star trek ship phaser range

How Star Trek Phasers Actually Work

The "Star Trek" franchise contains a lot of devices and jargon that are easy to take for granted, but have a ton of meaning behind them. For instance, the "Star Trek" stardates actually work by deliberately obscuring the actual time the events take place in. Meanwhile, the way the franchise's complex  transporters work is so scary that even some characters are incredibly wary of them. Just like these concepts, phasers – the all-purpose weapons Starfleet personnel carry and often use during their adventures — are more than meets the eye. 

As sci-fi weapons go, the "Star Trek" phaser is nearly up there with the competing franchise's lightsabers, and similar to how the damage a "Star Wars" lightsaber would do to your body wouldn't be particularly gory, a phaser is visually just about as family-friendly as a handheld weapon can be ... usually, at least. In fact, "phaser" is actually a catch-all name for various devices that emit different particle (or sometimes plasma) beams. 

The one that's probably most famous is the aforementioned handheld phaser the crew of the USS Enterprise uses. It has several settings that vary in intensity and purpose. On normal beam settings, the device's nadion particle stream can stun, heat, cut, kill, or even vaporize its target. A wider beam can be used to search the area, and it may also be possible to fire several beams or charged bolts. On top of all that, phasers are highly modifiable and can be equipped with all sorts of effects. 

Phasers can be scaled up and most cultures have their own versions

While phasers are often weaponized, it's better to think of them as a type of beam technology that can be used for all sorts of sci-fi shenanigans. Apart from the sheer versatility of the handheld phaser the Starfleet uses, several species from the "Star Trek" universe use their own variations of the theme. Phasers can also be far larger than small handheld devices, from rifles to drills and massive mounted artillery. As an example, the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" version of the USS Enterprise has several sets of phaser arrays in its offensive arsenal, along with other armaments like photon torpedoes and antimatter mines. 

So many "Star Trek" stories are actually horrifying  that it's no wonder the franchise is so good at conveying the experience of operating in the unmeasurable vastness of space. As such, it's somewhat surprising to find out that while the franchise's most iconic weapon is unnervingly powerful, it also has several non-lethal uses.

Star Trek Weapons Ranges

Back to Starship Weapons Ranges

I.     Introduction II.    Examples       A.   22nd Century           -.  " Fortunate Son "[ENT1]       B.   23rd Century           -.  " The Changeling "[TOS2]           -.  " Journey to Babel "[TOS2]            -.  " The Deadly Years "[TOS2]            -.  " Obsession "[TOS2]            -.  " Patterns of Force "[TOS2]       C .  24th Century           -.  " The Arsenal of Freedom "[TNG1]           -.  " A Matter of Honor "[TNG2]           -.  " The Wounded "[TNG4]            -.  " The Search, Pt. I "[DSN3]           -.  " Return to Grace "[DSN4]           -.  " Non Sequitur "[VOY2]            -.  " Basics, Pt. I "[VOY2]            -.  " A Call to Arms "[DSN5]            -.  " In the Flesh "[VOY5]           -.  " Equinox, Pt. II "[VOY6]  III.   Conclusions IV .  Addenda

I .  Introduction

Star Trek has featured a wide variety of combat ranges.  For example, we've seen ships hold fire until they were within 500 meters , and yet we've also seen ships firing at ranges of millions of kilometers .

Happily, whereas Star Wars almost never involves a stated range, Star Trek gives us more than a few.  Further, whereas Star Wars combat occurs within visual range, this is less prevalent in Trek.   Thus, there is less math on this page, though I'll be sure to find some calculable examples down the road.

II .  Examples

Given that the list below will be appended to as opportunity permits, and that it is in chronological order, we'll avoid numbering the examples for the time being.

A .  22nd Century

- " fortunate son "[ent1] (2151).

The ECS Fortunate, an old Earth cargo ship, takes on Nausicaan pirates.   The first officer, having taken the Fortunate on this chase, bears down on one of the raiders.  The raider opens fire at about 20 kilometers, stated to be outside the range of the Fortunate's plasma cannon.  The first officer orders the Fortunate to get into range to return fire.  The helmsman counts down from ten kilometers, with weapons range seeming to be about eight kilometers.  The weapons systems are able to lock on to the ship at that range, and the shots score.

Observed Effective Range:  8km (plasma cannon)

B .  23rd Century

- " the changeling "[tos2] (late 2260's).

Modified space probe Nomad, one meter in height, powered by some sort of perpetual drive and capable of laying waste to whole worlds, sits stationary and attacks the Enterprise, NCC-1701.  With warp power to the shields and warp maneuvering power gone, the Enterprise returns fire with photon torpedoes ineffectively.  While the precise range is uncertain, it was only a few seconds beforehand that the range was 90,000 kilometers.  The Enterprise was engaged in evasive maneuvers at the time, so the firing range could be smaller or greater.

Observed Effective Range:  ~90,000km (photon torpedo against tiny object)

- " Journey to Babel "[TOS2] (late 2260's)

Under attack by an Orion vessel, the Enterprise plays dead.  The Orions halt their warp strafing attack, dropping to sublight and closing on the Enterprise.  Upon reaching 75,000 kilometers, Kirk orders weapons to fire. 

Observed Effective Range:  ~75,000km (phasers)

- " The Deadly Years "[TOS2] (late 2260's)

Commodore Stocker takes the Enterprise on a shortcut through the Romulan Neutral Zone.  The ship is surrounded by several Romulan Birds of Prey who give the ship a pounding.  Upon Kirk's arrival to the bridge, Sulu informs him that the range of the vessels is "fifty to one-hundred thousand kilometers".   Whether he meant 50 kilometers as the minimum or 50,000 is something that some might debate, though the 50,000 kilometer value seems the most likely in the context of the episode and given Sulu.

Observed Effective Range:  50,000km (Romulan weaponry)

- " Obsession "[TOS2] (late 2260's)

Chekov reports that the target of their warp-speed pursuit is ".04 light-years ahead", and thus out of reach of the phasers.  0.04ly is approximately 378,000,000,000 (378 billion ) kilometers.  Spock adds that they are only barely gaining on the target, and thus could be in pursuit for days.

Stated Maximum Range:  very much less than hundreds of billions of kilometers at warp with phasers

- " Patterns of Force "[TOS2] (late 2260's)

A small, primitive rocket containing a nuclear warhead is on intercept course with the Enterprise.  Moments after we're told that it is at 2000km and closing fast, Kirk orders phasers to destroy it.

Observed Effective Range:  ~2,000km (phasers against a small rocket)

C .  24th Century

- "the arsenal of freedom"[tng1] (2364).

The Echo Papa 607 automated weapon system's orbital component fires on the Enterprise-D from beyond visual range.  Given that the vessel had to decloak to fire, and given its height compared to the stardrive section during its destruction (when the E-D stardrive fires a phaser beam from the aft cobrahead emitter downward and in front of or very near the front of the starboard nacelle, suggesting a height near 100m), then we ought to have been able to see the vessel at ranges up to around 200 kilometers or so, if even only as a blurry dot in the distance.   After the hit, the Enterprise-D tried to return fire but the order was cancelled when the ship disappeared from sensors.

The Enterprise later attempts to fire blind against the cloaked ship, missing completely, with the angle showing phasers and torpedoes also departing visual range.  However, the beams and torpedoes are rather smaller, implying less distance required before we can no longer see them.  However, the earlier preparation to return fire strongly suggests equal range.

Observed Effective Range:  >200km (EP607, probably E-D as well)

- " A Matter of Honor "[TNG2] (2365)

Commander Riker, taking part in an officer-exchange program between Klingon and Federation vessels, finds himself in a tricky situation.   The Klingon captain mistakenly believes that there is hostility between the Enterprise-D and his ship, and when the Enterprise-D appears he decides on a plan to decloak and launch everything he has.    Riker, forced to play along with the absurdity and needing the ships within transporter range for his own purposes, advises the Klingon captain to hold his fire until he is within 40,000 kilometers.  Questioned as to why, he uses the claim that it will reduce the Enterprise-D's response time.

Obviously, if the Klingon vessel needed to wait until then to fire, it could've fired beyond that range.

Stated Maximum Range:  >40,000km (Klingon weaponry)

- " The Wounded "[TNG4] (2367)

Captain Benjamin Maxwell of the USS Phoenix embarks on a personal campaign against the Cardassians, who he believes to be re-arming for war.   The issue of his prescience is outside the scope of this document . . . one of his battles, however, is not.   As Maxwell pursues a Cardassian supply ship, the Enterprise, too distant to render aid, is forced to give the Cardassians the prefix codes of the Phoenix.   This allows a nearby Cardassian warship to attack the now-shieldless Federation starship.

