Star Trek USS Enterprise
Star Trek Federation starship USS Enterprise in space, NCC 1701 - Star Trek Origins Enterprise Ship (Credit: Shutterstock)
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Best Star Trek Ships: Top 5 Starships Not Named Enterprise, According To Trekkies

June 17, 2023
by Alan Corona

In the vast expanse of the final frontier, where imagination dances with scientific exploration, a symphony of stars and spaceships harmonizes in an interstellar ballet. Among these celestial performers, the best Star Trek ships stand as shimmering icons, vessels of wonder and ingenuity that have enthralled generations of dreamers. From the intrepid Enterprise to the daring Voyager, these magnificent engineering marvels have become the quintessential embodiment of humanity’s boundless curiosity, propelling us beyond the limits of our imagination and into a universe teeming with endless possibilities. Step aboard, dear reader, and embark on a voyage through the cosmos, where we shall unravel the secrets of these intergalactic behemoths, their stories interwoven with the fabric of science fiction legend. Prepare to engage, for the journey begins now.

The “Star Trek” movies and their unique technology featured on set has inspired everything from technological advances to fostering a sense of wonder about space exploration. The sci-fi stories of “Star Trek” have had a real-world impact for decades. While many people can now opt for contactless deliveries or use contactless payment options, consumers in the future could be able to actually move their items without ever touching them! Researchers from the University of Minnesota have created a new method for moving objects hands-free using ultrasound waves. With more research, the novel approach could become a common sight in manufacturing and robotics industries where devices would not need a built-in power source to move.

Like this discovery, “Star Trek” offers glimpses at fantastic technology that improves humanity and expands our horizons. On “Star Trek,” the replicator recycles matter to create anything you could possibly desire out of thin air — from a delicious steak dinner to a simple glass of water. Now, scientists are turning science fiction into reality! A team in Switzerland has created a device that can harvest water from thin air. The “Star Trek” style device can therefore provide the ingredients to make hydrogen fuel — a clean source of energy. The solar powered system opens the door to cheap green gasoline, diesel, and kerosene used for air travel.

By the way, let’s not forget that cell phones are another Star Trek-inspired invention millions of people carry today. Captain Kirk got his first flip phone in 1966!

Trekkies can debate the finer points and attributes of various starships ‘till the cows come home, but with the addition of an official list direct from Star Trek.com, fans have a starting point on which to base their arguments. That’s why we took it upon ourselves to create our own list examining the best Star Trek ships — with none of them carrying the name “Enterprise”! Let us know your favorite starships in the comments below!

Ultra-compact portable phone born in the late 90s
Ultra-compact portable phone born in the late ’90s that has had great success, design inspired by the television and film series Star trek. (Credit: Shutterstock)

The List: Best Star Trek Ships, According To Trekkies

1. Borg Cube 

When the Borg Cube first debuted in the classic “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episode, “Q Who”, fan’s collective minds were blown and one of the most enduring Trek antagonists was established.

“No other starship strikes fear into the Federation like a Borg cube. During the Battle of Wolf 359, a single Borg cube destroys 39 of 40 attacking Federation ships while receiving almost no damage. Even if you manage to get through its numerous shields, it has capabilities to regenerate itself. Once it’s done slicing and dicing your ship or planet with cutting beams, guided charges, missiles, and more, it strips your soul of all individuality and assimilates your knowledge into its hive mind. Add in transwarp capabilities and you have the most powerful ship in the ‘Star Trek’ universe,” as written by Star Trek.com.

The Borg were so well received by fans that they would go on to drive the overall “Star Trek” narrative for years across several television series and a major motion picture.

“Being one of the Federation’s most feared adversaries is an earned title of the Borg largely in part due to their massive vessels’ size and intimidation factor. Their green glowing, geometric simplicity gives their arrival an ominous and foreboding presence every single time, whether it’s their first appearance in ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ when Q makes his petulant decision to introduce the Enterprise crew to the Delta quadrant, their infamous assault at Wolf 359 as witnessed in person by both Locutus/Picard and Benjamin Sisko, or varied armadas facing Janeway and Voyager,” explains ScreenRant.

