Federation Gadfly-class and Mayfly-class Cutters

Federation Gadfly-class and Mayfly-class Test Cutters

In 2319, Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards proposed a family of light cutters to Starfleet Command. These ships would replace many legacy 23rd-century designs while sharing components, systems, and repair parts with Starfleet’s upcoming Ambassador-class, Apollo-class, and Renaissance-class cruisers. Starfleet reluctantly agreed. Although senior leadership rarely retired ships that were still mission-capable, they were eager to simplify the maintenance, logistics, and training programs. A common family of ships would do just that.

Utopia Planitia based their cutters on a 98-meter primary "saucer" hull and a 442-cochrane warp core. In simulations, the warp nacelles were stable both above and below the ship's centerline, with each option offering slightly different power distribution and efficiency characteristics. Utopia Planitia’s engineers built two test cutters at McKinley Station for testing in open space. The USS Gadfly was built with dorsal-mounted warp nacelles, while the nearly-identical USS Mayfly was built with nacelles on the ventral side. Other than the nacelle configuration, both ships were virtually identical.

These two test cutters became the basis of the Healy-class customs cutter, the Hewish-class science ship, the Carpathia-class diplomatic courier, the Baltic-class fast transport, and several other small vessels and variations. Both prototypes were assigned to Jupiter Station as permanent starbase assets. Between 2325 and 2341, both ships were used as testbeds for modifications and upgrades to the commissioned light cutters as well as retrofit components for the Renaissance-class, Apollo-class, and Ambassador-class starships. At the end of 2341, both test cutters were reassigned to the Starfleet Academy satellite campus on Proxima Centauri. The USS Mayfly was honorably retired in 2367, while as of 2382 the USS Gadfly is still used for cadet and midshipman cruises.

Specifications:

• Entered Service: 2320
• Active Ships: 1 (as of 2382)
• Endurance: 3 months
• Length: 151 meters
• Beam: 98 meters
• Complement: 23-33 crew (depending on mission)

Designer’s Notes:

I have been attempting to flesh out the Federation’s “Lost Era:” the early 24th century ships such as the Ambassador-class and its contemporaries. And I’ve always liked the idea of Starfleet having numerous small ships commissioned for every large explorer/heavy cruiser. I developed some “core” components from CaptainMojo’s parts kits (a 98-meter saucer section, 86-meter nacelles, and a few additional hull components modified from other designs). This has given me the basis for multiple small ships. I’m classifying most of them as “cutters” due to their small sizes and limited roles.

These two ships represent the “stock” versions of my Lost Era cutters. They will be joined by a four-nacelle fast courier, a sensor-module variant, a torpedo-boat variant, a diplomatic transport, a science ship, and more.

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Parts Used:

• Saucer and warp nacelles: Niagara-class (heavily modified)
• Bridge decks and nacelle interfaces: Miranda-class
• Impulse engines: Excelsior-class
• Rear hull: Grayson-class repair module
• Lower hull: the plasma torpedo launcher from a Klingon L-9
• Warp Pylons: Remora/Charger class

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