Escort vessel

In starship classification, an escort is a starship whose primary purpose is to accompany other vessels (typically unarmed civilian ones) as a means of protection.

The Defiant-class, originally developed to counter the Borg, is officially designated an escort (DS9: "The Search, Part I").

Despite its euphemistic designation, the Defiant-class escort was the most advanced warship design in Starfleet in the 2370s. In Star Trek: First Contact, Worf protested Riker's statement that the Defiant was "little."