Dauntless class
The Dauntless-class was a class of Federation starship operated during the late 24th century.

Origins 
The Dauntless was similar in design to that of the fake "", also designated as a "Dauntless-class" starship, that was altered to appear Federation in design that was created by Arturis, a member of Species 116, during the 2370s. The original Dauntless was originally encountered by Captain Kathryn Janeway and the crew of the  in the Delta Quadrant in late 2374. () 

Given Janeway's order for entire Voyagers crew to extensively study the vessel they had sufficient data to reverse engineer its systems. This proved true when they were able to recreate their own mildly successful attempt at the alien Dauntlesss slipstream drive in 2375. ()

By the 2380s, Starfleet took great liberty in recreating Arturis' design, when creating their own fully fledged version of this class. ()

In a possible future, the Federation appeared to have adopted this design by the 26th century, with at least one Dauntless-class starship participating in the pivotal Battle of Procyon V. ()

Technical data 
This Dauntless was equipped with a quantum slipstream drive, which allowed it to go faster than the standard Starfleet warp scale at the time. It could travel sixty thousand light years in three months and was capable of traveling over fifteen light years in only a short time, which otherwise took the  two days to cover at high warp.

Physical arrangement 
Although created by alien technology, this ship was made to resemble Federation starships on the interior and exterior by the means of particle synthesis. The darker alien interior was modified to a more familiar Federation color palate, and LCARS interfaces. The exterior of the vessel was also modified with familiar Federation markings and ship's registry. ()

Externally, the Federation's Dauntless design retained several design cues from the original Dauntless, including a streamlined, arrowhead shaped primary hull, a near organic transition into the secondary hull and underslung warp nacelles. With the new design, the secondary hull and warp nacelles were lengthened compared to the original and the secondary hull appeared to house auxiliary impulse engines. It also lacked the "hump" the original had in its transition from the nape of the ship's dorsal section. ()

Interior design 
By Starfleet standards, the original Dauntless was considered to be relatively minimalist, possessing only one transporter and no replicators, holodecks, or shuttlecraft.

Bridge

Main engineering

Ships of this class 
Named
 "" (NX-01-A)
  (NCC-80816)

Unnamed
 Unnamed Dauntless-class starships

Appendices

Appearances

Background information
According to Aaron Waltke, the Dauntless is a Starfleet reproduction of Arturis' vessel built from detailed scan data gathered by USS Voyager. It, too, is also equipped with a limited form of quantum slipstream drive.

Studio model
A foam core mock-up concept model of the bridge of the Dauntless, has been sold in the It's A Wrap! sale and auction of 9 March 2007 as . The model measuring 22"×36"×7.5" sold for US$876.

See Dauntless-class model.

Apocrypha 
Though not originally a Starfleet design, ships matching the configuration of the Dauntless appear in the 25th-century timeline of Star Trek Online as the Dauntless-class "Experimental Science Vessel", featuring a special device that mimics the effects of particle synthesis to distract enemies and confuse their targeting.

External link 

Starship classes
Federation starship classes