Pirates stronger than AI players?

Sorry if this has been mentioned before, I'm new to this forum.  I've just started playing Rebellion again after obtaining the DLC (except for minor factions) ... I've played 3 x games so far 8 player FFA (or teams) on normal difficulty and realised the following:

Most of the early stages of the game I've spent clutch defending against pirates, when I finally manage to stabilise against them, I look up and realise that pretty much all of the AI players have been wiped out by the pirates already ... even before I manage to interact with them?   Those AI that remain are so weak they're a pushover, and it's a matter of time before the pirates dominate them ... Is this normal?  

Note: I'm using the Star Trek Armada 3 mod.