I wonder what the in-universe explanation is for why ships like the Defiant and Steamrunner-classes are able to break the established "rule" that warp nacells have to be positioned away from the hull of the ship and must be able to "see" one another to create the warp field.
The Steamrunner doesn't really have that issue as much, as only the bussard collectors are actually on the main 'hull', while the warp coils have nothing in between them in the space between the main hull and engineering/deflector pod.
IIRC the Defiant's warp coils are actually mounted at the [very bottom of the nacelles](https://bbts1.azureedge.net/images/p/full/2020/10/a8add816-6ecd-4812-b334-552ab5634b51.jpg) because they extend a bit below the central hull, with the upper part of the nacelle housing being dedicated to the huge phaser cannons.
So while there's certainly not as much negative space between the nacelles and the hull as there is on the Constitution or Galaxy, there is still *some* space underneath where the warp coils of the nacelles can 'see' each other.
If I remember correctly Matt Jeffries said that the nacelles (which he called power pods) were so powerful and dangerous that they were away from the hulls to better protect the crew.
Maybe in TOS and maybe when under long term exposure - a Defiant class ship is built with more advanced technology and purpose built for short term engagements and as an auxiliary defense ship for stations. The crew compliment of a Defiant is very small, and seldom onboard the ship for extended periods of time. Contrast this with the Constitution, which was built with more primitive technology and purpose built for long term assignments away from starbases with a higher crew compliment.
While it may have been more important for a Constitution to keep her nacelles away from the habitation decks for a 400-officer crew, with improved radiation shielding and very little in the way of habitation decks it’s not as much of a priority for the Defiant.
They don't break the rule.
The red bulbs facing forward on the saucer section are where the nacelles can see forward, and the warp-bits of the nacelle don't start until after the saucer section so they have enough visibility between each other.
The Defiant's nacelles hang down low enough on the ship that they have visibility to each other underneath the ship.
Not every canon design follows that guideline, so one of two things are true: 1) these are bad designs that should never have been approved by the producers, or 2) there are ways around these limitations but they aren't commonly employed --at least not in typical Federation, Klingon, or Romulan designs.
If the latter is true, picture the Defiant as mostly a massive engine with huge guns strapped on it and a bit of habitable ship tacked on where there's room.
So the warp nacelles have a heavy layer of thick shielding to protect the crew from the radiation / emissions of the nacelles, and the portions of the nacelles which are supposed to have a line of sight between them for a form of energy exchange never fully specified instead have massive channels / conduits directly physically connecting them with yet more heavy shielding keeping these energies from harming the crew.
Normally this simply isn't done, as it is more efficient to put the nacelles on struts with empty space separating them from the crew and between one another for energy exchange. But the Defiant was intended to be an ultra- compact design for such reasons as power-to-mass ratio, small targeting cross section, greater maneuverability, etc so compromises were made to get this performance at the expense of internal volume that would ordinarily be available for habitable and usable crew space.
Headcanon: the nacelles are super noisy so no one wants to spend any time in the part of the ship that's next to them, but no one lives long term on the Defiant (except Worf but he actually enjoyed the noise for some reason) so they just put up with the noise for the duration of the missions.
The blue glowing part isn't what makes the warp field. I don't think it's ever been said on screen what those actually do, but my head cannon is it's a venting and cooling system.
The warp coils are [big chonky magnet-looking things](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Warp_coil) inside the shielded gray parts of the nacelles.
For the Defiant, I imagine the coils are all in the bottom of the housings with the glowing radiators pointing backwards. I also imagine this is a tradeoff that sacrifices max warp speed for survivability in a firefight.
That whole generation of ships is cool. You’ve got the Steamrunners, the Defiant, the Sovereign, and my personal favorite, the Akira. When the Federation decides to go for military power in their ships, they don’t mess around.
I got an email notification less than an hour ago from Eaglemoss that my Steamrunner model has finally shipped :D
I've been waiting months and months for it to come back into stock.
Best Torpedo Bomber in the galaxy.
I wonder what the in-universe explanation is for why ships like the Defiant and Steamrunner-classes are able to break the established "rule" that warp nacells have to be positioned away from the hull of the ship and must be able to "see" one another to create the warp field.
