The engineering hull was able to use its warp drive whilst separated, not simply as an emergency measure for a few seconds or minutes but as a viable interstellar drive system. The primary and engineering hulls both had impulse engine systems, allowing them to operate as fully equipped STL spacecraft in their own right. With the Galaxy class, Starfleet took the separation process a step further. Reconnection has generally required the services of a Starbase or Drydock in a process which takes several days. Many Starfleet ships have had the ability to separate their primary hull from the rest of the ship, but this has historically been an emergency measure intended to allow the engineering hull to be abandoned in the event that a warp core breach is imminent. Starfleet also decided to incorporate the separation concept into the new vessel. The Ablative armor and Quantum torpedoes which equipped the Defiant and Sovereign classes were included, as were the advanced hull geometry and warp field technology of the Sovereign and Intrepid classes. It was decided to combine various technologies into the new ship. However, it was felt that further action was needed the Sovereign class ships were relatively resource intensive, and while the Defiants were easy to build they were also rather limited on range and endurance. The stardrive section of a Galaxy class had both impulse, and Warp engines.ДЄfter the first major encounter between the Dominion and the Federation at the end of 2370 Starfleet responded to the new threat by reactivating the Defiant class project and continuing development of the Sovereign class project.

Star trek prometheus class