The Raptor class was a patrol/scout ship operated by the Klingon Empire during the mid 22nd century. Raptor class ships were most often seen operating near the Klingon borders or beyond. There was data on the Raptor class in the data base provided by the Vulcans to the Earth's Starfleet. The first encounter between an Earth ship and a Raptor class was in 2251 when the crew of the NX-Class Enterprise encountered a ship of this class, the IKS Somraw, that had became entrapped in the atmosphere of a gas giant.
The Engineering section contains both the impulse and warp drive systems along with the bulk of the internal volume of the ship. The impulse engine was located in the aft dorsal area of the Engineering section while the warp nacelles are held to the side and slightly above the ships center line by nacelle pylons. This arrangement gives the ships of the Raptor class an avian appearance similar to other known Klingon vessels.
The Raptor class was equipped with two Disrupter emitters, one mounted to the port side and the other mounted to the starboard side of the forward command hull. The Command hull also housed a torpedo launcher that covers the forward firing arc while a second torpedo launcher is housed in the Engineering section that covers the aft firing arc. The Raptor class ships were equipped with gravitation based shielding systems that provide protection from enemy weapons fire and other hazards conditions found in space.