The Vor'Cha class was originally the Klingon response to Starfleet's Ambassador class design. Intended to be significantly more powerful than the Ambassador, the ship had something of a troubled beginning. The project was approved in 2332, and immediately ran into snags; the Klingons experienced problems with the manufacture of the Warp Coils, a problem Starfleet would later encounter for itself. In addition, despite much effort the Klingons could not match Starfleet's development of the burst fire torpedo tube. However, the materials problems were overcome and the first designs indicated that the new ships would comfortably meet the design requirements using larger numbers of single fire torpedo tubes. However, by the time construction of the first vessel was begun in 2341, Starfleet had issued the requirement for the Nebula class Starship. This would clearly be more than a match for the proposed Vor'Cha class, leaving the Klingons with a major new warship design which would be obsolete the moment it left the shipyards.

The Klingons responded by going back to the drawing board and re-drafting the design. Three of the Mark 10 disrupter cannon were replaced with more powerful models, designated the Mark 12. These were capable of operating in a 'pulse fire' mode, increasing their effectiveness against shield systems. High density armour plating was added around the ships Warp Core, nacelles, and around the weapons platforms. Efforts continued to field a burst fire torpedo system; in 2343 a group of six torpedoes exploded wile being fired from a test vessel, destroying it with the loss of two hundred personnel, including nine of the projects best design specialists. Despite this tragedy the Klingons pressed on, albeit with a less ambitious tube design capable of firing three torpedoes at a time, and were eventually successful.

The re-designed Vor'Cha began construction in 2345 and launched in 2351, three years before the first of the Nebula class. Comparisons between the two are inevitable; the Vor'Cha is generally considered to be about 15% more powerful than the standard Nebula design because of its superior armour and pulse fire disrupters. However, when fitted with an enhanced weapons pod the Nebula is generally reckoned to be more than a match for the Vor'Cha. The advent of the Galaxy class swung the balance further toward Starfleet, and the Vor'Cha class is decidedly behind the latest designs beginning to enter service in the quadrant. The Klingons are reported to be planning to upgrade the Vor'Cha fleet with more powerful disrupters, the latest torpedo tubes, and enhanced shielding systems to keep them on the front lines. It is not known when this process might begin.

One glance at the B'rel class cruiser is enough to see the intention of its designers. Virtually identical to the Bird of Prey in layout, the B'rel is three times the length and approximately twenty five times the volume of the smaller ship, putting it firmly into the cruiser bracket. The extra size has been used by the designers to provide an extra torpedo tube plus four emergency tubes in place of the Bird of Prey's one of each, replace the Mark 8 disrupters with Mark 10 models and install a secondary armament of six Mark 8 cannon. The thickness of armour across the ship has been more than doubled and the shield system has been considerably upgraded. Other systems have also been up-rated in line with the ships cruiser status. Internally, the deck layout has been accommodated within the scaled up design by simply putting three decks in the place of every one. Like the B'Rel there are few windows on this ship; only one in three decks has any windows at all.

The B'rel class vessel entered service in 2327, and has remained in the fleet ever since. An extensive programme of refits has kept them front-line vessels for some forty years, although the Vor'Cha class Attack Cruiser has become the vessel of choice in this area. In the 2360s the B'rel mostly patrolled friendly areas, and was a common sight to Federation Starships during this time. With the Klingons war with the Cardassians and the brief conflict with the Federation the type was brought into conflict with Federation Starships for the first time, where it performed reasonably well. Recently it has also seen a great deal of action against the Dominion where it has not performed so well, its age and second rank status counting against it. Nevertheless, the sheer numbers deployed mean that this design should continue to see service in some form until the turn of the century.

This information is courtesy of the Daystrom Institute Technical Library and copyright Graham Kennedy