Starfleet probably already fielded many smaller hulls built from components comparable to Defiant's but fitted with science teams and less concentrated weaponry. These vessels would sit above the modest Cerritos-type example while remaining far cheaper and more numerous than Galaxy-class cruisers. Operating in groups, they could patrol Federation space, conduct routine presence missions, and provide the mass missing from television's focus on flagships. Famous capital cruisers depend on this unseen population of ordinary working ships.
Notable Point · 1:17:18-1:18:08
Small Starfleet ships carry the routine presence burden
Galaxy-derived systems fitted with science spaces imply a numerous lower tier of patrol and presence ships beneath Starfleet's famous cruisers.