The basic design was to be updated every five years so as to incorporate technology advances as they occurred. The intention was to create a design that could be put into production with no delay, should a future crisis present itself. Dubbed the Sovereign project it became a theoretical starfleet battlecruiser designed only as a computer model, with specimen hardware occasionally produced to test the design principles. The warship project was initially to be scrapped, but Starfleet was instead asked to continue the project on a research basis only. This project was in the advanced planning stage when the loss of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C) during the Narendra III incident eased tensions considerably. The President ordered Starfleet to place a design proposal for a new class of starship with very much greater military capability than current designs. At this time relationships between the Federation and the Klingon Empire had degraded significantly, to the point where war was considered by many to be imminent. The origins of the Sovereign class date back as far as 2338.