We're treated to a tactical display of the event with Data as the announcer.  The weapons ranges of the ships are overlaid onto the screen.   It is not clear what circles represent what weapons, or if that's even the criteria for the various circles about the ships.   Heading and firing arc information is not displayed.  The battle appears below, with times as per the TNG DVD of the episode.

This battle quite clearly indicates that Alpha Quadrant vessels have an effective tactical range (and a quite effective one, too) on the order of 200,000 kilometers at least.   (Curiously, it also suggests that the Cardassians have an advantage in weapons range against Nebula Class starships.)    Given that the targets were probably a Galor Class Cardassian warship and the same sort of transport seen later in the episode, these were both targets smaller than 500 meters.  One would expect even less trouble shooting a 1,600 meter target at such ranges.

Also featured in the same episode is some very short-range combat.   The Enterprise-D is attacked at the beginning of the episode by a Cardassian Galor Class vessel Trager, and as the audience joins the combat we see it occurring from within 10 kilometers.

Observed Effective Range:  ~190,000km (photon torpedoes)                                            ~150,000km (phasers)                                            ~200,000km (Cardassian weaponry)

- " The Search, Pt. I "[DSN3] (2371)

The Defiant is travelling at warp and under cloak within Dominion space.   Suddenly long-range sensors indicate two Jem'Hadar warships cruising at warp five, and their course will bring them within 100,000 kilometers per O'Brien.

  This may be indicative of warp combat range, though at this early juncture little was known of the Jem'Hadar fighters except what was recorded in the impulse-speed combat against the USS Odyssey in a battle weeks beforehand.

Stated Maximum Range:  >100,000km (Dominion weaponry)

- " Return to Grace "[DSN4] (2372)

Kira is being transported by the Cardassian freighter Groumall, commanded by a disgraced Gul Dukat.  Kira is surprised to discover that Dukat runs battle drills on the freighter.   As we join the bridge during the first observed battle drill, Damar is reporting their target range as 400,000 kilometers and closing.  Despite Dukat's impatience another 23 seconds elapses before the Groumall opens fire on an asteroid, owing to the slow phaser charging time.  The Groumall's speed for this test is unknown, and thus the range is indeterminate.

However, a later test . . . with the Groumall now armed with a recovered System V planetary disruptor . . . gives us more information.  As we join the test, Damar reports the range to target as 500,000 kilometers.  The ship is readied to fire, and 14 seconds after his first report Damar states that the target is 200,000 kilometers distant.   Five seconds later, after Dukat's order to fire, Kira hits the button.

Assuming 15 seconds elapsed as the Groumall closed from 500,000 to 200,000 kilometers, then we're looking at a velocity of 300,000 kilometers in 15 seconds, or 20,000km/s (72 million km/h, or 0.067c).   Assuming constant velocity (a fair enough assumption given how unlikely it is that the Groumall was capable of great acceleration either way), then the Groumall fired at approximately 100,000 kilometers.

Unfortunately, the earlier test remains indeterminate.  Were we to assume 20,000km/s as a standard attack speed for the Groumall's tests, then the first test would've featured them travelling 460,000 kilometers toward the target 400,000 kilometers distant.  

However, the second test's 100,000 kilometer firing range remains sound.  The only alternate view from the episode would be that, as occurred in the first test, they slowed before firing.  But since this would increase the range of the second test, we'll hold to the lower range value.

Observed Effective Range:  100,000km (Cardassian weaponry)

- " Non Sequitur "[VOY2] (2372)

In a slightly-alternate universe, Harry Kim is a starship designer on Earth working on a new prototype runabout, visually identical to the Danube Class but featuring heavily modified engines.  An accident causes 'our' Harry to enter that universe, whereupon he steals the prototype and attempts to return to his own time.  However, in stealing the vessel he is pursued by a Nebula Class starship.  After delivering a warning, the vessel closes to 5000 kilometers and opens fire.  The first shot misses, implying it might've been a warning, but no other shots are seen to miss.  The vessel later closes to 3000 kilometers, though it doesn't fire at that range.

Observed Effective Range:  5,000km (phasers against a small ship)

- " Basics, Pt. I "[VOY2] (2372)

Cornered by the Kazon, Janeway strikes.  A force of four of the massive Kazon battleships, larger and more voluminous than a Star Destroyer, attempt to snare Voyager in a trap.  As Voyager approaches at warp, the Kazon vessels detonate torpedoes in her flightpath in an attempt to do damage.   Even assuming Voyager was travelling at just warp one (aka lightspeed), the detonations . . . which occurred for 15 seconds prior to Janeway ordering the ship to drop out of warp . . . must represent torpedoes fired at ranges of up to 4.5 million kilometers. 

Janeway, now at impulse, orders Tuvok to hold fire as he counts down their decreasing range.  Starting at ten thousand, Tuvok reaches two thousand before Janeway authorizes weapons fire.

Observed Effective Range:            2,000km (phasers)  Observed Maximum Range:    4,500,000km (Kazon-Nistrim torpedoes)

- " A Call to Arms "[DSN5] (2373)

A Dominion fleet heads toward DS9, intent on its capture.  At last, the war begins. 

This, however, is an unusual example.  Damar reports that they will enter weapons range in one minute.   However, the scene immediately preceding shows the Dominion fleet approaching to within perhaps a dozen kilometers of the station.   (The problem in reality was a bit of overliteralism among the VFX crew . . . the script said the fleet was headed for the station, so at the end of a fleet flyover shot the ever-crappy VFX supervisor David Stipes inserted the station at a distance, as if the audience was too stupid to know where the fleet was going.)

Observed Maximum Range:  10km (Dominion/Cardassian weaponry)

- " In the Flesh "[VOY5] (2375)

Photon torpedoes, modified to carry the maximum number of Borg nanoprobes available, are armed and loaded for use against a Species 8472 base.  Upon approach to the base, the following statement is made:

Apparently, then, weapons range with the modified torpedoes was 'only' on the order of four thousand kilometers.  They continued to close, implying that effective or optimal range was much less.

Stated Maximum Range:  4,000km (modified torpedo)

- " Equinox, Pt. II " [VOY6] (2376)

Voyager sneaks up on the rogue Federation starship Equinox.  Janeway closes to a stated range of 30,000 kilometers, then orders their core targeted.  Voyager then fires.  Later in the battle the ship visually closes to point-blank range.

Observed Effective Range:  30,000km (phasers)

III .  Conclusions

Vessels of the Federation and her opponents all seem to have effective beam weapons range easily exceeding 1000 kilometers, even against small runabout-size ships.   Even against a stationary one-meter target, the Enterprise of the 2260's was able to score a torpedo hit at about 90,000 kilometers.  Against other capital vessels, ranges in the thousands and tens of thousands of kilometers are quite common, impressive given the maneuverability of most of the ships.

One clear contrary fact comes from "A Call to Arms", wherein it appears to be suggested that weapons ranges in the 24th Century are no greater than they were in the 22nd.  While one could discard that example as a simple visual effects error, it is preferable to incorporate the datapoint as referring to optimal range, or at least optimal range for the battle.   It's possible that the close proximity of the large minefield surrounding the wormhole (a mere 15km distant), effects of the Denorios Belt, or other facts came into play to produce that conclusion of what was optimum.

In any case, given that these short-range battles are only occurring against vessels of similar weapons range, it seems quite unlikely that an Alpha Quadrant combatant would choose to squander a genuine range advantage if it could be helped.

IV.  Addenda

A.  counterclaims  , 1.  visual range fleet battles.

Some have argued that the fact that fights do not always occur at maximum range means that the maximum ranges might as well be ignored.  This is a wrong-headed point of view in several respects.

a.  Short Range Fights

First, as to the claim of short ranges, this is sometimes true.  In DS9, it was fairly common for vessels to close to such ranges in combat.  Sometimes this was accidental, as occurred in "Tears of the Prophets"[DSN6] when the Allies fly through a supposedly inactive weapons platform field only to have the platforms finally become active while the fleet is on top of them.   

