Summary
In addition to featuring the franchise’s first female protagonist, Kate Mulgrew’s Captain Janeway,Star Trek: Voyageralso went where no one had gone before:the mysterious Delta Quadrant. A new adventure needed a new ship, and it wasn’t just the USS Voyager’s chance to show what the Intrepid class could do.
Several other races turned up with their own unique forms of transportation, including some familiar faces along with some new, exotic aliens from the Delta Quadrant. The Starfleet ships are also impressive in the 23rd century, and the viewer is reminded of that when USS Voyager finally comes home.
Updated on July 12, 2025, by Kristy Ambrose:The Star Trek universe is as popular and active as ever, with several new shows available in addition to the classic series and movies on various streaming services. Designers are using modern technology to make more elaborate spacecraft to show off their creative powers, and some of the best-looking ships came from the Voyager era. There’s some weird and dangerous stuff in the Delta quadrant, and that includes the wide variety of fascinating and intimidating ships.
10The Val Jean
Named For A Famous Literary Figure
TheVal Jeanmay be small, but in many ways, this Maquis fighter is responsible for everything that happens inStar Trek: Voyager. While fleeing from a Cardassian ship in the Badlands, Chakotay and his crew are dragged into the Delta Quadrant bythe godlike Caretaker. Janeway’sVoyageris assigned to locate the Val Jean, a mission that results in the Federation vessel’s unexpected voyage through the Delta Quadrant.
The fact that theVal Jeanis destroyed shortly after arriving in the Delta Quadrant has profound implications for the series. It forces the Maquis rebels to work withVoyager’s Starfleet crew, although the show’s writers seem determined to ignore the dramatic potential of this set-up. Nor does the little ship go out without a fight. Chakotay uses it to ram a Kazon warship, buyingVoyagertime to escape.
9USS Al-Batani
The Evolution Of The Excelsior Class
Star Trekfans might remember the original Excelsior class vessel fromStar Trek III: The Search For Spockas the ship that attempted to pursue the stolen Enterprise but fell victim to Scotti’s clever sabotage. It was always noted for its trans-warp drive, making it one of the fastest ships in the fleet, which Captain Sulu put to the test inStar Trek V: The Undiscovered Country.
Later models would have a similar look and design, and by the era of Voyager an Excelsior-class ship, the USS Al-Batani, was one of Starfleet’s most notable starships and appeared or was mentioned in several episodes, such as “Live Fast And Prosper” and “Shattered.” The Captain during this period was Owen Paris, Tom Paris' father, and he was one of the first to contact Voyager when it reappeared in the Alpha Quadrant from the bridge of this ship.
8The Baxial
A Personal Freighter With Speed And Agility
Neelix is one ofStar Trek’s most divisive characters, with many fans questioning the appropriateness of his romantic relationship with Kes, a three-year-old Ocampan from the Delta Quadrant. Less controversial, however, is theBaxial, Neelix’s personal freighter. This small starship may not look elegant, but it demonstrates significant speed and agility on multiple occasions, making it a vital tool inVoyager’s repertoire during the vessel’s seven-year journey home.
TheBaxial’s exterior isn’t even seen until the show’s third season, but despite only making a handful of appearances inStar Trek: Voyager,Neelix’s ship enjoys an unexpected afterlife in another classic sci-fi series. It can be seen docked to a space station in “War Stories”, an episode ofJoss Whedon’s short-livedFirefly; the freighter may be a footnote inVoyageritself, but its legacy casts a long shadow.
7The Dreadnought
A Cardassian Missile Ship
The Delta Quadrant may be many light years away from the Federation, but that doesn’t stop familiar ships and technology from making occasional appearances inStar Trek: Voyager. In “Dreadnought”, Belanna Torres must confront her past when a Cardassian missile threatens a planet in the Delta Quadrant.
Torres had planned to use the missile ship, nicknamed Dreadnought againstthe Cardassian Uniononly for it to be pulled into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker. The ATR-4107 Dreadnought may only be an unmanned drone, but its advanced defensive capabilities make it more than a match for bothVoyagerand a fleet of alien ships.
It can also carry a maintenance crew, supports an advanced tactical computer, and is powerful enough to devastate whole planets. Luckily, Torres is able to destabilize the Dreadnought’s warp core, destroying the ship before it obliterates the world of Rakosa.
6Alice
A Sentient Alien Shuttlecraft
Star Trekmay be a science fiction series, but it occasionallydabbles in the supernatural. In “Alice”, Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeil) enters into a twisted relationship with the eponymousAlice, an alien shuttlecraft with a mind of its own and a sinister side.
