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| With the loss of a great number of ships during the Dominon War, many proponents of greater defenses spoke out on the need for the Federation to defend it's self. So many lives had been lost and atrocities had occurred that never had in past. Earth it's self was attacked. And several Federation planets had felt the full effect of war. |
| Of course, the principles of the Federation and Starfleet have always been that of peace whenever possible. But it was clearly obvious that measures must be taken to ensure the safety of the Federation and it's citizens. To make sure that the horrors of war could not be re-visited in years to come. |
| The Sentinel Project was given the clearance on March 18, 2376. It's goal would be to construct a vessel in which Starfleet could deploy as a exploration vessel, a vessel of good-will, and when needed, a vessel capable of defending the Federation and freedom when called upon. |
| Starfleet R&D at the Mars Utopia Planetia Shipyards produced the the first Sentinel-Class vessel, the U.S.S. Sentinel, by February of 2377. Tests had already shown the vessel class to be rugged and reliable. Due to this, Starfleet Command ordered the Sentinel-class into production for a total of 8 ships. The U.S.S. Sentinal's sister ship, the U.S.S. Guardian, was the second vessel of this class to enter service. |
| Each of the Sentinel-class carriers was to accomidate 2 squadrons on the new, Valkyrie-class fighters, along with support shuttles and an additional Operations Escort ship. By the end of the production run, Starfleet had produced the eight ships that could serve as mobile command post throughout Federation Space. These vessels were: |
| U.S.S. Sentinel, NX-68291 U.S.S. Guardian, NCC-1738-B U.S.S. Watchkeeper, NCC-68293 U.S.S. Cerebus, NCC-68294 U.S.S. Sentry, NCC-68295 U.S.S. Defender, NCC-68296 U.S.S. Stalwart, NCC-68297 U.S.S. Shepherd, NCC-68298 |