The Klingon Bird-of-Prey is a level 60–69 hostile that patrols the deeper systems of Klingon space, spawning as a Battleship at levels 60–67 and as an Interceptor at levels 64–69. Destroying one raises your Federation and Romulan reputation at the cost of Klingon reputation, and drops 6★ broken ship parts. Bring an Interceptor against the Battleship version and an Explorer against the Interceptor version, and expect its heaviest damage in the opening rounds.
How to beat the Klingon Bird-of-Prey
Ship combat in Star Trek Fleet Command runs on a class triangle: Interceptors beat Battleships, Battleships beat Explorers, and Explorers beat Interceptors. Survey ships barely fight and should stay home. The Bird-of-Prey spawns as two of those hulls, so check the target card before you commit. Against the Battleship version (levels 60–67), bring an Interceptor. Against the Interceptor version (levels 64–69), bring an Explorer. From level 64 to 67 both variants share the same systems, so pick whichever hull your strongest counter handles.
The Bird-of-Prey carries a ship ability called Pen of Kahless, which raises its Shield Piercing, Armor Piercing, and Accuracy for the first 5 rounds of combat. The boost scales with level: 25% at levels 60–62, 50% at 63–65, and 75% at 66–69. Piercing stats cut through your mitigation, so the opening rounds hurt the most. The buff expires after round 5, which means a ship that can absorb the early burst has a much easier time from round 6 on. Either build to survive that window or bring enough firepower to end the fight before the ability matters.
For crew, the principle is a captain that boosts weapon damage against hostiles, supported by officers that add damage or mitigation. At levels 60 and up you are well past cadet crews, and the strongest picks change as new officers release, so check the Officer Tier List for current hostile-grinding crews. Treat any named crew as a snapshot; the meta shifts.
Where to find the Klingon Bird-of-Prey
The Bird-of-Prey clusters in high-warp Klingon space. The level 60–63 spawns sit in warp 900 territory across Jalothar, Laquc, Rth’aLanam, and Ternodak. The system list widens at level 64, then narrows as levels climb, until only Tor’Lenok carries the level 69 version at warp 1300.
| Level | Warp | Systems |
|---|---|---|
| 60–63 | 900 | Jalothar, Laquc, Rth’aLanam, Ternodak |
| 64 | 900 | Buyq’eal, Darklake, Jalothar, Laquc, LuchenmoH, Rth’aLanam, Tel’Droht, Ternodak, Tor’Lenok |
| 65 | 1000 | Darklake, Jalothar, KreeMaal, Laquc, LuchenmoH, Tor’Lenok |
| 66 | 1100 | Darklake, KreeMaal, LuchenmoH, Tor’Lenok |
| 67 | 1250 | KreeMaal, LuchenmoH, Tor’Lenok |
| 68 | 1250 | LuchenmoH, Tor’Lenok |
| 69 | 1300 | Tor’Lenok |
Rewards and what it drops
Every kill swings three faction reputations at once. Federation points (87,800 to 169,000 per kill) and Romulan points (43,900 to 84,500) go up, while Klingon points drop by as much as 316,800. Do not farm this hostile if you are protecting a positive Klingon standing. The material payout is 6★ broken ship parts, and the part type tracks the levels you hunt: Battleship parts come from the level 60–67 band, Interceptor parts from 64–69, and Survey parts drop across the whole range. Ship XP climbs from 16,000 per kill at level 60 to 45,000 at level 69.
| Drop | What it is |
|---|---|
| 6★ Broken Survey Parts | Salvage material, drops at every level (60–69) |
| 6★ Broken Battleship Parts | Salvage material, drops at levels 60–67 |
| 6★ Broken Interceptor Parts | Salvage material, drops at levels 64–69 |
| Federation Points | Faction reputation gain, 87,800–169,000 per kill |
| Romulan Points | Faction reputation gain, 43,900–84,500 per kill |
| Klingon Points | Faction reputation loss, up to 316,800 per kill |
Klingon Bird-of-Prey stats
Stats vary by hull variant and climb steeply with level; the rows below are anchor points, not a full table.
| Level | Total strength | Hull HP | Shield HP | Attack | Defense | Ship XP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 (Battleship) | 3,713,289,645 | 2,467,083,282 | 1,644,722,188 | 1,275,232,200 | 382,154,710 | 16,000 |
| 65 (Interceptor) | 9,440,109,018 | 5,570,315,205 | 5,570,315,205 | 3,044,316,333 | 825,477,480 | 25,700 |
| 69 (Interceptor) | 34,661,453,135 | 19,746,368,925 | 19,746,368,925 | 13,442,451,375 | 1,472,632,835 | 45,000 |
Klingon Bird-of-Prey firing pattern
The Bird-of-Prey mounts two weapon groups, and both fire from round 1. A pair of energy weapons hits every round for 40.5 to 49.5 million damage per shot, while a pair of kinetic weapons hits every other round for roughly double that. The kinetic rounds are the spikes: layered on top of Pen of Kahless in the first 5 rounds, they are where hulls break. Time your mitigation and repair decisions around those alternating heavy rounds.
| Weapon type | Count | Damage per shot | Fires | Crit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 2 | 40,500,000–49,500,000 | Every round | 10% (1.8x) |
| Kinetic | 2 | 81,000,000–99,000,000 | Every other round | 10% (1.8x) |
The Klingon Bird-of-Prey in Star Trek
Few ships in Star Trek are as recognizable as the Bird-of-Prey, with its swept wings, green hull, and feather-patterned underside. It debuted in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock as Commander Kruge’s raider, and a captured one, renamed the HMS Bounty, carried Kirk’s crew back in time in The Voyage Home. General Chang flew a prototype in The Undiscovered Country that could fire while cloaked. The class stayed in Klingon service for decades on screen, from Worf’s brother Kurn’s command to General Martok’s Rotarran in Deep Space Nine, usually as a fast, cloak-capable raider rather than a ship of the line.
Is the Klingon Bird-of-Prey worth grinding?
Yes, if you need 6★ broken ship parts or want to push Federation and Romulan reputation, since the per-kill point swings are large. The ship XP is solid too, reaching 45,000 per kill at level 69. The one real warning is the Klingon reputation hit; skip this grind entirely if you are keeping Klingon standing positive. Practical tip: match your warp range to the level band you can actually reach, and pick the hull variant your best counter ship beats rather than shooting whatever spawns first.