The powerful Starfleet class of the 2370s that includes the USS Enterprise-E, combining exploration with the heavy weaponry needed against the Borg and the Dominion.
The Sovereign-class is a Starfleet starship class that entered service in the early 2370s. Long and sleek, it was designed as both explorer and warship, combining up-to-date sensors and science labs with powerful phaser arrays and quantum torpedoes. It was developed at a time when the Federation faced threats from the Borg and the Dominion.
The USS Enterprise-E, launched in 2372 under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, is the best-known ship of the class. It fought the Borg at the Battle of Sector 001 and followed a Borg sphere back in time, defended the Ba'ku in the Briar Patch, and fought Shinzon's Scimitar at the Bassen Rift, where it suffered heavy damage. It was repaired and returned to service with Picard still in command.
The Sovereign-class carried the Next Generation crew through their later films and became Starfleet's flagship design of that era. Its shape influenced many later Federation ships, and more Sovereign-class vessels can be seen in Picard.