Only “Star Trek” could make an iconic terrifying foe from what is essentially a block.

“The classic Borg Cube is brilliant in its simplicity. It is quite literally a cube floating in space. It has no visible propulsion, no visible weapons, and yet… it’s one of the most menacing things ever seen on screen. The first Borg Cube was designed for the ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ episode ‘Q Who’ by Writer/Producer Maurice Hurley and Production Designer Richard James. It was first described in the script this way: ‘The shape of the ship is more apparent. It’s box like, with none of the aerodynamic qualities associated with most spaceships including the Enterprise. This is a case of form following function.’ Though other types of Borg craft have appeared over the years, a Borg cube is still the most fear-inspiring thing in ‘Star Treks’ fictional universe. Resistance is futile,” details Giant Freakin Robot.

 2. The Whale Probe 

As a ship that appears in a single film, “The Whale Probe, discovered in ‘Star Trek: The Voyage Home,’ is a massive probe of unknown origin that has seemingly a single mission: communicate with humpback whales. You would think that would make it a friendly vessel. This is not the case. Although it may not know what it’s doing, the colossal cylinder ravaged Earth with the energy from its communications, which also disabled the power of all starships within reach. Although disaster was averted, it is interesting to ponder exactly how much damage this alien vessel is truly capable of,” offers Star Trek.com.

Never given an official name or designation, “The award for one of the worst-named ships on ‘Star Trek’ has to go to the Whale Probe. Yet this white cylindrical craft is one of the most formidable and destructive. Appearing in 1986 with ‘Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,’ its purpose was to search for earth’s whales which had become extinct. While doing so, it could leech power and create a storm around the planet,” tells Mahannah’s Sci-Fi Universe.

As the central plot device for one of the best-loved “Star Trek” films, “It is a colossal cylindrical object that is capable of causing havoc to Starfleet and disrupting planets. The crew of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A, led by Captain James T. Kirk, traveled back in time to 1986 in an attempt to find humpback whales, the only creatures capable of communicating with the Probe and convincing it to withdraw its signal. As a result of successfully bringing two humpback whales to the future, the crew can communicate with the Probe and convince it to withdraw its signal, saving the planet. This starship can travel at warp speed, making it extremely difficult to stop. Its advanced weaponry and cloaking device make the Whale Probe a force to be reckoned with in any combat situation. The Whale Probe’s capabilities are unmatched among any other starship in the Star Trek universe, and it poses a significant threat to any planetary system it attacks,” according to Face Off.

 3. V’ger 

V’ger is one of the most powerful vessels featured in a “Star Trek” story and is an opponent that must be overcome with diplomacy rather than might — since it was powered by a fictional NASA space probe!

“The Voyager 6 leaves Earth in the 20th century. It returns almost 300 years later as a living entity traveling in an extraordinarily powerful energy cloud that spans roughly 180 million miles. In between it is taken in by living machines that provide it with scientific and militaristic capabilities previously thought impossible by the Federation. In combat, it is able to dispatch three K’t’inga-class Klingon battle cruisers with three shots of a plasma beam. The only way the Federation can defeat this ship in ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture’ is to appeal to its evolved senses,” writes Star Trek.com.

“Perhaps the most powerful ship in the ‘Star Trek’ universe, V-ger could eliminate Klingon ships with well-aimed bolts of plasma energy. When this vessel menaced Earth and the solar system in the first ‘Star Trek’ movie, the crew penetrated V-ger’s vast complex of clouds and machinery and discovered a surprise within: the remains of Voyager 6, a deep-space probe that NASA had launched late in the 20th century. The probe had the ‘O,’ ‘Y’ and ‘A’ missing on its decal, so its label now read as ‘V-ger.’ An unknown race of intelligent aliens had constructed the rest of the massive ship. (In real life, NASA launched only Voyagers 1 and 2; in 2012, Voyager 1 became the first Earth ship to reach interstellar space.),” as written by Space.com.

It is possible that part of V’ger’s mystique is that its powers are never fully defined or revealed before it disappears, never to be seen again in Trek movies or TV series.

