Hideki class

The Hideki-class was a warp-capable multipurpose auxiliary craft used by the Cardassian Union's military during the late 24th century.

The class was used as an attack ship, a patrol ship, and a shuttlecraft. Smaller than Cardassian patrol cruisers, these ships could typically carry three to five occupants.

The ship was considered approximately equivalent to the Starfleet runabout, but equipped with heavier armament giving it sufficient striking power to operate in fleet actions. 

History
In 2370, a disabled Hideki-class shuttle was tractored into Deep Space 9 after having its engines completely disabled and its life support systems were operating on reserve power. Although its pilot, Natima Lang, claimed they were damaged in a meteor storm, it was clear to the Starfleet repair crew that the shuttle had been hit by Cardassian disruptors. It was determined that it was attacked by a Cardassian warship, which later arrived at DS9 to arrest the shuttle's crew. However, this was not allowed, and following repairs, the ship was able to slip away from the station unnoticed with help from a cloaking device installed in its central engine core by Quark. 

Later that year, Cardassian colonists living in the Demilitarized Zone utilized modified Hideki-class shuttles, equipped with Galor-class phaser banks, to protect their colonial interests. Two of these vessels attacked a Federation merchant ship, but were deterred, and ultimately destroyed by a fighter operated by the Maquis. 

The same years, one of the stories Elim Garak told Doctor Bashir to explain his exile from Cardassia, involved Garak ordering to shoot down a Cardassian shuttle with escaped Bajoran prisoners on board, but unfortunately, also the daughter of a prominent Cardassian official. 

During the Dominion War, the Hideki-class was frequently seen escorting larger destroyers. Ships of this type were also occasionally seen on independent patrol routes prior to the outbreak of the war, especially near the Demilitarized Zone along the border with the Federation. 

In 2375, during the waning days of the Dominion War, members of Rusot's terrorist cell acquired a Cardassian shuttle with up-to-date security protocols for use to transport Rusot, Damar, Elim Garak, Kira, and Odo to the Cardassian repair facility in the Kelvas system. 

Appearances

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Background information
First appearing in "Profit and Loss", the class was first identified in "Tribunal". The physical model for the Hideki-class was designed by Rick Sternbach and built by David Stipes. This class later appeared in the slightly modified CGI form during the seventh season episode "Tacking Into the Wind", where it was more clearly identified as such.

While in "Sacrifice of Angels" the Hideki and the Jem'Hadar attack ship were scaled to be of approximately the same size, in "Tacking Into the Wind" the Hideki was scaled to be considerably smaller than the attack ship. Visual Effects Supervisor David Stipes has stated that an overall length of 500 feet (150 meters) was generally used onscreen. 

The Hideki-class is a playable ship class in the video game, Star Trek: Armada II.

Technical Manual
The following specifications, which describes this vessel as a Cardassian fighter, comes exclusively from the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual:


 * Production Base: Cardassia Prime Orbital Three Assembly Facility
 * Type: Strike fighter
 * Accommodation: 30 plus flight crew
 * Power Plant: One and possibly two M/A warp systems; one or more impulse systems
 * Dimensions: Length, 85.78 meters; beam, 60.14 meters; height, 12.43 meters
 * Mass: 120,000 metric tonnes (est.)
 * Performance: Warp 9.5 (observed)
 * Armament: Four or more spiral-wave disruptors; one medium aft disruptor wave cannon; possibly other weapons

Additionally, according to the Technical Manual, "One interesting note about the Cardassian fighter is that the basic platform seems to have been adapted from that of the USS Defiant (2370), particularly in the forward hull notch, bridge morphology, and aft hull assembly. Starfleet is of the opinion that some classified design documentation may have been compromised."

Supplemental information
The designation of "pursuit vessel" may also refer to this class, as Gul Dukat described Cardassian pursuit vessels as being years ahead of Danube-class runabouts in. Based on the encounter between Evek and Miles O'Brien, this observation is inconclusive, but plausible, at least based on their appearances in the Dominion War.

The Star Trek Encyclopedia states that the name Hideki was chosen in honor of, who first postulated the existence of the subatomic pion.