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Volga Class Runabout |
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Developed in tandem with the next-generation Arrow-class runabout, the Volga represents the Federation’s best effort at a compromise between the need to provide smaller Starfleet vessels with long-legged runabout support and the limited hangar space which is usually available on such ships. Smaller than many contemporary shuttle designs, the Volga is rated as a runabout due to the remarkable range enabled by her highly efficient warp core and the extensive instrumentation and advanced tactical systems adapted from the Delta Flyer project.
While the development of more powerful and capable runabouts has been a boon to Starfleet since their inception in the early 2370’s, the large size and extensive maintenance requirements of these high-performance craft have been a persistent barrier to their deployment on small starships or Starfleet installations which would benefit the most strongly from their enhanced capabilities.
Following the return of the Voyager from the Delta Quadrant, however, Starfleet found itself in possession of a highly modified shuttlecraft whose performance was more suggestive of a runabout than any of the shuttles currently in service. Taking the Delta Flyer as their starting point, the Corps of Engineers set out to build a craft which could match the flexibility and raw capabilities while retaining the size profile and modular ease of maintenance of a modest shuttle. The process took five long and laborious years, but the result was the Volga – a runabout design which could be used by any starship capable of carrying a standard shuttlecraft without the need for external support equipment beyond standard replicated parts. |