Other times it made some tactical sense, such as when Sisko took the heavily outnumbered Federation fleet right in to the Cardassian lines in "Sacrifice of Angels"[DSN6].  The Federation goal was to get some ships through to DS9 within a certain time limit by opening a hole for Federation ships to fight through and warp out of while the enemy fleet was engaged with the remainder.  We can also theorize that this prevented the enemy from combining too much firepower on individual ships and prevented them from targeting warp cores with abandon.  The Dominion goal was to both prevent the Federation from passing and, later, to pretend to open the hole and then surround the Federation ships, thus taking the opportunity to crush a Federation fleet.   In both cases, a fairly tight fleet formation (e.g. ships within visual range of one another) and close combat were the tactical desires of the day.

Riker gave another possible reason for closer range combat, when he believably suggested to a Klingon captain that he close to 40,000 kilometers in order to shorten the opposing vessel's response time.  This could refer to the target vessel having opportunity to adjust shield power or structural integrity or all manner of other systems to help compensate for the incoming fire and its effects.  We can even easily take this idea a bit further.  For instance, phaser beams do not move at lightspeed relative to the firing ship, so it should take at least one second and probably more for a phaser to travel 300,000 kilometers (one light-second).   A jinking and dodging ship might be a bit harder to hit 

Shorter-range combat may favor the more maneuverable vessel, as seen to excellent effect in many Defiant Class battles.  On the other hand, ships with superior weapons arc coverage might try to keep close to try to keep a maneuverable vessel with poorer arcs from owning the fight.    In other words, a vessel with forward-only weapons might be able to weave and dodge and take frequent shots at 200,000 kilometers, but if you are in close against them you can try to keep to their side or tail or otherwise prevent them from facing you, and if you have good coverage on your vertical and lateral sides, you can pound them with impunity.

Closing all the way to visual range could only enhance such an effect, and could (a) make it more difficult for the enemy to direct its fire against specific systems, and (b) make the concept of shoot-to-kill somewhat less attractive, since a warp core explosion is something one would prefer to steer clear of.  Such short-range combat may also be useful in regards to receiving torpedo fire, which could negatively affect the firing ship at close enough range (as noted by Riker on a couple of occasions, e.g. "The Nth Degree"[TNG4]).

It may also be that phasers and disruptors lose energy or focus or some other helpful criteria over distance, a logical supposition whether due to energy 'leakage' or simple focus blooming or frequency spread decohesion or some other technobabble.  How much loss is unknown, but s,a;; percentage points at high range could count up quickly into more required shots across the ranges available.  Thus shorter-range combat may also have the benefit of enhancing directed-energy firepower, an advantage for a vessel interested in either conserving torpedoes or with beam weapons as its primary firepower.

Finally, we also have the note from production designer Joe Johnston, who noted that the Mutara Nebula from Star Trek II was not there merely to be pretty, but to create a plot device that would allow the ships to fight at sailing ship ranges, as Nick Meyer (the director) wanted.  That's quite a bit of expense and trouble to go to just for the purpose of maintaining the reality of the universe, but it was well worth it for the sake of believability.

In short, then, there are many possible reasons why starships might fight at closer ranges despite having weapons capable of longer range fire.  However, just as occurred in Star Trek II when causing short-range fire was tactically beneficial because the odds were made even, it is logical to presume that there is tactical benefit in the other cases as well.

b.  Nullification of Higher Ranges

The claim that the existence of short-range fights nullifies long-range examples is absurd on its very face.  A sniper who often hits at 700 meters does not, in doing so, nullify his 1000 meter shots.   And if we then hear the sniper say his maximum range is 200 meters, is it logical for us to conclude that the hits at 700 or 1000 meters suddenly do not exist?  Of course not.  Clearly the statement is either context-specific (e.g. 100 meters max in a dense  forest) or involving other information that we are not privy to (e.g. he's expecting tornadoes or hail), or what-have-you.  But whatever the case, we know good and well that under normal circumstances, as seen the vast majority of the time, he can strike at 1000 meters.

c.  Example Case:  Stars!

There are probably many computer games where fighting personnel or equipment with a certain maximum range may end up more useful at short ranges.  One such example from my own experience is the very addictive game Stars! .  The game is one of interstellar empire-building, turn-based, with a simple yet effective economy system with extensive ship and fighting style customization during its token-based battles.

Warships in the 2.0 version featured a variety of beam and torpedo weaponry, but the beam weaponry was more range-limited.  Thus, my primary warships for the first several games I played was a cruiser hull loaded with long-range torpedoes.   These were formidable and well-protected, if expensive.  However, I discovered when reviewing the supplementary manuals and tables that it was possible to create a small frigate ship with beam weapons and fast engines rather cheaply.  With suitable tactics, this would mean that I could swarm the enemy with small, cheap, agile vessels that would bring devastating firepower compared to my prior "attack cruiser" designs.   The individual 'laser frigates', cheap to produce and requiring less resources, could nonetheless deliver as much as half of the firepower of the large, expensive attack cruiser.  And, the nature of the game allowed them a great deal of initiative, meaning they moved first and quickly.  Thus, in sufficient numbers, I could destroy all opponents before they fired off a shot with their long-range torpedoes.   And, if they did manage to destroy some of my "laser frigates", the local blast effect from the nearby exploding vessels would mean that they did damage to the enemy ships even in death.

The above having been said, were I fighting an enemy that only had weapons with range like the laser frigates and slow ships, I probably would not have put my laser frigates in the field, because despite their power I would be putting them in harm's way for no reason.   If their slow ships could not close on me the way my laser frigates could just hop to right off the enemy bow and unload, then it would make more sense to have the attack cruisers pound the enemy with long-range fire as they slowly approached, and withdraw to a safe distance if the enemy started approaching to within their own weapons range.

Translating to Star Trek, one can readily imagine scenarios in which keeping close range might be beneficial to certain vessels, insofar as forcing the enemy to limit his firepower (e.g. phasers over full-yield torpedoes), choose his targets more carefully rather than cause a core breach right beside the ship, limiting enemy maneuverability to avoid shield collisions that might knock everyone to the floor, and so on.   But this reasoning only counts against opponents of equal range.

The moral of the story is that having long-range weapon technology doesn't always mean you use it at long range.  Sometimes it is superior to go in close and fight it out.

Energy or Particles?

Firing nanoprobes, vapourisation.

Range Limits

Firing through shields, transporting phaser beams.

Firing Underwater

Beams and pulses.

Phaser Overload

Wide Angle Beams

Off Axis Firing

Who Watches The Watchers?

The mind's eye, photon comparison, a matter of time.

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• Misc. Star Trek

Phaser yield, range - same for torpedoes

• Thread starter Deks
• Start date Aug 15, 2015

Vice Admiral

• Aug 15, 2015

Type X phasers were referenced in the TM to be in the gigawatt range... but this doesn't really hold ground when we take into account that the average grade photon torpedoes from TOS/TMP era are supposed to be carrying 1.5kg of matter and 1.5kg of antimatter, resulting in 64 megaton explosion (probably shaped charge style) - though conversion efficiency wise, it was indicated that 48 megatons is a closer explosive yield from unofficial sources. Using the photon torpedo as a reference, a Type X phaser would be thousands of times less powerful if the gigawatt ranges hold credibility - which they don't really when compared to what they were doing with them for precision drilling, and how much the power output needed to be reduced. Some have speculated that Type X phasers on the Galaxy class are equivalent to 100 000 TW per second. 135 000 TW would be roughly equivalent to 31 megatons. So, a Type X phaser at maximum setting would deliver same energy as a lower yield photon torpedo in about 2.75 seconds But, if these figures are more appropriate for TNG and beyond... then if the conversion efficiency for photons is above 90% and close to say 60 megatons... then a 2 seconds phaser burst at maximum power could easily be seen as a viable offensive starship weapon.  

• Aug 16, 2015

It's better to ignore the TM's in these cases, and just go with visual analysis and dialog examination. The problem with that is the visuals and dialog are greatly at odds with each other. It's also not worth getting caught up in phaser type and the supposed wattage. Work from the examples first and derive values from them. Going by visuals will give a damage equivalent of kilotons of TNT per shot for phasers, possibly in the 100 range, and a high end of anywhere from 30 to 100 MT for torpedoes. However, DS9: "The Die is Cast" is an extreme outlier in visuals, but suffers from unrealistic representation of blast effects. Because of that, there are people out there willing to dismiss the scenario completely, despite dialog confirmation of complete crust vaporization, and other extreme actions. "TDiC" is isn't just megatons, it can give a low end figure in the gigatons range per torpedo and phaser hit. That actually fits in well with the statement in DS9, by Garek, that the Defiant could burn a planet's surface to a crisp. It also fits well with TOS, where a bucket of antimatter, as Spock puts, will blow off half the planet's atmosphere. That one is a teraton range explosion. That stuff also fits better with how the Enterprise-D in TNG can dig a multiple mile deep shaft in a planet's surface in a matter of seconds using its phaser. Actually, that's a low end event, a better example is when the Enterprise in TOS has to shoot down a planetary shield protecting a mental institution, where Garth of Izar is kept, and someone states that even hitting the weak point of the shield on the opposite side of the planet will kill all life on the planet.  

