Klingon baHwI' intelligence report.
All specifications are estimates unless otherwise indicated.
Star Fleet Intelligence (SFI) has given this report a 95% reliability rating.

General Specifications:

Length: 414m (Confirmed)
Width: 259.5m (Confirmed)
Height: 57m (Confirmed)
Max Warp: 9.5 (Observed)
Cruise: 9.2 (Observed)
Max. Impulse: 0.94 lightspeed (Observed)
Crew: 475 personnel (est.)

Armaments: Five disruptors (2 fwd/port, 2 fwd/stbd, 1 aft); five heavy plasma torpedo launchers (4 fwd, 1 aft).

Type: Heavy Destroyer

About Ship: The baHwI' (Gunner -- literally: "one who fires") is a fast, heavily-armed destroyer produced by the Klingons beginning in 2375.

During the early stages of the Dominion war, Klingon Defense Forces (KDF) suffered significant ship losses. Their Federation allies were unable to provide much in the way of support, as they were busily changing their own ship production over to a wartime footing. There was little in the way of surplus production to spare for the Klingons. The KDf needed ships badly. Their answer to this problem was surprising -- they would take them from the Dominion.

Buried in one of the intelligence reports from the Federation was a remark about a shipyard the Dominion was using as a collection point for captured vessels. There were three possible locations for this shipyard, and Klingon scouts were immediately dispatched to determine its location. The shipyard was deep within Dominion-held territory, but was poorly guarded -- the Dominion was confident that no enemy could penetrate deeply into their space without detection. They were correct, but did not reckon with Klingon determination. Only one scout did not return from its mission, and the remaining two had determined that their targets were not the desired shipyard. By process of elimination, the Klingons had determined their target. The next problem was how to capture those ships before the Dominion could stop them?

The KDF did not have enough ships to execute a direct assault on the starbase, however, they did have a plan that could work, but it would require coordination with Federation forces. A deal was arranged whereby the KDF would be loaned the use of eight Shrike class frigates to deliver a small assault force to the shipyards. The Shrikes were equipped with a new type of stealth technology, and it was felt that this would be a good way to field-test the effectivenes of the system. The Federation would be allowed to examine any captured Dominion technology.

To provide cover for the assault, Federation and Klingon forces would attack a Dominion-held starbase to draw off the Shipyard's defenders. The assault force would then capture any serviceable ships and the shrikes would tow any salvageable spaceframes they could back to Klingon space.

The mission was a qualified success. The decoy action worked flawlessly, but the assault force discovered that most of the spaceframes had been gutted in preparation for refitting. Although the Klingons were able to commandeer several tugs, the mission resulted in the capture of only four serviceable vessels and eleven spaceframes.

One of the spaceframes was in particularly good shape. However, it was of a type unknown to either the Klingons or the Federation. Analysis suggested that these spaceframes were configured to be very efficient at high warp speeds, and the Klingons immediately began installing the necessary systems to make them operational.

The basic spaceframe was modified extensively, and very heavy armaments were installed. The new ship, christened baHwI' (Klingonese for "Gunner"), is armed with no fewer than five disruptors and an equal number of torpedo launchers, a very heavy weapons loadout for such a small vessel. New nacelles were added, along with new impulse engines and warp core. The outer hull was reshaped to further maximize warp efficiency and large intercoolers were mounted on the trailing edges of the wings. A weapons pod was mounted on the belly, between the nacelles for protection. The resulting ship was very fast, agile, and powerfully armed. The Klingons liked the ship so well, that they made plans to enter it into production for regular service.

When representatives of the Romulan Star Empire first viewed the baHwI' they immediately lodged a protest with the Klingons, claiming that they had stolen it, as it was obviously a converted "Gull" destroyer. The Klingons argued that the ship was a prize of war, won from the enemy, and refused to return it. To preserve the alliance, Federation arbiters finally managed to get the two parties to agree that the Klingons would retain the ship for the duration of the war, returning it to the Romulans at the cessation of hostilities.

By the end of the Dominion war, the KDF had produced eighteen baHwI' destroyers in addition to the original. Six of these had been destroyed, and the original vessel had been withdrawn from service. The Romulans immediately demanded that the Klingons return their ship, as agreed. The Klingons promised to deliver the vessel anywhere the Romulans chose. The Romulans agreed to have the ship delivered to a starbase near their neutral zone with the Federation. Two days later, a Klingon tug arrived towing a gutted hull. When the Romulans protested that this was not the ship they had lost, the Klingons let them know that they were only returning it as they found it. If they had any complaints about missing parts, they would have to ask the Dominion to return them.

The baHwI' is still in production. The baHwI' performed so well during the war that the KDF ordered a larger version, the quVbeY' (translation: "Display [of] Honor), as a fast cruiser.

Starfleet gratefully acknowledges the cooperation and assistance of its counterparts in the Klingon Imperial Defense forces for providing much of the historical data regarding this vessel.