pass when a fire at NBC's studio warehouse destroyed the only existing Romulan ship model (the 2260s ''Bird of Prey''), necessitating re-use of the surviving Klingon props.) Novels (as well as fans) have speculated that these vessels were given to the Romulans during a brief alliance with the Klingon Empire against the Federation (in exchange for which, the Romulans provided the Klingons with cloaking technology), though this is non-canon and has never been confirmed onscreen. The Romulans refitted the D-7s in their service with cloaking devices and the Federation occasionally referred to Romulan controlled vessels of this class as "battlecruisers."

Scout ship

This small Romulan vessel was first seen (obliterated) in the ''TNG'' episode "The Enemy", and later that season in "The Defector". It is used as a surveying/research vessel and transport. It is a small craft that was observed to hold a crew complement of about three. The class is equipped with deflector shields. Its forward crew cabin has a blunt-nosed profile bearing a distinct resemblance to the 20th century Boeing 747. The ship model was designed by ''TNG'' art illustrator Rick Sternbach.
The scout ship later received the designation ''Talon'' in the computer game series, though this name is non-canonical.

Known scout ships

★ '''Pi''' - This scout ship crashed on the planet Galorndon Core in 2366, after venturing about 0.5 light-year into Federation space. The ship is soon autodestructed after crashing on the planet; only the wreck was recovered and observed partially on-screen. It is likely that the scout ship was on a covert operation in Federation space.

★ Unnamed vessel - Seen in the episode "The Defector", this marked the first and only intact appearance of the ship type. The scout ship, commandeered by the notorious Admiral Jarok (who assumed the alias Sublieutenant Setal), flees across the Neutral Zone to the Federation with information of a possible invasion. After the ship is severely damaged by weapons fire from a pursuing Romulan ''D'deridex'' class Warbird, Jarok is granted asylum and evacuated from the scout; however, he activates the scout's autodestruct mechanism before Starfleet can board and inspect it.

Science vessel

The science vessel was a redress of the scout ship model, though hosts a crew of up to 73. The vessel was known to be equipped with deflector shields.

Known science vessels

★ Unnamed vessel - In 2368, a vessel of this class (the only one seen externally) was testing an experimental interphase cloaking device. The vessel's warp core was damaged during testing, and it was aided in repairs by the ''Enterprise''-D. The Starfleet crew provided the Romulan crew with a modified subspace resonator which allowed the science vessel to reach Warp 2 on its journey home. (''TNG'': "The Next Phase").

★ '''Talvath''' - This science vessel, commanded by Dr. Telek R'Mor, was engaged in an extended three-year scientific mission; in 2351, it encountered a micro-wormhole whose opposite exit was located twenty years in the future, in the Delta Quadrant. Using this wormhole, R'Mor made contact with the stranded Federation starship, USS ''Voyager'' (''VOY'': "Eye of the Needle"). The vessel exterior remains unseen throughout the episode; given this and the time differential, it is unclear if the ''Talvath'' is of similar design to the science vessel seen in ''TNG''.

''D'deridex''-class warbird

Main articles: D'deridex-class warbird

Romulan Shuttle

Romulan shuttles are known to be in use in the 2370s and are similar in size to a Federation ''Danube''-class runabout. The only featured vessel of this class was that of Senator Vreenak, shown visiting Deep Space 9, in the episode ''"In the Pale Moonlight"''. This type of vessel is known to possess a cloaking device, the ship was seen decloaking after landing at the station, the design scheme and design follows the general Romulan design of a ''D'deridex''-class.
The game contains a scaled-up version of the vessel, referred to class as the ''Kestrel'' class, though this is not regarded as Star Trek canon.

''Valdore''

The '''Valdore''' is a type of starship utilized by the Romulans. This type of starship was first seen in the movie ''. It is longer than a ''Galaxy'' class starship, though it encloses a smaller volume and is probably not as massive. Very little is known about these ships: they are equipped with cloaking devices and appear to be very maneuverable despite their size. In spite of this, the two featured vessels were disabled by the Reman Warbird ''Scimitar''; in comparison, the ''Enterprise''-E was heavily damaged but still able to impair the ''Scimitar'' (however it should be noted that the ''Scimitar'' intended only to disable the ''Enterprise''-E as Shinzon needed to board the starship and capture Picard alive; he had no reservations about annihilating the other Warbirds).
The sleek and modern design is similar in concept to the Klingon Bird of Prey and may have been designed to serve during the Dominion War although it may have been developed in response to the new ''Sovereign'' class starship or the ''Negh'Var'' class battleship - two newer designs. At least two starships of the class existed in 2379.
The ship's official class designation is unknown: it is listed in the customisable card game as the ''Norexan''-class (''Valdore'' being the name of an individual ship), while the '' novels identify the frame as ''Mogai'' class; however, none of the three names have been confirmed onscreen. Due to the named onscreen vessel ''Valdore'', this is how the class is most commonly known.

Trivia

★ No Romulan ship has ever been identified on live-action screen as a "Bird of Prey." Lieutenant Stiles stated in TOS episode ''Balance of Terror'' that the ship was "painted like a large bird-of-prey." The terms "Romulan Bird of Prey" is therefore a fanon term, as the ships have not been canonically referred to as such by Paramount.

★ The Bird of Prey ship seen in the TOS episode ''Balance of Terror'' was mentioned by Scotty to be powered only by simple impulse. This is usually interpreted as a sublight-only capable ship. This has led many, including game designers for the Star Fleet Universe to assume that Romulan ships had no warp capability at this time. Since there would be no reason to use an obsolete ship for such a mission, this would mean that the Romulans had no warp drive prior to the Klingon-Romulan alliance. As a result, however, the Romulan war fought in the 22nd century would not have been possible unless Earth took the war to them. It would also mean that it would have taken the Bird of Prey seen in Balance of Terror a lifetime to cross the neutral zone, let alone journey to the several outposts that line it. Therefore, Scotty's line has had a number of fanon reinterpretations. In later episodes of '', we learn that Romulan engines use artificial black holes as a power source; it is most likely that Scotty, not knowing of such technology, assumed that this Romulan ship did not have warp drive when it in fact did have it (the vessel clearly moves at faster than light speeds in the episode; this would be impossible without some form of warp drive).

★ During the Dominion War, the Romulan flagship was the ''D'ridthau''. Its class is unknown, although (given its name, and its status as fleet flagship) it may have been a Warbird (''D'deridex''-class), or of a new class. It never appeared onscreen, but in the episode "What You Leave Behind" the ''D'ridthau'' was destroyed in battle by the Dominion.