TMP is not canon anyway... its just a guideline. I do go with what was stated on-screen, but mainly the stuff that actually makes sense for their society in terms of technical prowess (which the writers shunned to the side or toned down a lot because according to some of them, they were simply 'too advanced' to show it on-screen). For instance, the maximum effective range of weapons (phasers) would be about 300 000 km. Torpedoes of course would likely have a bigger range... just how much bigger though, I'm not certain. However, it is likely that when the torpedoes are used, the most one would see in an animation would be a flash from the torpedo tube (but not the actual torpedo itself) indicating the firing mechanism, which could result in the opposing ship being hit instantaneously if they are 300 000 km away - we've seen torpedoes fired at warp, or even a stationary station firing a stripped photon torpedo which achieved high Warp velocity and maintained it (suggesting the torpedoes might achieve Warp velocities when fired - besides, it stands to reason both phasers and torpedoes would be FTL weapons for Warp strafing maneuvers to work). Same with phasers (beam or pulse)... you wouldn't be seeing the beam 'traveling' to the target, but hitting it in the same instant it was fired from the emitter (at least to the naked eye). Since most Federation ships seem to have a top sublight impulse speed at about 74000 km/s, they wouldn't be able to evade phasers... heck, even torpedoes wouldn't really miss - unless a dampening field was in place which scrambles targeting scanners (but even this can be remedied via manual targeting [which any SF security officer would likely be able to accomplish] - and again, once fired, the weapons are still faster than the ship - where on the ship they hit though depends on the person firing them). I think this is how CGI combat situations should have been portrayed in Trek in the first place (could work if done properly). Apart from that, do we know how much is an 'isoton' in terms of megatons? Voyager had Type VI photon torpedoes which were described by 7 of 9 as having an explosive yield of 200 isotons. Later on, it was stated that a 54 isoton explosion (of a regular torpedo) is able to 'blow up a small planet', whereas a 200 isoton warhead would likely be able to do the same to a huge one (actually, I would imagine that 100 isotons would do the trick as well).  

• Aug 17, 2015

The NX-01, Enterprise-D, and Voyager all hit the 80-90 PSL range. "Best of Both Worlds" Pt 2, the E-D goes from Jupiter to Earth in about 45 minutes, and the top end is something like .96 c. Voyager does an .85 c run, but I can't remember when or where, it might have involved passing between two pulsars, or other stars? The NX-01 while passing through a Nebula, with only the Doctor awake, pulls .90 something c. I think that's derived from the size of the nebula and how long it was supposed to take to get through. It's been too long since I annalysed that one. 300,000 km fights can definitely work on screen, and they can be cheaper than the kind of fights in DS9. Babylon 5 did them, and various anime have done them. Even TOS did it, just by focusing on Kirk and his thinking processes, instead of on ship motion, which can get boring anyway. In Voyager, while running from an automated combat probe, or something like that, they fire a torpedo at warp backwards. It travels several billion kilometers. Sure, all the torpedo needs to do is stop relative, but still. On the weapon of speed, phasers actually seem to take 1.5 seconds to propagate regardless of distance. Try explaining that. There's no good answer, but sometimes I like to think they're pumping the phaser energy out at higher velocity for greater ranges only, to save on energy. As for torpedo, I agree, they should be able to kick to warp on their own, and look like a flash. Based on the lack of point defense fire in Trek, torpedoes should also have shields which are immune to attack. I used to like to imagine them as overpowered shields intended to burn out in a few seconds, like in that TOS episode with the ship which is on a suicide mission and moves super fast, etc. Except, the new graphics make it so the ship doesn't have a torpedo like shield, but a rotating set of lights.  

One of the torpedoes in TNG which was modified for studying the star had shielding on them. And a few Voyager novels described them as using shields too. It does make sense they'd have these capabilities if you want to the torpedo to be able to penetrate an opponents shield on a specific frequency. Though, for some reason, wouldn't it make more sense that 'torpedoes' would not be proverbial missiles but rather pure energy such as plasma  

Having a physical torpedoes allows it to carry the systems needed to be altered for shielding, maneuvers and to deliver specialty payloads. A ball of plasma can only be a ball of plasma. Plus that was what the Romulans were using back in the day, which didn't seem to register as something Starfleet was using. At least on USS Enterprise back in The Balance of Terror.  

• Aug 18, 2015

Deks said: It does make sense they'd have these capabilities if you want to the torpedo to be able to penetrate an opponents shield on a specific frequency. Though, for some reason, wouldn't it make more sense that 'torpedoes' would not be proverbial missiles but rather pure energy such as plasma Click to expand...

Fleet Admiral

• Aug 20, 2015

We see a non-material torpedo is possible, unless it had some unstated guiding device. It really should have some sort of device backing it all given its abilities. Click to expand...

• Aug 21, 2015

Timo said: You know, the damage to San Francisco from the Breen attack doesn't make any sense unless it's from parts of Breen ships falling on the city, or from weapons bleed through on contact with a city shield. Click to expand...

We've seen phaser, torpedo, and even disruptor hits on planetary targets that don't really do all that much more than an equivalent sized shell hit from a battleship or cruiser. Unless the hit strikes something reactive (power generation system, or weapons storage) their aren't usually the huge secondary explosions either.  

The problem is, even one shot from a well charged phaser should produce several kilotons equivalent of damage. Click to expand...

I realized an error in the image. Click to expand...

But, it doesn't hold out, because the damage shown is too light, so it has to be less than a Doolittle Raid. Click to expand...

This is why I think the Breen didn't actually touch any of San Francisco with weapons, why I think the city(s), or planet, either have shields, or only Breen ship debrii caused the damage. Click to expand...

Ithekro said: We've seen phaser, torpedo, and even disruptor hits on planetary targets that don't really do all that much more than an equivalent sized shell hit from a battleship or cruiser. Unless the hit strikes something reactive (power generation system, or weapons storage) their aren't usually the huge secondary explosions either. Click to expand...

The curious question there is, what difference would Dominion defenses have made? Why would it have taken hours to destroy the planet, instead of minutes, had the defenses been there for real? 1) Would it have been difficult to deliver the individual warheads past the defenses to the surface? That's a bit difficult to believe: the attackers only lobbed a couple of dozen shots at the planet before declaring a third of its surface melted down. Simply lob a bit more and saturate the ability of, say, surface phasers to shoot them down (especially since we have never seen defenses stop flying objects from reaching the surface even when said objects were limited to one hero-flown shuttlecraft - at worst, such a craft was damaged into a crash landing, or lost within emergency transporter range of the surface). 2) Would it have been possible to render warheads or death rays harmless even if and when they were able to reach their targets? We know that shields can stop weapons in starship-to-starship combat. But we never see really large shields in action, and we do learn of weapons that can penetrate starship shields (say, those coming from fixed fortifications such as orbiting killer sats, space stations or surface bases). Wouldn't those make short work of planetary defense shields? At least if applied at the seams and junctions, or at unshielded areas of wasteland where the effect could melt the crust and set the defended cities hopelessly afloat in a sea of magma? 3) Perhaps it would be a matter of turning a starship's guns from the "fires quickly and tracks enemy ships but doesn't level continents" setting to the "only fires dead ahead twice a minute but packs a lot of punch" one... And the ships could not turn the knob if they had to stand prepared against defending starships? But again, it ought to suffice that one or two ships in a fleet were busting the continents while the others protected the bombards. If twenty ships (or twenty with those trackable quantum singularities, plus a few hundred other, weaker ones? the DS9 episode doesn't really tell) can do 1/3 of a planet in a few minutes, then one ship (or a like percentage of a larger fleet) should still be able to do the full planet in an hour or so, not requiring five hours. We don't learn the "why" here, alas. But we do learn that by conventional 24th century military thinking, even large fleets of ships cannot easily kill entire planets if opposed . Which is consistent with what happens (and doesn't happen!) in Star Trek otherwise, and specifically consistent with what the Breen raid achieves. Timo Saloniemi  

• Aug 22, 2015

Deks said: Ithekro said: We've seen phaser, torpedo, and even disruptor hits on planetary targets that don't really do all that much more than an equivalent sized shell hit from a battleship or cruiser. Unless the hit strikes something reactive (power generation system, or weapons storage) their aren't usually the huge secondary explosions either. Click to expand...

