Daran-class ships, along with the Knox-class, are the most capable frigates currently in Starfleet service, with excellent astrionics and impressive offensive and scientific capabilities. They differ from the contemporary Knox-class primarily in not having the "Emperor" series multi-directional phaser cannon (MDPC) or the Dobis weapon system. They are equipped, however, with highly sophisticated Poincare SSDGI (Sciential Sensory Data-Gathering & Interpretation) exploratory suite; as a result, they are often assigned to research task forces for brief forays into unexplored Federation treaty territory. (Ships of the Star Fleet)