Since dircetly linking to "Trekcore" is not possible, here's a link to an image galery for the recent HD version of Star Trek 3.
In this case you can see the Bird of Prey during its landing on Vulcan.
The lid is clearly visible.

http://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/t...bum=409&page=2

The biggest problem to overcome would certainly be the degradation issue and the power demand.
My guess is the method the Romulans during the TNG era used was to take the Photon Torpedo tech they probably got from the Klingons and replaced the matter-antimatter warhead with plasma.
This could possibly be done out of battle.
The results would probably be similar but without any of the problems of the old version.
Assuming they actually solved that, or reduced degradation to such a degree it's no longer noticable...yeah I guess it would be possible they'd switch back.

Of course the big question for me would be...I don't know...if the solution for this actually appeared at a time somewhere between the shows and STO, what would the Klingons do with this tech? With all its drawbacks?
If they wanted firepower they would have had the giant Photon Torpedoes from the K't'inga (3 deck tall launcher)
http://images.wikia.com/memoryalpha/...rd_torpedo.jpg
that would have fitted perfectly on an upscaled Bird of Prey.


Enterprise...yeah. It's a touchy subject. Whe I saw them fire their Phase Cannons and Photonic Torpedoes I thought to myself "...right and Napolenon already had machine guns and cruise missiles...they looked and worked exactly like the ones we have today. They just had different names.
They were called mach gun and cruisic missiles."*sigh*

Changes:
Turn - 15
Inertia - 50

Weapons - 5fore / 2aft or 4/4
ENG - 3
SCI - 2
TAC - 4

Or

ENG - 3
SCI - 2
TAC - 5
As it is a special anniversary ship and deserves 10 consoles.

Unknown special weapon/console or a single hanger
Cloak vs Battlecloak
Just my 2ecs worth but always pictured it in my mind as a nimble battlecruiser with a large bop style body and heavy forward weapon power.

In my opinion it would be an enginering vessel cause in the ep it was described as "K'vort class battle cruiser" its spechal power should be an enhanced battle cloak that draws a ton of power or rapid fire heavy disruptor cannons

Also, it should be a tier below the Vor'cha, during the Klingon Civil War, it took of these vessels to take on the IKS Bortas, Gowron's flagship.

Well, given how STO's system works they could certainly add a Tier 3 version as a base model and then throw in a retrofit.

Could easily be political or cost related rather than tech related. That is, firepower/advantage might more or less comparable, and regional hand-shake deals with a contractor are what got one standardized over the other. Or maybe one empire has more of a given material or labor or tech specialization resource than another, so the weapons they're able to mass manufacture differ respectively. Don't have to go far in the real world to see how it's not always battlefield effectiveness that makes (or even frames) these decisions.

Even Klingons, as battle-focused as they are, are VERY political within their own empire. Easy to imagine a tech that's supported by the wrong house getting buried as a result unless it represented a truly massive advantage.

Hate to burst your bubble, but when the Bird of Prey landed on Vulcan the cover was absent. You can still see the distinct "L" shape in the plate (which normally spins during use) sitting about 60 degrees counter clockwise.

If you go back to the Bird of Prey uncloaking and preparing to fire at the Enterprise you can see the spin at the front of the tube stops spinning, and goes dark went the BOP is hit by the the Enterprises Photon Torpedo.

The KDF needs escorts.

The KDF does not need another battle-cruiser.

With the Fl. Negh'Var, the Fl. Vor'cha, and the Fl. Bortesqu that line-up is more than just covered.

We need a 5-TAC console design with superior defense, that can complete with the heavy TAC emphasis the Feds have going on nearly 4-5 of their escort class vessels.

DHC's on a slow turning "battlecruiser"-class design only works in PvE. It's successes in PvP are completely subjective and imho, 65% effective because of the nature of speed and flight in matches.

Please don't waste the opportunity to ask for a ship design that is comparable to the myriad of Fl. Escorts the Feds have going that are effective across all classes.

Take careful look at the current offerings the KDF has in terms of escorts and BOP's and then honestly ask yourself - do we really need another battlecruiser that has to give-up half its defensive capability just to improve its turn rate?

I think you're right. I can't quite see the detail in the center well enough to tell if it's the plate or the lid, but there's a dashed rim on the plate which is covered by lid, and I can see that.

You're asking for an escort with a wingspan of nearly a kilometer...

The 440 meter HEC is so big that it looks goofy as an escort..