The Vkarzadan is a light destroyer unit built by the Klingons to supplement the firepower of their aging D7 Battlecruisers. Equipped with long range fire support in the way of four light photon torpedoes, the Vkarzadan can screen for their larger cousins and weaken enemy vessels so that ships like the D7 can finish them off at their leisure.

Originally the Klingons had hoped to place four full fledged photon torpedoes on this hull, but unfortunately the chassis proved too small and the power plant too inefficient to allow such a weapons loadout. Its shields also proved to be hard to rebuild after they had fallen, a definite design problem that causes Vkarzadan Destroyers to come into a battle fighting and fall relatively quickly. It is the "do or die" approach of the Vkarzadan that grew on many Klingon commanders, though once more effective attack platforms such as the B'rel Bird of Prey came onto the scene the Vkarzadan Destroyer was relegated to a secondary role in the fleet.