The latest and greatest among battleships, the Inquiry Class is set to be the most successful Starfleet ship since the Excelsior class. Sporting weapons on par with the far larger Odyssey class in a package the size of a Galaxy, it's no wonder Starfleet plans to build them by the hundred. But it remains to be seen if these ships will continue to prove themselves in fleet service.
So, before we start with the Inquiry Class, we must start with the situation it's coming into. By 2380 Starfleet was in a technological Revolution but an awkward one. Technologies gained from the USS Voyager were starting to be implemented fleetwide, but ultimately Starfleet had a problem. It had too many ships. Not bad ships, mind you, but at least 60 different classes of vessels dating from potentially as far back as the 2250's. Streamlining was absolutely in order. And the first ships to go were the ships of the 2320's, namely the Ambassador class.
Whilst the Ambassador was undeniably an excellent ship it is widely considered the weak link in the Flagship lineage, wedged between the ship that ended the Klingon Cold War and the ship that won the Dominion War. This middling reputation is sadly backed up by its performance, being far more expensive to run than an Excelsior class but not up to scratch with more modern starships. A replacement was simply in order.
And so we come to the Inquiry. Roughly the size of a Galaxy Class the ship features an armament on par with an Odyssey class, able to burn entire fleets but without the frankly ludicrous expense of its larger running mate. 18 modern phaser arrays are dotted around the hull, with dual fore and aft torpedo launchers capable of firing a wide array of ordinance, ranging from Photon Torpedoes to Genesis Terraforming Probes. The shields are among the strongest in the fleet, with the primary deflector hidden behind armour plating that resembles the grill of a classic Earth motor car. Whilst the designer of the ship, Captain Earle Frakes, has claimed that the choice was purely tactical, he arrived at the interview where he claimed that in a vintage 1959 Cadillac ElDorado, the last running example in existence.
The ship's FTL propulsion is similarly advanced, sporting a revised SSWR-XLVII-C reactor powering the ship to a maximum speed of Warp 9.95 and an emergency speed of Warp 9.985. Backing this up is the ship's Quantum Slipstream Drive, able to allow it to cruise at Faster-Than-Warp speeds for a range of up to 5,000LY on a single hop, giving it the ability to arrive anywhere in the Federation, Klingon Empire, Romulan Star Empire or Cardassian Republic within 6 hours. This is unprecedented by Federation standards, and has granted the ship the ability to rapidly respond to threats with unprecedented speed.
The ship is admittedly not without controversy, as its questionable visual appearance has drawn ire from the public and press. The ships have also been noted as suffering problems with their computer systems when at Slipstream, and their secondary deflector is claimed to be lacking. These problems were noted on the first batch of ships, but have largely been solved. Second batch ships are unlikely to have these issues.
Their success, however, is evident. Starfleet currently operates at least 25 ships of the class, with a further 100 on the way. These ships have also put their huge internal volume to use, acting as both cargo ships and warships in the same way the Miranda, Galaxy and Excelsior classes currently do. It's likely these ships will see the end of the older ships, replacing many of Starfleet's most iconic designs with what's simply and sadly a better ship. Whilst many are sad to see them go, much less down to the same design, for Starfleet the future looks bright.