Aliceuses an advanced neurogenic interface to interact with its pilot, allowing for unprecedented navigational input. However, this interface has a drawback: when the rogue ship is attacked byVoyager, the neurogenic technology causes Paris to feel pain whenAliceis damaged.
The ship is also home to a ghost in the machine. Taking the form of a beautiful woman, Alice’s computer seduces Paris and uses him to pilot the ship towards a dangerous anomaly. Indeed, despiteAlice’s sentience, the shuttle is entirely dependent on an organic pilot and is destroyed followingVoyager’s rescue of Paris.
5USS Relativity
A Time-Travelling Vessel
While Kirk’sEnterprisemakes frequent tripsback and forth through history, time travel is something of a rarity in the wider franchise. In “Relativity”, the crew ofVoyagerfinds themselves contending with some time travel shenanigans when a version of theRelativity’s captain travels back through time in a misguided attempt to change history.
In addition to being able to travel through time and space, theWells-class starship possesses advanced systems appropriate to its 29th-century origins. Many of the starships seen in the franchise have transporters, butRelativityoutdoes them. It can transport crew members anywhere in history thanks to its temporal transporters. However, overuse of this technology can have negative side effects for the traveler.
4USS Equinox
A Unique Nova Class Design
The short-range survey vesselEquinoxfinds itself out of its depth when, likeVoyager, it is accidentally pulled into the Delta Quadrant. Things go from bad to worse when most of the crew are immediately killed, an event that drives the ship’s Captain Ransom towards a desperate course of action. Ransom plans to use an alien lifeform as fuel to expedite his return to the Alpha Quadrant much to Janeway’s disgust.
The design of theNova-class starship is interesting, as it combinesVoyager’s aesthetics with those seen inThe Next Generationmovies. TheEquinoxmay be one of Starfleet’s more immoral vessels, but it still makes a memorable contribution toStar Trekhistory.
3USS Challenger
Captained By Geordi La Forge
It resembles the Constitution class ships of the Original Series, but the USS Challenger is actually a Galaxy-class ship, a contemporary version of that vintage class. Its most notable appearance is in the final two-part episode of the show, when it is one of several Starfleet vessels that’s present at the Borg trans-warp conduit Voyager uses as a shortcut to the Alpha Quadrant.
The ship makes one other notable appearance in the episode “Timeless” in which the Challenger is pursuing the Delta Flyer, a much smaller ship that’s been stolen by Harry Kim and Chakotay. Geordi La Forge is the Captain in both timelines, and he also takes command of the ship inStar Trek Online, which often includes an animation of the Challenger orbiting spacedock.
2Species 8472 Bio-Ship
Can Regenerate Any Damage In Combat
The Borg may represent one of the greatest threats to the Federation, but the cybernetic race isn’t actually at the top of the Delta Quadrant’s pecking order. In “Scorpion”,Voyagerdiscovers a war between the Borg and the mysterious Species 8472, and it’s a war that the Borg are losing.
To secure safe passage through the region, Janeway must ally with the Borg. However, even the combined might of the Federation and its greatest foe may not be enough to overcome the bio-ships of Species 8472.
Constructed from the same biological matter as their creators, these ships are capable of regenerating any combat damage. Offensively, just as one can destroy a usually impregnable Borg cuble several bio-ships could work together to destroy whole planets.Voyager’s crew develops innovative new weapons based on Borg technology to counter the vessels, forcing them back into Species 8472’s native fluidic space.
1USS Voyager
Designed To Explore Deep Space
The titular USSVoyageris anIntrepid-class science vessel designed for long-term exploration. While far smaller than many Starfleet vessels,Voyagerpossesses many innovative technologies, including super-efficient variable geometry warp nacelles and bio-neural circuitry which allows for faster and more efficient computational work than was possible on previous starships.
However, the latter technology can be a curse and a blessing: in “Learning Curve”, cheese made by Neelix nearly destroysVoyagerafter its bacterial cultures infect the ship’s bio-neural gel packs.Voyagerhas one of Starfleet’s most impressive track records, as it makes contact with numerous species in the Delta Quadrant.
Some fans have their doubts aboutthe ethics ofVoyager’s captain, but this does nothing to detract from the vessel’s incredible legacy. It’s no surprise that several other vessels also bear theVoyagername, as seen inStar Trek: PicardandStar Trek: Discovery. It may not be as iconic as theEnterprise-D or as punchy as theDefiant, but the USSVoyageris still one ofStar Trek’s coolest ships.
