The biggest part played by fighters was during some of the major battles seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, most notably the Second Battle of Deep Space Nine from “Call To Arms” (ep5x26) and The Invasion of Cardassia from the show’s finale episodes. Most ship battles on screen are between two or more capital ships which make up the vast majority of any faction’s fleet.
This is really the first reference in the rules made to any sort of fighter class ship and, to be sure, such craft are rarely seen in Star Trek itself. The Command Division sourcebook for Star Trek Adventures includes, almost hidden away in the Federation Small Craft chapter, the details of the Federation Attack Fighter, also called the Zabathu 1 class (after an Andorian riding animal).
