Well, there is nothing wrong with the Galors. Your concern is touching, but hardly necessary.*to be read in Dukat’s voice and with a Dukat’s smile*
In-universe, the Nebula-class ship Phoenix commanded by Maxwell destroys one Cardassian science station that was not fortified and had no compliment of ships stationed there to defend it. Then it goes after a supply ship and is about to attack it. Pickard gives the prefix codes to an intercepting Galor that fires its distrupors, hoping that this will incapacitate it sufficiently to cease the attack. The Galor is not there to destroy the Nebula but to intercept it.
The Nebula regroups and returns the fire with its torpedoes and forward phasers but neither Macet nor the Gul commanding the Galor realize that Maxwell is that mad and driven. The Galors have plasma torpedo launchers too but torpedoes are much deadlier and more expensive than a disruptor beam.
In fact, the Cardassians rarely use torpedoes in ship-to-ship battles, though they have even a quantum torpedo technology – they prefer to equip their dreadnought missiles and orbital weapon platforms with it.
In this particular case, openly destroying the Nebula by launching torpedoes as a first option and using the prefix codes given by Picard would jeopardize the armistice signed in 2367 that Starfleet and the Central Command were trying to preserve.
On two occasions, Gul Macet offers to send ships (plural) to intercept the Nebula but Picard does not agree and insists on making the rendezvous himself. He reluctantly grants the prefix codes only after realizing that he can’t reach the Phoenix that quickly. The Enterprise is given a passage to travel through Cardassian space with Macet and his glinns on board. So this is a diplomatic clusterfuck, not a real military operation.
The Nebula destroys an unarmed science station, one very surprised Galor that has received the codes seconds before entering fire range and one supply ship.
Galor ships usually operate in groups of 3 and use wolf-pack attack tactics.
What is more the Nebula class is not to be underestimated, it has the firepower of the Galaxy but fewer luxuries, it is more compact but its utilizes the same warp engines and power plant. Some fans consider it a better battle ship than the Galaxy which is more of a hotel lounge. This ship is more than a match for a single Galor. It is longer and heavier than the Galor, and its shields are stronger than those of a Galaxy because they have to protect less surface. It is also brand new, it enters service somewhere between 2363-2367, while the Galaxy was developed in 2350s. The Nebula is in fact a cheaper, more practical version of the Galaxy. This is what the TM says about the Nebula and the Galaxy.
Type: Explorer
Accommodation: 750 officers and crew; 130 visiting personnel; 9,800 personal evacuation limit
Power Plant: One 1,500 plus Cochrane warp core feeding two nacelles; one impulse system
Dimensions: Length, 442.23 meters; beam, 318.11 meters; height: 130.43 meters
Mass: 3,309,000 metric tonnes
Performance: Warp 9.6 for 12 hours (STD); warp 9.9 for 12 hours (UPRTD)
Armament: Eight type-10 phaser emitters; two photon torpedo launchers
Here is the information about the Galaxy:
Type: Explorer
Accommodation: 1,012 officers and crew; 200 visiting personnel; 15,000 personal evacuation limit
Power Plant: One 1,500+ Cochrane warp core feeding two nacelles; one impulse system in stardrive section, two impulse systems in saucer section
Dimensions:
Length: 642.51 meters
Beam: 463.73 meters
Height: 195.26 meters
Mass: 4,500,000 metric tons
Performance: Warp 9.6 for 12 hours (Standard); warp 9.9 for 12 hours (Uprated)
Armament: Eleven type-X phaser emitters; two photon torpedo launchers
Here is the TM info about the Galor class:
Production Base: Cardassia Prime Orbital Three Assembly Facility
Type: Medium Cruiser
Accommodation: 300 plus flight crew and troops
Power Plant: One and possibly two M/A warp systems; three or more impulse systems
Dimensions: Length, 371.88 meters; beam, 192.33 meters; height, 59 meters
Mass: 1,678,000 metric tons (est.)
Performance: Warp 9.6 (observed)
Armament: Eight or more spiral-wave disruptors; one large aft disruptor wave cannon; possibly other weapons
Most of the Federation vessels used in the Border Wars were Mirandas, Constellations, and Excelsiors. The Galaxies and the Nebulas entered service in the 2360s and were too rare and expensive to be sent to the Border Wars. The Romulans and the Borg were a much more viable threat to the Feds than the Cardassians. The Cardassians had a logistic advantage, they were close to their home systems and could redeploy more quickly.
