Post-TNG and Future Ships (since 2370)
Post-TNG ships seem
to have few features in common. There are radical designs
like the Defiant, which
abandon principles like the separation of hull and
nacelles. The Starfleet scout
from "Star Trek: Insurrection" employs
the same novel configuration. A number of ships sport triangular main
hulls, such as the Intrepid, the Prometheus
and the Nova, and the elongated elliptical saucer of the Sovereign
seems to be a step in the same direction, as it may be attributed to a
refined understanding of warp field dynamics. Another common
design feature of these ships is that the saucer connects
directly to the engineering hull, without a neck.
The nacelles of the Sovereign (which resemble those of the Nova) and the Prometheus are elongated, whereas those of the Intrepid may constitute an exception as they are short and rather look like typical mid-24th century nacelles. It is noticeable that post-TNG starships are more heavily armed than in the times of TNG, the obvious reason being the Borg threat and the Dominion War. Quantum torpedoes, for instance, have become a standard weapon on a number of ship classes.
The ships achieve top speeds of Warp 9.6 and beyond. Their registries are usually higher than NCC-74000.