Timo said: The problem is, even one shot from a well charged phaser should produce several kilotons equivalent of damage. Click to expand...

Remember that collateral damage is easily avoided even when phasers of high power are used. The secondary effects from Nero's insanely powerful drill, for example, seemed to be limited to just a puff of vapor that did no harm to the SF Academy crowds ashore. Click to expand...

This is why I think the Breen didn't actually touch any of San Francisco with weapons, why I think the city(s), or planet, either have shields, or only Breen ship debris caused the damage. Click to expand...

OTOH, we never quite hear of planetwide shields in Trek. Elba II Click to expand...

I actually think the Breen raid represents a good balance in terms of what was established earlier on. We know that a single unopposed starship can destroy a planet ("A Taste of Armageddon"). We have seen a small fleet of ships achieve exactly that, in mere minutes, when the projection by the attackers was that it would take hours - apparently, the total lack of defenses made the crucial difference ("The Die is Cast"). We have seen defensive mechanisms that would explain the difference: orbital fortresses that make short work of mighty starships ("Tears of the Prophets"), shields and underground fortifications that make key assets (but not whole planets) impervious to attack by starships under certain minimum size and power ("Return to Grace"). And we know from DS9 and, through omission, from all the rest of Trek, that when major wars are fought, the combatants are unable to inflict strategic damage on each other's planets, and indeed never even bother to try, despite the ability to easily reach those planets under cloak or at high penetration speed. Here the Breen exhibit nothing new in terms of tactical capabilities, just as Doolittle demonstrated no new capabilities in strategic bombing or naval-air warfare (indeed, he willingly revealed the fundamental weaknesses of the assets available to him!). The Breen show willingness to fail bravely - and that's what counts. Timo Saloniemi Click to expand...

the blast effects are flat (which is unintuitive and should be impossible in atmosphere) Click to expand...

he goal is show the Dominion can hit Earth, but to waste the opportunity to real damage is a pointless waste. Click to expand...

Assuming wide distribution of admirals is an assumption. We know there were admirals there as shown in other episodes. Click to expand...

When discussed by the crew, they stated the shield at Elba II can be shot down, but it will destroy all life on the planet, even if they shoot the weak spot on the opposite side of the planet. The only way that would all be the case is if the shield were a normal phaser resistant barrier. Click to expand...

In "A Piece of the Action" we already know the phasers can be tune down enough to safely strike a city block with stun energy. So, striking an undefended generator without harming anything else would have been trivial. Click to expand...

Now are not even in disagreement. My whole point is there has to be some sort of defense which prevented a proper strike on Earth. Click to expand...

• Jul 22, 2019

My apologies for reviving an old thread, but something occurred to me. On the upper scale, I can easily see 24th century Trek weaponry (Federation in particular) hitting Gigaton during TNG and even Teraton levels (during DS9) easily for the simple matter that direct conversion rates do not readily apply due to heavy application of subspace technology in everything, and of course exponential advancements in weapons technology between TNG and DS9. We've seen how subspace properties are applied to a variety of technologies... computers, phasers and torpedoes just to name a few. This would suggest that even if a photon torpedo has 1.5kg of matter and 1.5kg of antimatter, the direct explosive yield would not necessarily be 64 Megatons... but could instead be 10000x larger... in the 640 Gigaton range during TNG era, or possibly larger still, in the Teraton range during DS9 because by the time we saw the Romulan and Cardassian fleets firing on the Founder's planet and destroying 30% of planetary crust in opening volley (requiring Teratons of power), it stands to reason that R&D would occur on an exponential level which would increase subspace effect on regular weapons (and possibly increases in M/AM storage capacities - because I find it very hard to imagine that the Romulans or the Cardassians would be far more advanced than the Federation - if anything, they'd be at a distinct disadvantage considering the Federation is a collection of over 150 different species working together which would massively accelerate any and all advancements). We've seen phase states of energy weapons such as phasers regularly altered, and even photon torpedoes can have phase discriminators - but my point more relates to how use of subspace technology INTERACTS with regular M/AM (and similar) reactions (or Nadion particles for that matter)... in effect, massively amplifying the base explosive yields (or energy input) to very high levels. It could also be why Isotons are used as a measure as opposed to more conventional units. And this could further imply that you wouldn't need to necessarily increase M/AM storage units either... just fine-tune the subspace field interaction on the explosion to gain a much larger effect. Sure, the advancements in storage would also occur which would allow say a photon torpedo to store for instance double or quandruple the amount of matter and antimatter inside same space which would with further fine tuning to subspace technology amplify the explosive effect. Now, Photon torpedoes would be using subspace tech to amplify destructive properties but they wouldn't BREACH subspace. Tricobalt devices on the other hand were able to do that and might be FAR more powerful because of that (possibly due to lower control over subspace interaction which allows for greater explosive yields) and might be used as a last resort in case regular photon torpedoes aren't enough. Voyager used Tricobalts on the Caretaker's array after all, mainly because it was alien in origin and comprised of certain % of unknown alloys. They'd probably use such (exotic) weapons to deal with relatively unknown superstructures that could pose a threat. The TNG movie 'Insurrection' says that the Khitomer Accords banned use of subspace weapons... which seems a bit stupid, because most of the technology (weapons included) are subspace based. Although, its possible the accords might stipulate how much of a subpace interaction there is. For example, nothing that actively creates breaches in the fabric of space-time (that much is obvious), but if you use subspace technology to carefully enhance the explosive effects of a weapon WITHOUT generating breaches, then yes, this would likely work. Photon torpedoes may not have had phase discriminators regularly installed in them until late TNG, BUT they would need subspace field modulation technology in place if they were to be used at Warp (after all, both Phasers and Photon Torpedoes can be used at Warp speeds... and if they have no subspace field projectors and modulators in place, they probably wouldn't be capable of being used in Warp, or other FTL means). Even the Cardassian 'Dreadnaught' carried 1000 kg of matter and 1000 kg of anti-matter, which Tuvok mentioned was enough to destroy a small moon. Would 64 gigatons be enough to do that? Depending on how small the moon actually is I suppose, but it would still have to classify as a relatively large interstellar body... larger than Deimos for example (as we've seen Photon torpedoes being mentioned capable of vaporizing or at least shattering asteroids the size larger than Deimos, which would require at least hundreds of gigatons and possibly Teraton range yields). So, while the actual size of M/AM inside of Photon Torpedo might not change (which seems unrealistic), the subspace technology which amplifies its destructive yield is probably fine-tuned with each newer generation of torpedoes, resulting in much larger explosive yields. In some cases, if you have a breakthrough in subspace tech, you'd probably leave the existing design of photon torpedoes intact and just upgrade the subspace modulation technology... and if you have a breakthrough in storage, you'd increase the amount of M/AM inside the torpedo. It may be why we're getting some fairly small quotes on screen for certain power outputs. The weapons themselves need really low levels of energy, but due to subspace technology, they can achieve massive destructive levels (far more than what's put into them). I find it very difficult to imagine that weapons technology (in Trek no less) would be lower than what real life if capable of producing (which simply doesn't make any sense when compared to some of the feats both phasers and torpedoes were seen do, let alone when you factor in how advanced the Federation is supposed to be).  

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Type-3 phaser

A type-3 phaser (often simply referred to as a phaser rifle ) was the Federation classification for the more powerful rifle variant of the standard Starfleet handheld phaser . The biggest difference between a " regular phaser " and the phaser rifle, was that the rifle was generally more powerful, operated with two hands and could recharge. ( LD : " Where Pleasant Fountains Lie ")

By the 24th century , phaser rifles had sixteen power settings, fully-autonomous recharge capability, multiple-target acquisition, and gyro-stabilization. They were slightly less powerful but much more sophisticated than Cardassian phase-disruptor rifles ; some, such as Major Kira Nerys , considered them less effective in the field as their complexity made them less robust. ( DS9 : " Return to Grace ")

• 1.1 23rd century
• 1.2 23rd century (alternate reality)
• 1.3 24th century
• 1.4 25th century
• 3.1 Appearances
• 3.2.1 The Original Series phaser rifle
• 4.1 External links

History [ ]

23rd century [ ].