A direct quotation from MA, concerning the issue.
“The bulk of the Federation fleet continued to consist of smaller, primarily scientific vessels, such as the Excelsior-class and Miranda-class, well into the Dominion War. The late entry of ship classes like the Galaxy-class and Nebula-class was likely one reason why the conflict ended in a stalemate. Furthermore, the end of the Federation-Cardassian conflict came during a period of threat from both the Borg and the re-emergent Romulan Star Empire, so it is likely that Haden's comment represented an overall consideration of the Federation's strategic position. The Cardassian Union itself never appeared to match the Federation in sheer scale, although it did appear to allocate much more time and resources towards its war industry. Finally, it is likely that the Cardassians were qualitatively and quantitatively inferior to the Federation, but represented a disproportionately dense concentration of military power, sharing a border with the much larger, but consequently more logistically demanding to guard, Federation.”
The Cardassians have never had a war with the Romulans, both species have diplomatic relations and embassies, and Garak presumably poisoned Proconsul Merrok with Edosian orchids.
The Betreka Nebula incident was not a war between the Cardassian Union and the Klingon Empire but a skirmish over a planet that involved several Klingon Birds-of-Prey and Cardassian ships of Akril-class. Only one Cardassian ship survived the battle thanks to its extraordinarily capable Gul. The Akril-class was capable of holding its own against 2-3 Birds-of-Prey. The average Bird-of-Pray of this era was 157 meters long and was an agile ship meant to operate in fleets, not alone.
http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Akril_classLater, this incident served as a diplomatic arena for the UFP that was eager to prevent the Klingons from withdrawing from the Khitomer Accords, for the Romulan Tal Shiar which wanted to derail the said accords and weaken both the Klingons and the UFP, and for the Cardassians who simply wanted the planet because of its mineral resources. This incident caused an internal feud in the Klingon High Council so a new Chancellor was elected who was likely to honor the Khitomer Accords and to leave the planet to the Cardies.
http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/The_A ... ImpossibleIn the episode “Defiant,” a Marquis decoy destroys Cardassian outpost 61 while the Defiant uncloaks and fires at outpost 47. The Defiant attacks a shipyard in Omekla Three, a weapons depot in the Dameron System, and a communications relay on the Rokat colony. Finally, Riker is surrounded by three Keldon-class cruisers that belong to the Obsidian Order while being closely followed by 10 regular Galors.
He fires four quantum torpedoes at the closest cruiser, two hit the ventral hull and two hit the tail. Quantum torpedoes are much more powerful than photon torpedoes besides Riker fires them at an almost point-blank distance – about 300-500 meters. I don’t know many ships that will sustain being hit by 4 quantum torpedoes at such a close range and remain in one piece. The ship loses its main power and its defense systems are impaired.
The Defiant is equipped with a Romulan cloaking device and that is why it is able to attack so many targets. It simply uncloaks very close to the target, fires for several seconds, cloaks again and runs away.
So, I don’t think that the Cardassian ships are worse than the ships used by the Romulans and the Klingons but the Cardassian Union definitely can’t produce enough ships and weaponry to enter a serious conflict with any of those superpowers. Of course, the UFP technology is always superb and infallible, this is what makes the Feds a nuisance.
The Cardassian Union did not want to conquer the Talarian Republic because this would be too impractical, it would require too much military personnel and resources. They simply punished them several times, reminding them who was the top dog in this part of the Alpha Quadrant and drove them off from several border systems. They were a regional power – stronger than the Talarians, the Tzenkethy, the Miradorn, and capable of bringing several space-faring species into their sphere of influence. The Lissepians, Kressari, Xepolites, Klaesterons, Kobliads, and Valerians definitely had trade and economic relations with Cardassia.
In fact, the Cardassians are not part of the Big Three – the UFP, the Klingon Empire and the RSE. They became big power only after joining the Dominion. Still, they managed to make much stronger enemies recognize their grittiness and prowess and think twice before attacking them. Actually, I really like that the Cardassians don’t have the shiniest gadgets, shiny gadgets without brain don’t mean anything. This makes everything they have achieved even more valuable.