In 2369 at Starfleet's San Francisco Shipyards, construction began on a new class of starship, which was to become the flagship of Starfleet. These vessels, christened Sovereign class, are intended to become the successors to the celebrated Excelsior class. The Sovereign is capable of very high warp speeds, in excess of warp 9.98, and is extremely agile for a ship of its size. The Sovereign's mission is the same as its predecessor - deep space exploration and diplomacy.

However, the Sovereigns are also armed to the teeth. They are equipped with powerful phaser arrays and fore and aft quantum torpedo launchers, and are protected by Starfleet's new double-redundant quick-charging shields. This new shielding system builds a back-buffer shield in addition to the primary shield. When sufficient damage is taken to the primary shield, the back buffer is phased through to replace the primary while it is recharged within the protection of the new primary. This new system consumes a good deal of energy, which is supplied by half a dozen fusion reactors arrayed near the shield emitters.

Production of the Sovereigns is proceeding at a relatively slow rate, due in part to the complexity of the new shielding system, and in part to the enormous building project in which Starfleet is currently engaged. Because of the Dominion War, Starfleet presently is diverting much of its resources to the construction of smaller strike vessels, which can be produced more rapidly and at less expense. However, the recent successes of this class have prompted Starfleet to step up production and get more Sovereigns into active fleet duty as soon as possible. It remains to be seen whether or not the Sovereign class will have the success and longevity of its predecessor, but one thing is apparent - the Sovereign is in a class of its own.