A common Orion medium ship, the Smuggler Corvette can best be described as a pirate ship. The Smuggler is, in its simplest application, designed for harassing enemy convoys and stealing their cargo. The Smuggler has two rear docking latches to which cargo pods can attach, allowing them to either come into combat with their own cargo pods already in tow or steal cargo pods from the wrecks of their victims.

In 2267, a group of Orion bandits illegally mining the Coridan system made heavy use of the Smuggler design, and one such ship initiated a hit and run attack against the U.S.S. Enterprise in an attempt to disrupt the Babel Conference. The attack did not have its intended result, and the Orion pirates were eventually dispersed.