A type 3 phaser rifle in 2256

In 2256 , phaser rifles had at least two settings: stun and kill . Although both settings fired single bolt blasts, these weapons could also be utilized to fire a yellow-colored cutting beam . ( DIS : " Context Is for Kings ")

Captain Georgiou using the phaser rifle

In 2256 , Captain Philippa Georgiou discharged a type 3 phaser into a water well on the Crepusculan homeworld , shifting the water table and allowing water to reemerge from the well in a large geyser . ( DIS : " The Vulcan Hello ")

Type 3 phasers were also occasionally used by officers aboard the USS Discovery . For example, in 2256, a couple of officers in the ship's mess hall were equipped with phaser rifles; one of these officers was even about to use his when Michael Burnham began attacking Cold and Psycho using Suus Mahna , though he was stopped by Commander Ellen Landry , who instead brandished a type 2 phaser to persuade Burnham to cease and desist. Phaser rifles were also carried by Landry herself and Kowski when they were part of a boarding party that traveled to the USS Glenn . There, Landry and Kowski used theirs, switching the weapons to the kill setting, to repeatedly fire at a creature which survived the phaser fire and chased the group, causing them to hurry to refuge in engineering and killing Kowski. In engineering, Landry fired a cutting beam from her phaser rifle to cut through a door that was otherwise jammed closed. ( DIS : " Context Is for Kings ")

James T. Kirk holds a late 2260s -style type 3 phaser rifle

In the 2260s , phaser rifles were not standard landing party equipment aboard Starfleet vessels . Typically, late 2260s rifles were equipped only when firepower heavier than that of the type 2 phaser was required. Spock , for example, had to file a special requisition for one to be brought down to Delta Vega in 2265 . Phaser rifles of this time period were unique in that they had 3 different prefire chambers, and the user could change the chamber they were using by rotating the 3 chambers to one with a higher energy level. The type 3 phaser rifles of this time period were a bit bulkier and heavier than their predecessors, though they had more fire power. ( TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before ")

Ironically, though Kirk's usage of the phaser rifle in TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before " helped sell TOS to the NBC television network, nothing similar to it was ever shown or employed again throughout that series.

In the original series, type 2 phasers were also sometimes depicted as weapons that did not fire a visible beam, in such episodes as TOS : " Journey to Babel ", " Assignment: Earth ", " Spock's Brain ", " Whom Gods Destroy " for example.

23rd century (alternate reality) [ ]

James T. Kirk holding a 2250s -style phaser rifle in the alternate reality

In 2259 of the alternate reality , phaser rifles were issued to Starfleet security personnel on Earth after the terrorist bombing of the Kelvin Memorial Archive .

James T. Kirk used a phaser rifle to try to take out Khan 's jumpship 208 when it was firing on the Daystrom Conference Room at Starfleet Headquarters . When fired, this rifle only had a bright muzzle flash and recoil and did not appear to fire a visible phaser beam or a phaser burst.

Security personnel on the USS Enterprise also carried phaser rifles during the subsequent mission to apprehend Khan. ( Star Trek Into Darkness )

By 2263 , phaser rifles were still in use as security officers used them to defend the Enterprise against Krall and his Swarm drones during the Battle of Altamid . ( Star Trek Beyond )

Spock holding a Section 31 phaser rifle

Also, in 2259 of the alternate reality, Section 31 of Starfleet used rapid-fire phaser rifles that fired red phaser bolts. Khan brought one of these rifles along with him to Qo'noS and used it to defend himself and Kirk's away team from Klingon soldiers. One of the Section 31 security personnel on the USS Vengeance also carried one of these rifles. ( Star Trek Into Darkness )

The alternate reality rifle was identified as a phaser rifle in the concept art for the film . In the novelization of Star Trek Into Darkness , the rifle was called a pulse rifle, the same alternative term previously associated with 22nd century plasma rifles used by Humans in Star Trek: Enterprise .

The Section 31 phaser rifle was designed by John Eaves . [1]

24th century [ ]

Facsimile phaser rifles were created by the Romulan Star Empire in 2367 and given to rebels on the Klingon planet Krios , in an attempt to destabilize relationships between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Both the facsimile and Federation rifles had an output of 1.05 MW . The only physical difference to the standard Federation rifle was an emission crystal efficiency of 94.1%. This was eight percent above the standard model. Another difference was that the initial output spike of the phaser beam was inverted, a sign that the power cell had been charged with a forced pulse in the terahertz range – a method used in Romulan disruptor rifles . ( TNG : " The Mind's Eye ")

The 2360s version of the rifle could be modified with the use of a tracking light mounted on the central body, as well as a shoulder strap designed for ease of carrying. ( Star Trek: First Contact ) A phaser rifle could be set to fire an expanding energy pulse . The pulse could be set low enough to avoid damaging equipment, but high enough to affect changelings . It also heated up the air it was fired through. ( DS9 : " The Adversary ")

The crew armed with new phaser rifles in 2373

In the early 2370s , the compression phaser rifle began to be distributed to Intrepid -class , Nova -class , and other starships, including the USS Voyager and USS Equinox . ( VOY : " Caretaker ", " Equinox ", " Message in a Bottle ")

Worf fires the EVA-type phaser rifle

More advanced phaser rifles capable of firing phaser bolts as well as the standard beam were also used in the 2370s. These rifles had a pistol grip in back and either an underbarrel grip or a second vertical grip underneath the barrel (similar to conventional firearms of times past), and were capable of being modified with various types of scopes, barrels and power cells. The rifle variant with the underbarrel grip was used during zero-gravity EVA-operations in the Borg incident of 2373 / 2063 . This variant was also able to be magnetized against a surface, further proving its usefulness in zero-gravity environments. ( Star Trek: First Contact ; Star Trek Nemesis )

The new 2370s rifles were differentiated as Mark I, [2] Mark II, [3] and Mark III [4] in the It's A Wrap! sale and auction . Additionally, the new rifles were identified as compression phaser rifles in Star Trek Encyclopedia , 3rd ed., p. 356 and in the apocryphal Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force and Star Trek: Elite Force II video games.

When Worf's rifle ran out of power on the Ba'ku planet , he improvised and swung it, like a club, at a Son'a drone that was firing isolinear tags at Ba'ku villagers and Starfleet crew. ( Star Trek: Insurrection )

In 2381 , Nick Locarno attempted to murder Beckett Mariner with a phaser rifle. However, she evaded most of his shots, and was beamed onto the Cerritos captain's yacht right before what would have been the killing blow hit. ( LD : " Old Friends, New Planets ")

Aboard the USS Protostar in 2384 , Gwyn and Dal R'El both attempted to make use of an updated phaser rifle when they were being boarded by The Diviner , Asencia , and Drednok . ( PRO : " Supernova, Part 1 ")

25th century [ ]

Phaser rifles were carried aboard the USS Stargazer and were used by the Stargazer 's security officers to defend the ship from the Borg Queen . ( PIC : " The Star Gazer ")

Phasers riles were carried aboard the USS Titan -A and were used by the Titan -A's security officers to search for Jack Crusher when he escaped from the brig . ( PIC : " Disengage ")

Structure [ ]

Starfleet phaser rifles of the 24th century were characterized by several components ( TNG : " The Mind's Eye "; DS9 : " The Siege of AR-558 "):

• Beam control assembly
• Discharge crystal
• Emission aperture
• Energy cell
• Prefire chamber
• Rapid nadion pulse
• Safety interlock
• Bajoran phaser rifle
• Breen phaser rifle
• Kellerun phaser rifle
• Regalian phaser rifle

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before "
• Star Trek: First Contact
• Star Trek: Insurrection
• Star Trek Nemesis
• Star Trek Into Darkness
• Star Trek Beyond
• " The Mind's Eye "
• " Descent "
• " Lower Decks "
• " The Maquis, Part I "
• " The Maquis, Part II "
• " The Die is Cast "
• " The Adversary "
• " The Way of the Warrior "
• " Homefront "
• " Paradise Lost "
• " Return to Grace "
• " To the Death "
• " The Ship "
• " Let He Who Is Without Sin... "
• " Nor the Battle to the Strong "
• " Empok Nor "
• " Call to Arms "
• " Rocks and Shoals "
• " Change of Heart "
• " Inquisition "
• " The Siege of AR-558 "
• " What You Leave Behind "
• " Macrocosm "
• " Worst Case Scenario "
• " Scorpion "
• " Scorpion, Part II "
• " The Raven "
• " Waking Moments "
• " Living Witness "
• " Dark Frontier "
• " Equinox "
• " Unimatrix Zero "
• " Flesh and Blood "
• " The Vulcan Hello "
• " Context Is for Kings "
• " Choose Your Pain "
• " Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum "
• " What's Past Is Prologue "
• " The War Without, The War Within "
• " Saints of Imperfection "
• " Project Daedalus "
• " Such Sweet Sorrow "
• " Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2 "
• ST : " The Trouble with Edward "
• " Stardust City Rag "
• " The Star Gazer "
• " Farewell "
• " The Next Generation "
• " Disengage "
• " The Last Generation "
• " Much Ado About Boimler "
• " Veritas "
• " Where Pleasant Fountains Lie "
• " Trusted Sources "
• " Old Friends, New Planets "
• " A Moral Star, Part 1 "
• " Supernova, Part 1 "
• " Memento Mori "
• " The Serene Squall "
• " All Those Who Wander "
• " Among the Lotus Eaters "
• " Hegemony "

