"Smilodon" cruiser intelligence report.
Star Fleet Intelligence (SFI) has given this report a 90% reliability rating.

General Specifications:

Length: 353m (Confirmed)
Width: 309m (Confirmed)
Height: 64m (Confirmed)
Max Warp: 6.5 (confirmed)
Cruise: 5.5
Max. Impulse: .5 lightspeed
Crew: 40 officers, 160 enlisted

Armaments: 6 heavy lasers (4 fwd, 2 aft, later upgraded to disruptors), 30 missiles on individual launch racks in the "belly" of the spaceframe.

Type: Battle Cruiser

About Ship: The Smilodon was the primary battle cruiser in Klingon service at the time first contact was made. The Smilodon (Named after the "Saber-Toothed Tiger" of Earth's pre-history) was quite heavily-armed for a vessel of its day. Each of the heavy lasers had twice the output of any Federation ship-board armaments of the day.

The Smilodon's missiles launched "down" from the ship's belly at low velocity. The missile would then orient on the target vessel and ignite its main motor, a chemical rocket. Warheads were an early type of plasma generator, but were replaced by antimatter warheads before the last Smilodons were retired from service.

The Smilodon was not an agile design, and was typically deployed in squadrons of 3 vessels, so each could cover the others' backs. Although other battlecruisers were introduced during the service life of the Smilodon, it remained in service until the introduction of the D-7, at which time all known examples of the type were removed from front-line service. Starfleet Intelligence surmises that the Smilodon was retained in active service so long because it had a (justified) reputation as a highly robust fighting vessel, capable of taking damage that should have destroyed it several times over, yet still bringing its crew home.