Klingon Bird-of-Prey
K'vort-class, B'rel-class, D12 class, Class 5
Powers of Klingon Bird-of-Prey
Propulsion - The main sub-light drive on the Bird-of-Prey was an impulse drive, located at the back of the rear of the craft. The exact speed it could reach is unknown, although it was faster than most larger ships. The warp engines were capable of at least warp 8.Armament - The Bird-of-Prey's armament typically consisted of included two forward-firing wing-mounted disruptor cannons, two photon torpedo launchers – positioned fore and aft. At least one was armed with Phasers instead of Disruptors.
Cloaking Device - A Birds-of-Prey was typically outfitted with a cloaking device – the key to the ship's success in battle. The first 23rd-century models' cloak could permit the use of communications and/or the ship's transporters, but its operation could not be maintained while the ship used its weapons systems and shields. Additionally, the cloak left an "energy surge" that could be picked up on close-range sensor scans as a "distortion", tipping off an observant opponent to the vessel's presence. There was approximately two seconds of vulnerability from the time a Bird-of-Prey's cloak began to engage or disengage and the raising or dropping of the ship's shields.
In the mid 2290s, an advanced Bird-of-Prey prototype was developed that could fire weapons while cloaked and did not display the characteristic "energy surge". However, that model's cloak could not mask "neutron radiation" or high-energy plasma, such as the exhaust from the ship's impulse engines.
