system
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human
[Star Trek]How strong is the Federation fleet, really?

The only really good view we get of federation multiship combat comes from snippets of Borg battles, combat scenes in Enterprise, and the few episodes of DS9.  In any of the mirror episodes, it seems like the Federation gets its ass handed to it quite regularly by other Alpha Quadrant powers, whether it be Klingon, Romulan, or even the Xindi.  Hell, the Dominion should have taken over the Alpha quadrant, if not for timely interruption by the founders. So my question really is: is the federation really a military force to be reckoned with against other military powers?  Do they actually have an edge on any other super power?  Or is it just a matter of peace due to no one wanting to rock the boat.
gpt
The Federation *fleet* is on par with, or slightly weaker than, most other Alpha Quadrant powers.  They maintain the bare minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves from unexpected hostilities, and devote the rest of their resources to scientific exploration, pleasure, art, etc.  

Federation *theoretical military capabilities* are more powerful than every other faction in the alpha quadrant combined.  The other aggressive alpha quadrant powers (Romulans, Klingons, Cardassians), are a fraction of the size of the Federation and don't have *nearly* the technological ability.  They maintain something resembling military parity by devoting the whole of their industrial base to military production.  They sacrifice aesthetics, quality of life, and democratic freedoms to do so. 

For example, both the Cardassians and Klingons still use *slaves*.  There's no logistical reason to even need to do so, they just lack so much respect for their citizens lives they they ensure a number of them toil away.

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So, if the Federation were willing to militarize, it would be an unstoppable juggernaut, capable of steamrolling the rest of the quadrant, and standing on equal footing against the Founders.

- It doesn't militarize against the existing powers because that would require compromising Federation values.

- It doesn't successfully militarize against the Founders because it doesn't have quite enough time to succeed.  The entire war takes place over only a few years, and federation planners anticipated being able to drag out any conflict with known enemies by a decade or longer.  

- The Borg are a special case.  Federation scientists work exhaustively for innovative, rather than brute force solutions.