USS Anton Class Attack Frigate

The bane of the Klingon Empire during the mid-years of the 4-years war. The Anton class was designed to go head-to-head with the Klingon D7 class of Heavy Cruiser. While Anton class ships still used the older tried-and-true phased-laser technology of the Federation, it incorporated the first Mega-Phased Laser cannon systems that were brutal to the Klingon D6 and older classes whose shields were too weak to handle more than a few hits from these beam cannons. While the D7's shields could withstand multiple hits from the standard Phased Lasers (like those on the original Constitution class of ships), the Mega-Phased Laser cannons of the Anton made short work of the Klingon energy screens allowing the Anton's Photon Torpedoes to blow the armored hull of the D7 into molten slag. In pairs or groups of three however, the Klingon D7 would shred the Anton class attack frigates, so the Federation often deployed them with a destroyer escort or even in pairs or groups of three when encountering squadrons of D7s. It was only the introduction of the Bonhomme Richard class Constitution refits (with their massive--for the time--deflector shield strength, and Phaser beam weapons) that could handle three D7s at one time (as seen in ST: TOS).