Background information [ ]

Penny Juday holding a 24th century phaser rifle

Matt Jefferies is accredited with drawings for the original series type 1 and 2 sidearms which fitted together in a modular fashion. The said drawings also mention a mysterious "UNIT 4" for which no drawing or design was ever made public nor featured in the original series. Possibly this UNIT 4 was meant to be a phaser rifle, but never made it onto the show as explained below . ( Star Trek: The Original Series Sketchbook , pp. 92-93)

Rick Sternbach designed the phaser rifle introduced in TNG : " The Mind's Eye ". He explains its apparent lack of trigger as follows:

My Type III rifle blueprints don’t show an obvious button on either the fore or aft grips. One of the postings [on TrekBBS] talks about buttons being hit at the wrong times, which I do recall as being an issue during production. Made for slight VFX headaches. Perhaps that affected how I drew the thing. My in-universe rationale for the grips having no obvious buttons is that (also similar to one posting) the actual firing studs are buried under the ribbed poly-elasto-squishy grip material. ( TrekBBS )

The modified phaser rifle that first appeared in " The Adversary " was designed by Jim Martin . A new feature was the addition of triggers, although on the prop they were buttons. Joe Longo commented: " Ira [Steven Behr] said that when he was watching people shoot, they hadn't been activating anything, so we made them more realistic. It gives the actors something to do ". ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion , p. ? )

While Voyager originally only used compression rifles, they later also used the First Contact variant – indicating that weapon had been part of the ship's stores since they left DS9 in 2371. This seems anachronistic since that weapon was not introduced in other productions until around 2373, after Voyager departed. Even so, Deep Space Nine used two designs (the TNG rifle and the First Contact rifle) concurrently, indicating that no one design was "replaced", establishing that Federation postings could use two types simultaneously.

According to the It's A Wrap! sale and auction , the Star Trek Nemesis version of the phaser rifle (with flashlight) uses "a pair of C123 3-volt batterie… the bulb housing is inscribed '6v Lamp, Laser Products, P60'." A Surefire brand P60 designation lamp is capable of outputting 65 lumens of light. A stunt version from Star Trek: Nemesis was sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. [5]

The term "type 3 phaser" was first referenced in " Phage ", and later again in " Flesh and Blood ".

The Original Series phaser rifle [ ]

Klamer's approved phaser rifle design

In the final revised draft of the script for " Where No Man Has Gone Before " (dated 15 July 1965 ) (scenes 134 and onward), this type of phaser was referred to as "heavy," "large," "lethal-appearing," and "lethal." Also, its discharge was described as "a deep, fiery-red beam." The rifle, while carried by Kirk, was said to be "slung across his shoulder." [6] However, this is not shown in the episode's final version, the weapon instead being carried by hand.

For the actual construction of the rifle prop itself, Gene Roddenberry turned to an outside contractor, toy manufacturer and inventor Reuben Klamer , who was already renowned at the time for the Milton Bradley Company 's now-classic board game, The Game Of Life . Roddenberry became aware of Klamer's work, as he spotted a prop gun in use at another television production, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Contacted by Roddenberry, Klamer agreed upon designing the prop, the final version of 28 June 1965 being the version which Roddenberry approved. ( Julien's Auctions presents: Star Trek )

The original phaser rifle prop

Upon approval of the design, Klamer was given the go-ahead by Roddenberry to proceed with manufacture of the prop, admonishing him that time was of the essence as shooting was already scheduled to begin in July. In a video , shot for the below mentioned auction, Klamer recalled that he initially was only given a mere two weeks to come up with both the design and the prop. Already facing a deadline that he found nearly impossible to meet, Klamer, upon additional urging by William Shatner , who desperately wanted the prop, needed an additional staff of three, including employee Ab Kander, to complete the prop on time. Working around the clock, the weapon was constructed out of wood and finished with a blue/green metallic paint. Additional detailing included the hand-tooled aluminum barrel and spring-loaded trigger, a sliding switch to adjust the force setting, three plastic non-functional domed indicator lights, and inset plastic panels, as well as a telescoping antenna mounted to the top. Moveable pieces on the weapon included three acrylic turret tubes cylinders with what appeared to be copper painted metal conduit with ends painted to match the three force settings. The entire turret unit turned on a center axis. The black shoulder butt also rotated to be used as a handle or shoulder stock. According to Klamer, in the video, Roddenberry took possession of the prop in person, which measured 34×14×4.5 inches, in the second week of July, and was very excited about its end-result, reportedly exclaiming, " This is it! This does the job! Those guys at NBC will be surprised that we have this in the show. " ( Julien's Auctions presents: Star Trek )

In "Where No Man Has Gone Before", the phaser rifle's beam was reused animation from the impact of the laser cannon in TOS : " The Cage ". ("Where No Man Has Gone Before" text commentary , TOS Season 1 DVD special features)

When it was announced – during the Watts riots of August 1965 – that the rioters were about to move to Desilu 's production base of Culver City, California , the original phaser rifle from "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was one weapon that Herbert F. Solow suggested to Gene Roddenberry as a means of protection. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , p. 89) Apart from its use in the episode and its proposed anti-riot use, the phaser rifle prop was most notably re-utilized for well known official publicity shots, which featured William Shatner, in the guise of Kirk, holding the phaser rifle. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , pp. 117, 106, 190; et al. )

Roddenberry obviously reverted his initial enthusiastic stance on the phaser rifle, and it was retired from TOS after he decided that, in common with smoking , guns were not to be shown on the series, either. Regarding the TOS phaser rifle design, Bjo Trimble remarked, " The gun was just a little too lethal-looking for Gene's taste and he just didn't like it. " ( TOS Season 1 Blu-ray special features, Starfleet Access : "Where No Man Has Gone Before") The phaser rifle prop was returned to creator Klamer, who kept it in pristine condition in his possession for the next half century. This made "Where No Man Has Gone Before" the only canon appearance of the design in the Star Trek franchise.

But the TOS phaser rifle became somewhat of an iconic piece in the Star Trek fan community, drawing the " The Holy Grail " analogy Star Trek -archivist Alec Peters ; this prompted CBS Consumer Products to commission the manufacture of at least one copy for inclusion as a display piece in exhibitions, such as Star Trek: The Experience [7] and Star Trek The Exhibition . [8] (X) These reasonably accurate copies turned up in later (un)official publicity photographs and imagery of Dave Rossi and Elizabeth Dehner actress Sally Kellerman individually posing with the prop. ( TOS Season 1 Blu-ray special features, Starfleet Access : "Where No Man Has Gone Before"; et al. ) Apparently, a phaser rifle prop copy even ended up in Kellerman's possession after the 2010 Official Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas. [9]

Michael and Denise Okuda were both somewhat critical of the TOS-era phaser rifle. Although Michael Okuda found it "a cool concept" and particularly liked how some of the weapon's components moved, he also believed the phaser rifle had "kind of a funky design." He concluded, " I think they were right to retire it after ['Where No Man Has Gone Before']. " Dave Rossi remarked on the opinions that the Okudas, who Rossi worked with on Remastered TOS, had about the weapon: " I'm told that my learned colleagues thought that the phaser rifle was a bit hokey-looking. " Rossi's own thoughts on the TOS-era phaser rifle, however, differed substantially from those of the Okudas. " I love the phaser rifle, " he raved. " The phaser rifle kicks butt! And I'm bummed that it only appears in ['Where No Man Has Gone Before'], because to have a phaser gun that can, you know, take the top of a mountain off, what did the phaser rifle do?! You know what I mean? I really wanted to see this thing in future episodes. I didn't think it looked hokey at all; I thought it was cool. It was bulky and it was mean and looked good in Kirk's hands a lot. " ( TOS Season 1 Blu-ray special features, Starfleet Access : "Where No Man Has Gone Before")

Creator Klamer eventually offered up the actual original phaser rifle itself, with the accompanying period studio paperwork, for auction in the Julien's Auctions firm's Hollywood Legends Auction on 5 April 2013. As lot 120 it had an estimate of US$50,000-$70,000, selling for over three times the high estimate at US$231,000, in the process becoming the most expensive Star Trek hand-held prop ever sold at auction to date, affirming Alec Peters' assessment. [10]

Apocrypha [ ]

In Star Trek Online , Starfleet was still using the late 2260s phaser rifle model by 2270, though the handle placement had been modified and using the rifle no longer required special requisition for it to be deployed. In 2270, the rifle's use was still not as widespread as the type 2 phaser. By 2409 in the game, Starfleet had deployed many different variants of the type 3 phaser.