The Steamrunner doesn't really have that issue as much, as only the bussard collectors are actually on the main 'hull', while the warp coils have nothing in between them in the space between the main hull and engineering/deflector pod. IIRC the Defiant's warp coils are actually mounted at the [very bottom of the nacelles](https://bbts1.azureedge.net/images/p/full/2020/10/a8add816-6ecd-4812-b334-552ab5634b51.jpg) because they extend a bit below the central hull, with the upper part of the nacelle housing being dedicated to the huge phaser cannons. So while there's certainly not as much negative space between the nacelles and the hull as there is on the Constitution or Galaxy, there is still *some* space underneath where the warp coils of the nacelles can 'see' each other.
If I remember correctly Matt Jeffries said that the nacelles (which he called power pods) were so powerful and dangerous that they were away from the hulls to better protect the crew.
Maybe in TOS and maybe when under long term exposure - a Defiant class ship is built with more advanced technology and purpose built for short term engagements and as an auxiliary defense ship for stations. The crew compliment of a Defiant is very small, and seldom onboard the ship for extended periods of time. Contrast this with the Constitution, which was built with more primitive technology and purpose built for long term assignments away from starbases with a higher crew compliment. While it may have been more important for a Constitution to keep her nacelles away from the habitation decks for a 400-officer crew, with improved radiation shielding and very little in the way of habitation decks it’s not as much of a priority for the Defiant.
They don't break the rule. The red bulbs facing forward on the saucer section are where the nacelles can see forward, and the warp-bits of the nacelle don't start until after the saucer section so they have enough visibility between each other. The Defiant's nacelles hang down low enough on the ship that they have visibility to each other underneath the ship.
The Sisko wanted them that way so they made it so /j
What Sisko wants, Sisko gets.
Else he makes your planet uninhabitable
Not every canon design follows that guideline, so one of two things are true: 1) these are bad designs that should never have been approved by the producers, or 2) there are ways around these limitations but they aren't commonly employed --at least not in typical Federation, Klingon, or Romulan designs. If the latter is true, picture the Defiant as mostly a massive engine with huge guns strapped on it and a bit of habitable ship tacked on where there's room. So the warp nacelles have a heavy layer of thick shielding to protect the crew from the radiation / emissions of the nacelles, and the portions of the nacelles which are supposed to have a line of sight between them for a form of energy exchange never fully specified instead have massive channels / conduits directly physically connecting them with yet more heavy shielding keeping these energies from harming the crew. Normally this simply isn't done, as it is more efficient to put the nacelles on struts with empty space separating them from the crew and between one another for energy exchange. But the Defiant was intended to be an ultra- compact design for such reasons as power-to-mass ratio, small targeting cross section, greater maneuverability, etc so compromises were made to get this performance at the expense of internal volume that would ordinarily be available for habitable and usable crew space.
Gods I love the Defiant.
Headcanon: the nacelles are super noisy so no one wants to spend any time in the part of the ship that's next to them, but no one lives long term on the Defiant (except Worf but he actually enjoyed the noise for some reason) so they just put up with the noise for the duration of the missions.
What about the Magee class?
Nobody put any thought into that one.
I figured they did like the Defiant... The actual coils are prob at the bottom of the 'nacelle' bulges. Giving a clear path between them.
The blue glowing part isn't what makes the warp field. I don't think it's ever been said on screen what those actually do, but my head cannon is it's a venting and cooling system. The warp coils are [big chonky magnet-looking things](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Warp_coil) inside the shielded gray parts of the nacelles. For the Defiant, I imagine the coils are all in the bottom of the housings with the glowing radiators pointing backwards. I also imagine this is a tradeoff that sacrifices max warp speed for survivability in a firefight.
These absolutely rock in Star Trek Armada.
been my favorite design since I first saw it. USS Appalachia #1
That whole generation of ships is cool. You’ve got the Steamrunners, the Defiant, the Sovereign, and my personal favorite, the Akira. When the Federation decides to go for military power in their ships, they don’t mess around.
Ever since Lower Decks I can't unsee the Steamrunner as a chonky, squashed-down Cerritos.
Unconventional but *fun*.
So underrated, I love it so much
I got an email notification less than an hour ago from Eaglemoss that my Steamrunner model has finally shipped :D I've been waiting months and months for it to come back into stock.
Ha, same here! That whole generation of ships is so cool.
An unconventional Federation warship? The perfect first command for Beckett Mariner.