Star Trek: Every Starfleet Starship Class Ranked Worst To Best

The Danube class Runabout was the most popular support craft used by Deep Space Nine. It was a sturdy, long range shuttle that was capable of high warp, with limited defensive capabilities. It was however strong enough to be trusted with ferrying people to and from Earth, which was not a short journey by any means.

There were several of these craft assigned to Deep Space Nine, though they had a fairly high mortality rate. In fact, the USS Rio Grande was one of the few Runabouts to survive their posting at Deep Space Nine. The Volga, the Ganges, the Orinoco, the Yangtze Kiang and the Shenandoah all met premature ends during their posting.

The ship were large enough to accommodate a small crew comfortably enough, with a cramped cockpit but a spacious common area behind the transporter. Strictly support craft, once the increasing threat of the Dominion became obvious, they were more or less replaced by the USS Defiant as the primary means of protecting the station.