Essentially a variation on the D7-class Battle Cruiser, the K't'inga-class vessel was introduced early in the 2270s, or at about the same time as the debut of Starfleet's Constitution class refit. Slightly shorter than the D7, this uprated version changed the location of the impulse engine from the D7's aft pod to two openings at the stern of the main body. Between the two engines sat a new addition, the aft torpedo launcher. The forward torpedo launcher remained in its distinctive place, though the bulbousness of the forward hull was decreased somewhat. While it is probable that other enhancements to both interior and exterior were made, the viewing audience can only conjecture about these. For example, there are many bumps on the hull which could be new disruptor banks.

As late as the 2370s, K't'inga-class cruisers were still in service. In 2372, for example, in their aborted attack on the Federation space station Deep Space Nine, the Klingon Empire used several K't'ingas. However, these differed from ordinary K't'ingas in that they had been modified to fire red-beam energy weapons (most likely disruptors of some sort) from their former forward torpedo ports.

While it is true that the K't'inga-class Battle Cruiser had far more hull detail than its Original Series predecessor, it should not be assumed that this was a real and canon difference. In "Trials and Tribble-ations," the audience sees the IKS Gr'oth, identified as D7-class and bearing the hull detail formerly a distinctive characteristic of the K't'inga. This establishes the surface relief as being characteristic of the D7 as well. A very simple explanation for the lack of detail in the Original Series appearances would be that the visual recordings were lacking in fidelity, which, indeed, they were.

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