“As a matter of fact, we never witness the outer limits of Voyager’s [V’ger’s] power. Yes, this ship is able to vaporize ships at will as well as able to create ideal and perfect copies of the team of Kirk. And it seems very likely that, if Kirk and Spock had not handled to assist Voyager to evolve, this could have wiped out all living things on Earth,” posits SciFi View.

 4. Species 8472 Bioship 

In the series “Star Trek: Voyager,” many exotic beings from beyond the typical aliens seen in other “Star Trek” series and films are featured. This includes one race of powerful creatures from a universe completely full of fluid — not space. They have no name, but the Borg call them “Species 8472.”

“The Species 8472 bioship is an organic starship in which the pilot and the ship share genetic similarities. Although it only carries one directed energy weapon, that beam is powerful enough to make quick work of an entire Borg cube. This idea is so devastating that it leads the Borg to team up with the crew of the Voyager in the episode ‘Scorpion’ to help defeat these powerful enemies,” writes Star Trek.com.

The transitive property of ass-kicking is in full effect with Species 8472. If the Borg set the standard for a nigh-unconquerable enemy, then anyone strong enough to wipe the floor with the Borg as if they posed no threat at all must therefore be overpowered. In their first TV appearance, these ships destroyed TWO Borg cubes (the #1 ship on our list) before the opening credits rolled!

“Since their introduction into ‘Star Trek’ canon, the Borg have had their run over the galaxy, able to destroy entire Federation armadas with only one ship. That is until they opened a portal into fluidic space and met Species 8472. This alien race proved a threat unlike any other to the cybernetic collective, as they could destroy Borg ships with relative ease,” explains CBR.

Another source expands further on this, “This craft is organic — heavily armed and fortified organic. In ‘Star Trek: Voyager,’ a Federation-Borg team-up is the only thing that can stop hundreds of these vessels from destroying pretty much everything they encounter,” as written by CNET.

 5. The Narada (“Star Trek,” 2009)

Rounding off the official list is a vessel that debuted in the 2009 reboot film “Star Trek” starring Chris Pine as James T. Kirk.

“The Narada is a Romulan mining vessel originally from the late-24th century. It pursues Ambassador Spock through a black hole, emerging in the mid-23rd century as chronicled in ‘Star Trek’ (2009). There, it promptly destroys a Federation starship and an entire planet. It is unknown how the Narada would fare in battle against weapons from its own era, but put simply, anytime your ship creates an alternate timeline it is considered to be fairly powerful,” describes Star Trek.com

Creation of a new timeline is a frequently occurring storytelling trope in “Star Trek.” However, the typical narrative resolution for this is to “reset” or restore the status quo by the end of the story. This is not the case with the Narada.

“Originally designed for mining, the Narada is modified by the Romulan madman Nero into a device of nearly unstoppable destruction. Capable of taking out entire squadrons of Starfleet vessels with ease, and possessing a mining laser that can drill into a planet’s core, the vessel is a marvel of raw power. Also, its overall design makes it look like a cyberpunk Cthulhu, which gives it extra points for style,” informs Ranker.

When considering the impact of the Narada on the “Star Trek” mythos, “This time-traveling Romulan mining ship is arguably the most significant ship in the ‘Star Trek’ universe. In the 2009 ‘Star Trek’ film, the Narada launches an attack on the USS Kelvin, and prompts Captain Kirk’s father, First Officer George Kirk, to take his dying ship on a suicide mission. The resulting collision with the Narada is so massive it creates a whole new timeline — the Kelvin timeline. In the new timeline, the devastating Narada destroys the planet Vulcan,” explicates CNET.

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Comments

  1. How can you have a list of the best starships without including the original Romulan Warbird, Klingon Bird of Prey, and the USS Defiant?

  2. Not having Defiant or Voyager on this list is a travesty, the Kelvin timeline ship and the bioship don’t belong.

  3. Did I miss your list of the top 5 Star Trek ships not named Enterprise? Is it somewhere in your story?

  4. Maybe you should re-title the article to top 5 non-Federation starships. And how do you overlook the Klingon bird of prey, which is definitely better than the whale probe or species 8472 vessels.

    If you include the Federation, then the Defiant, the Reliant, even Voyager deserve mention of the ships cited in this article.

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