Klingon Starships: Frigates

Klingon Frigates perform secondary military duties - patrol and defense of peaceful frontiers or trade lanes, escorting transports and other ships, courier missions, reconnaissance and scouting runs, and so forth. If necessary, Klingons convert Frigates for frontline military duty by upgrading their weapons and shields. Klingon Frigates come in a wide variety of configurations, from vessels with "winged shaft" designs to ships resembling enlarged shuttlecraft.

Starship Classes
Starfleet Explorers Cruisers Frigates Escorts Scouts Support Vessels Shuttlecraft Federation Romulan Romulan Star Navy examples Klingon Battleships Warships Cruisers Frigates Fast Attack Ships Destroyers Escorts Scouts Specialized Support/Auxiliary Cardassian Edit this nav

Klingon Heavy Frigates resemble Crusiers in some ways; they often carry weapons and shields nearly as powerful as a Cruiser. The IKDF and House fleets usually assign them to extended border patrols and other long-term, relatively dangerous missions. Strike Frigates (roughly equivalent to Starfleet's Fast Frigates) are built for a combination of high speed and fairly potent offensive "punch." Klingons use them for scouting, raids, reconnaissance, and similar missions; in major battles, they usually join Fast Attack Ship wings. Light Frigates carry fewer weapons and weaker shields than other Frigates (though they usually still outgun comparative Federation ships). But they're easier and cheaper to manufacture than other Frigates, so they appeal to some of the resource-poor Houses.

Many Klingon commanders regard duty aboard a Frigate as a punishment of sorts, and thus use postings to them as a way of maintaining discipline. Since they rarely get into combat, and often don't survive when they do, Frigates usually represent a dead-end job for the disgraced, the aged, and soldiers with disciplinary problems. Thus, Frigate crews have a rather poor reputation among Klingons. They're considered troublemakers and incompetents; in some circles, the very designation (qughwl'Hom beq, or "Frigate crewman") constitutes a mild insult when used out of context. During the Dominion War, Frigate duty provided General Martok and his staff with a way to give failures and disciplinary cases something to do, while getting them away from the front lines.

Category Classes

• BaH'reth Class
• HajHal Class
• Kel'var Class
• Qa'cheng Class
• Sa'var Class
• To'beq Class
• Yotwl Class