Voyager Is Why Star Trek: DS9's Starship Is Called Defiant

Summary The USS Defiant in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was introduced, not for ratings, but to aid in the Dominion War.

Star Trek: DS9 laid ground for Voyager with shared characters and ideas, leading to both shows influencing each other during development.

The USS Defiant was initially going to be named Valiant, but vetoed due to 'Voyager', linking past ships with the various series.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's iconic starship, the USS Defiant, got its name thanks to Star Trek: Voyager. The Defiant was introduced in DS9 season 3, episode 1, "The Search, Part 1", written by Ronald D. Moore, the writer's first script for Deep Space Nine. Contrary to popular belief at the time, the USS Defiant was not introduced to improve Deep Space Nine's ratings, but was instead introduced to give Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) a means to defend the station during what would become DS9's Dominion War.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3 was being developed in tandem with the first season of Star Trek: Voyager, due to air in 1995. DS9 established many of the elements that would feature in the Voyager pilot, from introducing the Maquis to foreshadowing Voyager's disappearance in the Badlands. A handful of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine characters, including Quark (Armin Shimerman), appeared in Star Trek: Voyager season 1, episode 1, "Caretaker" to pass the baton. With both Star Trek shows being developed in tandem, there was some crossover of ideas, which meant that some details, like DS9's new starship were affected.

Related Star Trek: DS9 Foreshadowed Voyager’s Fate A Year Earlier In 1994, Star Trek began laying the groundwork for Voyager's 1995 premiere with a stark warning from Sisko about both the Maquis and the Badlands.

Star Trek: DS9 Called Their Starship Defiant Because Of Voyager

Close

After his initial surprise that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine got a starship, writer Ronald D. Moore became excited by the prospect of introducing Starfleet's new warship. Moore's original name for DS9's new ship was the USS Valiant, inspired by one of the two starships to bear that name in Star Trek: The Original Series. The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion reveals that Moore's desired name was vetoed because Star Trek's producers Rick Berman and Michael Piller didn't want another starship beginning with the letter "V", as they already had the USS Voyager.

The wreckage of the S.S. Valiant appeared in Star Trek: TOS' pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", while the loss of the USS Valiant was investigated by the Enterprise crew in TOS season 1, episode 23, "A Taste of Armageddon".

With the USS Valiant vetoed by Star Trek: Voyager, Moore took inspiration from another Star Trek: The Original Series starship. He chose the USS Defiant from the classic TOS episode, "The Tholian Web" to be the namesake of Sisko's new starship in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. To explain why the USS Defiant had such a tough name, and to justify Starfleet's construction of a warship, the DS9 writers' room came up with a backstory that revealed the Defiant was designed to defy the Borg Collective in the wake of the Battle of Wolf 359.

Star Trek Finally Got Its USS Valiant Later In DS9

Close

Three years later, and with Star Trek: Voyager fully established, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine finally introduced the USS Valiant. In DS9 season 6, episode 22, "Valiant", Ensign Nog (Aron Eisenberg) and Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) are rescued by the crew of the Defiant-class starship, the USS Valiant. The ship was crewed by an elite group of Starfleet Academy cadets known as Red Squad, who were first introduced in DS9 season 4, episode 11, "Homefront".

"Valiant" was one of Aron Eisenberg's favorite episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as he saw it as a crucial moment in Nog's development as a Starfleet officer.

Tragically, the USS Valiant - much like its two Star Trek: The Original Series namesakes - was destroyed. Its captain, Tim Watters (Paul Popowich) led his crew on a mission to destroy a new class of Jem'Hadar warship, something that the young captain and his crew were completely unprepared for. The loss of the Valiant proved something about the USS Defiant, too. No matter how powerful Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's tough little warship was, it would have been useless against the Dominion without the strong leadership of Captain Sisko.

All episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager are available to stream on Paramount+.