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THE SHIPS OF
IMPERIAL
ROMULAN
NAVY
The Romulan Star Empire in the 22nd Century
Despite the knowledge provided by the Kovallus Archive and other historic accounts of the Earth-Romulan War, much about the Imperial Romulan Navy in the 22nd century remains unknown, including what remained of the IRN after the Romulans withdrew from the conflict.
Here is the known disposition of IRN forces from 2155-2160.
STORMBIRD class
The R'Keth ("storm bird") battlecruiser was first deployed during the Dueling Birds War between the Romulans and the Klingons in the 2130's. The Stormbird was so effective in combat, the Klingons used it as the basis for their own battlecruiser designs for nearly two centuries. Heavily armed and shielded, the Stormbird's biggest threat was its forward anti-proton cannon which was devastating to both space-based and planetary targets. As is the case with the rest of the Romulan navy from this time period, it is unknown whether any Stormbirds survived the conflict with Earth or how long they remained in service. None were seen in action after the Battle of Cheron by any known spacefaring power.
DRAGON class
Code-named "Dragon" by Starfleet, this carrier was the largest ship in the Romulan fleet. Known to the Romulans as Bochra ("citizen's fist"), the vessel was a mobile base that could serve as a platform for nuclear weapons, infantry divisions, or as a repair facility for entire starships. Dragon ships were protected by deflector screens, point-defense batteries, and a fleet of Shrike-class attack fighters. The Dragon was the backbone of Romulan forward divisions across its empire, capable of deploying 5,000 troops. The design aesthetic of the Dragon would be the inspiration for the IRN's D'Deridex-class dreadnaught that began to appear in the 24th century.
BIRD-OF-PREY class
The Romulan Bird-of-Prey was an experimental vessel which had one of the most sophisticated cloaking devices of its era. The Bird-of-Prey was originally built for service to the Tal'Shiar, but when the Praetor declared war on the Coalition of Planets, the ship was commandeered by Valdore's navy to raid Earth convoys. The Bird-of-Prey's effectiveness was reduced greatly once Captain Archer was able to penetrate the vessel's cloaking device and several were spotted and destroyed by Earth forces at the Battle of Cheron.
MARAUDER class
When the first Romulan Warbird-class vessels were decimated by the Klingons in the Dueling Birds War of the 2130's, the IRN retired the class. Years later, seven surviving ships of the line were appropriated by the Tal'Shiar for use in an experimental technology program that tested new telepresence weapons. The former Warbirds, code-named "Marauders" by Starfleet, served as the testbed for a holography package against the allied powers in 2154. The next appearance of Marauder-class ships would be at Algeron, where two of the craft incapacitated 12 Coalition starships, causing the self-destruction of a Tellarite cruiser and the other alliance ships to open fire on one another. It took Earth nearly three years to develop a countermeasure to the Marauder's telecapture device.
RAPTOR class
The D'remelak-class destroyer, code-named "Raptor" by Starfleet, was a lethal addition to the Imperial Romulan Navy. It was heavily shielded and carried a powerful forward plasma cannon. The Raptor could also be fitted for atomic munitions, each with a yield of up to ten kilotons. Because of its heavy armaments and armor the ship was slow in combat, making it vulnerable to coordinated attacks by Starfleet.
WARHAWK class
The N'Ketha-class destroyer was a potent ship of the line which had proven itself during the Romulans' expansion into Klingon territory in the early part of the 22nd century. While the Warhawks were old, they were reliable, maneuverable, and easy to build (they constituted over a third of the fleet Valdore deployed against Earth). The Warhawk, like all Romulan warships of the era, carried a self-destruct device which could be activated instantly by the Romulan commander to prevent technology or prisoners from falling into enemy hands.
CENTURION class
The Enarrain ("centurion")-class heavy cruiser was in use by the Imperial Romulan Navy in multiple Romulan campaigns throughout the 22nd century. With twin disruptor cannons, state-of-the-art deflector shielding, and a warp 4 stardrive, the Centurions were key to the Empire’s expansion until they met their match in a conflict with the Klingon Empire. Following the Dueling Birds War, most Centurion-class ships were folded into other IRN divisions, primarily as escort ships for Dragon-class carrier ships. A squadron of Centurion cruisers with Reman crews defected after the Novok Massacre, joining the Reman-occupied carrier Gol'Gathon,in a task force which aided Captain Archer in an attack on the Iconian gateway at Galorndon Core, aka "the Hellsgate."
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