Specifications - Class F Shuttlecraft

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Summary

Light Short-Range Warp Shuttle

General

Class		F
Role		Light Short-Range Warp Shuttle
Duration		16 Years
Time Between Refits		1 year
Time Between Resupply		After every other deployment
Description		With the introduction of the transporter, Starfleet had come to believe that the shuttlecraft had become redundant, and by the mid 2220's it had begun the process of phasing them out of service. Design and production of shuttles was fully abandoned in 2233, and the total number of shuttles in service declined from some 850 in 2235 to less than 200 in 2245; of these, over 90% were in service with facilities or vessels too small or outmoded to have received transporter systems. However, by 2249, the transporter had proven to be somewhat less reliable than initially hoped, especially when operating in the presence of even moderate levels of radiation or other natural forms of interference; in addition, the transporter had a range limit of some 30 - 40,000 km. While many had confidently predicted that improvements to the basic firmware would allow them to rectify these deficiencies, Starfleet reluctantly authorized the production of a new shuttlecraft design as a temporary stopgap measure until such technology could be adequately developed. The Class F prototype was duly launched in 2251. The design was a simple, boxlike structure with a small engineering compartment at the rear and a control interface situated at the front. A pair of nacelles gave the craft considerable warp capability, as it was thought that once the transporter eliminated the need for orbit-to-surface and interplanetary missions, only the interstellar tasks would remain- until these too where eliminated by the expected "interstellar" transporters. Modest shielding and weapons capability were factored into the design, but the Class F was never intended to serve any serious combat role. Since it was largely a interim measure expected to be retired within a decade or so at most, little effort was made to design the craft to last. The Class F was produced extremely limited runs, and at first only selected ships and facilities were equipped with them. Of course, the interplanetary- and interstellar-range transporter never materialized - and in fact the transporter itself continued to be unreliable when presented with new operating environments. By 2260, with advancements in Transporter technology nowhere near where they had originally forecast, Starfleet was forced to reckon with the fact that its 'stopgap' shuttle, now nearing the end of its expected lifespan, was still their best solution to the ongoing problem. Crews were still complaining of the problems that shuttlecraft shortages were causing them, including some unfortunate instances where starships had been forced to deploy on missions with no shuttles at all, leading to serious (often catastrophic) capability loss during emergency situations when the transporter was rendered inoperable. Starfleet reluctantly caved in to demands and production of the Class F was ramped up for fleet-wide implementation, while the long, costly and ultimately unproductive project to develop both interplanetary and interstellar transporters was quietly abandoned. Despite this new attitude, The Starfleet Corps of Engineers forecasts that it will take until at least 2270 until all Federation starships are adequately supplied with shuttlecraft.

Dimensions

Length		7.32 Meters
Width		3.2 Meters
Height		2.44 Meters
Decks		1

Personnel

Officers

8

Speed

Cruise Speed		3
Maximum Speed		4
Emergency Speed		4.2 (for 3 hours)

Weapons & Defensive Systems

Weapon Systems

O Type III Phaser Banks (Fixed Mounts): 2