"Tyrannosaur" heavy battle cruiser intelligence report.
In 2374, Starfleet engineers were permitted to examine several Gorn vessels including an operational "Tyrannosaur", as part of a technology exchange program. This type of vessel is called "Khass'ach C'tshess" (translation: "Large, fast, ocean-dwelling predator with many teeth"). Star Fleet Intelligence (SFI) has given this report a 78% reliability rating.

General Specifications:

Length: 271m (Confirmed)
Width: 179m (Confirmed)
Height: 62m (Confirmed)
Max Warp: 8.9 (Observed)
Cruise: 7.5 (Observed)
Max. Impulse: .56 lightspeed (Estimated)
Crew: 340 (Estimated)

Armaments: 24 heavy disruptors (coupled to the phased array); eight internal missile bays.

Type: Heavy Battle Cruiser

About Ship: When the Gorn made first contact with the United Federation of Planets in 2267, they were dismayed to discover that they had a neighbor whose ships were not only on a par with theirs, but slightly more capable. Although the Gorn defense forces believed that they could fend off an attack by Federation forces, a serious conflict could not be sustained for any length of time. The Gorn hegemony is densely-populated and, unlike the Federation, can not afford a defense-in-depth. An attacker must be stopped immediately, with irresistable force. The Tyrannosaur was designed to deliver that force.

The Tyrannosaur's outer hull is constructed of a duranium framework, overlaid with overlapping plates of monocrystalline metallic alloy armor. These plates are imbedded with an early type of multifunction phased array, providing sensor, deflector, and tractor beam capability. A notable improvement over the previous generation's technology, this array incorporates emitters and computer coordination to allow it to serve as the main emitter for the disruptors buried deep within the hull. Apparently, this computer control was not fully trusted, as there are also twelve conventional emitters concealed about the hull behind retractable shutters. As with the Megalosaur, The Tyrannosaur's shielding was slightly less capable than equivalent Federation technology, but the armored hull and robust construction more than compensates for this lack.

Main weaponry consists of twenty-four heavy disruptors, a technology the Gorn developed during the mid-23d century. The Tyrannosaur was the first Gorn vessel to be equipped with disruptors as its primary armament. The Tyrannosaur was also the first Gorn vessel to be equipped with long-ranged (~1,000,000 km range) missiles. These missiles are roughly equivalent to photon torpedoes, but are self-propelled. Each missile is an irregular ellipsoid slightly larger than an old (Federation) accelerator cannon projectile, with a diameter of about 1.2 meters and a length of 5 meters. The warhead was an improved antimatter type with roughly twice the explosive force of a standard photon torpedo of the day.

The Tyrannosaur was a very fast vessel for it's era, but achieved much of this speed at the expense of range and endurance. Warp field efficiency is low, but power generation capacity is immense, nearly as much as a (small) present-day starbase. The Tyrannosaurs were not intended to patrol, but were kept on alert in case of invasion. At the first sign of an invasion, the Tyrannosaurs would deploy to the point of penetration and destroy the incoming fleet. As the Gorn fielded more than sixteen of these monsters, that would very likely have been the outcome, had the Federation attempted to invade.

The Tyrannosaur is an incredibly robust vessel, even by today's standards. It is still in operational service, but may no longer be the main battleship of the Gorn fleet. SAPINT sources suggest that the Gorn continually upgrade the alert fleet, and the version our engineers were allowed to examine was an older vessel in need of refit. A newer vessel (tenatively designated "Allosaur") is rumored to be entering production to replace this vessel.