Lorca-class destroyer (FT)

Developed and built as part of Starfleet's attempt to modernise following the crushing defeat in the War of Imperial Restoration, the Lorca-class destroyers were the final destroyer class to be developed and constructed by Starfleet prior to the Second Hyperpower War. The Lorca-class vessels are general-purpose medium warships intended to operate in formations of three to five vessels, though are also capable of operating alone. On the battlefield, the Lorca-class are mainly tasked with escorting heavier vessels, operating as part of a screening line, or as rapid-reaction force.

History
Having studied the Imperial Navy's tactics during the War of Imperial Restoration, which the Federation lost, and with an eye towards the constant threat of the United Front, Starfleet attempted to move away from their prior "battlecruiser doctrine" and shift towards formation-based tactics with larger numbers of smaller vessels operating in support of each other. The "battlecruiser doctrine" was the use of singular fast, heavily-armed warships also capable of carrying escorting fighters, with the aim being to defeat larger formations of enemy warships with smaller numbers of vastly more powerful vessels. This was based on Starfleet's experience fighting the Imperial Navy of the Old Empire, which also relied on a similar strategy of focusing almost entirely on capital ship warfare. Operating fewer but more powerful vessels was also more cost-effective for Starfleet, which remained the top space force in the Human Sphere for some time after the defeat of the Old Empire.

However, while this strategy was sound against the often solitary capital ships of the Old Empire and the attack craft-heavy space forces of the Union, and was devastating against peacetime pirates and limited Imperial Remnant incursions, it quickly failed in the war of attrition against the resurgent Empire. The restructured Imperial Navy constantly operated in large, well-coordinated formations of combined-arms vessels that were able to outmaneuver, outgun, and simply outnumber Starfleet's celebrated battlecruisers.

The result of intense tactical research were the Nguyen II-class destroyers. These destroyers were intended to serve as force multipliers and escorts for the Federation's larger warships, as well as to rapidly bolster Starfleet's heavily depleted numbers to maintain a credible defensive posture against both the Empire and the Union.

However, the Nguyen II-class was quickly found to be underarmed compared to their contemporaries.

The Lorca-class was developed to address these problems.