External links [ ]

• Designer Reveals Story Behind TOS Phaser Rifle at TrekMovie.com
• Phaser rifle at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 1 Daniels (Crewman)

Starship Weaponry

• 1 Introduction
• 2.1 Types of Phasers:
• 3.1 Differences:
• 4.1 Firing Modes:
• 4.2 Types of Torpedo:
• 4.3 General Components of Torpedoes:
• 5.1 Launcher Components/Sections:
• 5.2.1 Micro Torpedoes
• 6 Plasma Torpedoes

Introduction

Please note: This paper does not represent the official Star Trek canon on starship weaponry. However, this is official, Federation Space, weapons specification canon.

Phasers General:

Phasers, short for Phased Energy Rectification Device, are easily the most commonly used weapons throughout the known galaxy. Variations of the Phaser are installed on warships of all major races in the galaxy. Though there are variations, all Phasers can be grouped into four types.

Types of Phasers:

• Type I Phaser (Offensive): The most powerful, ship mounted, Phaser, it’s the standard main Phaser for the Federation, Romulans, Gorn, Cardassian, and Tholian militaries.
• Type II Phaser (Offensive/Defensive): Less powerful than the Type I, the Type II requires roughly half the power. Designed by the Klingons (and stolen by the Mirak) to counteract the missile threat of the Mirak, the Type II became the all-purpose standard for the Imperial Klingon Navy. Not long after, the Type II began appearing on Mirak vessels. The Type II Phaser is used almost exclusively by the Klingon and Mirak Navies, though it’s not uncommon to find them mounted on Orion pirate ships.
• Type III Phaser (Defensive): The Type III Phaser has come into wide spread use with the introduction of fighters and has become part of the defensive weapons of most starships. The Type III only requires ¼ the power of a Type one Phaser, allowing continuous rapid-fire against targets. Though they were designed to destroy enemy torpedoes and small craft, they have found other uses as well.
• Type IV Phaser (Heavy): This huge Phaser is only mounted on large bases and occasionally planetary defense grids. Two or three blasts from a Type IV Phaser could easily destroy a heavy cruiser sized ship.
• Phaser-G (Gatling): A newer design first implemented aboard the Defiant-class, the Phaser-G is a multi-purpose Pulse-Phaser than can fire with the destructive potential equal to a standard Type I Phaser. In trial tests, the Phaser-G has proven successful as both and offensive and defensive solution. Some Gatling Phasers have been "spiked" to allow them to fire at an increased rate, but this depletes the power cells faster and shortens the operational lifespan of the emitter due to the extreme temperatures involved. The Gatling Phaser is currently standard armament on Star Fleet Fighters , Federation-class Carriers and the Cicero-class Support Escort.

Phasers on Star Fleet ships/installations:

While the concept has remained the same, the delivery method of Phasers have changed significantly over the centuries, ranging from cannon type devices as seen on the Enterprise NX-01 and USS Defiant, to banks found on late 23nd century starships such as the Miranda class and Excelsior class starships, to arrays found on many late 24 century starships such as the Galaxy class and Sovereign class. Currently, in the 25th century, technological updates and necessity have brought Star Fleet back to the use of banks.

Differences:

• Phaser cannons: The technology for this has been around for centuries. In its infancy, Phaser cannons were used primarily because technology hadn’t developed enough to downsize the device. However, as technology increased, and parts were downsized and made to handle power loads more efficiently for their size, Phaser cannons saw a brief comeback. These were seen on the Defiant class starships. Phaser cannons on the Defiant-class (Pulse Phaser Cannons) saw use because of the sheer amount of energy that could be channeled to them because of the modern day size of the components, a pulse was required however to allow the cooling systems to prevail and prevent immediate burnout of the cannons. The configuration and layout of internal power distribution of the ship itself allowed this use of this technology, and is still impractical on standard Star Fleet design methods due to the limited firing arc and the power requirements.

In extreme cases a photon launcher system on a starship can be completely rebuilt to house a Phaser cannon, but due to shutting down a torpedo launcher, practicality, and the power load/drain required, use is not common.

• Phaser banks: Phaser banks are a group of Phaser emitters grouped together into one centralized location. They share a common power source, the warp core, but separate power relays and recharge unit. Normally multiple emitters are fired simultaneously giving the illusion of 1 Phaser strike. While firing emitters simultaneously allows more firepower to be delivered, the setback is those emitters would be out of use while they recharged. While still commonly used on more dated starships for a longer period of time, overall incorporation of it into newer class starships was abandoned for nearly 100 years after the invention of the Phaser array, but has found use once again.
• Phaser arrays: This technology was largely seen in the latter half of the 24th century on such ships as the Galaxy -class, Intrepid-class, Sovereign-class ship to name a few, all the way up until the first General War. Phaser arrays allow the power to be channelled and released anywhere along the array, and in some cases at multiple points at the same time; this however had the effect of requiring twice the power drain. The benefits of the Phaser arrays were that this technology allowed a much larger firing arc than just one bank. Another befit was that the focal point of the energy could be shifted along the Phaser bank which allowed the release of the energy at different points without compromising the size of the Phaser arc; this prevented anyone section from experience component burnout. The downfalls of this technology were discovered during the first general war where enemy ships would focus their fire on to the Phaser array. Because the technology is dependent on a large section of the array to be operational, this allowed a much larger target area to disable that section of the array; also of this, one well-placed hit could potentially disable two sections rather than just one. Another setback to this technology was that the whole array had to be of the same type; with the additional space taken up by the arrays, having multiple types of arrays in one section was impractical. Additionally the recharge time was dependant on the whole section of the array rather than one emitter.

Torpedoes General:

The standard heavy weapon of Federation Starships, variations of the photon torpedo have existed since the beginning of the Federation. (The terms photon and quantum torpedoes are interchangeable for this discussion.) It is also rumored that photon launchers have been installed on some Tholian ships, but those rumors have not been substantiated. There are three firing modes for this weapon.

Firing Modes:

• Standard: A standard photon torpedo requires roughly four times the energy of a Phaser I. Unlike many heavy weapons, the photon torpedo does not lose energy as it travels to its target. However, the longer the range, the more difficult it becomes to strike the target.
• Overload: Overload: The overloaded torpedo is one that has been programmed to allow a higher destructive yield than its normal setting; the yield depending on the settings programmed may be potentially double. This is done by programming the various internal components to become inactive and/or require less power generated through the matter/anti-matter reaction within the tube once it is armed. This allows more matter/anti-matter to be used for weapon aspect itself, thus increasing its yield. Setting a torpedo to overload may potentially cut its range by half if the power to the sub-light engine is diverted, and its accuracy may be adversely affected if power to its internal tracking system has been diverted to increase the yield. A torpedo set to full overload will have 50% of its range, and be limited to line of sight targeting.
• Proximity: Proximity photon torpedoes are the Federation scientists answer to the accuracy problems of long ranged photon attacks. They require the same energy as a standard photon, but only yield a warhead about 50% as strong as the standard photon. However, accuracy is increased by an amazing 75%.

Types of Torpedo:

• Spatial Torpedo: Obsolete nuclear fission torpedo. Variable yield usually in the mid-kiloton range.
• Photon Torpedo: Most widely used among space-faring species; based on the combination of matter and anti-matter to cause a devastating release of energy. Variable yield up to 25 Isotons, the equivalent of 64 Megatons of energy.
• Quantum Torpedoes: Currently only known to be used by Star Fleet. Uses a matter/anti-matter reaction to aid the extraction of power from a zero-point vacuum. This is done by placing an 11-dimensional space-time membrane, twisted into a Genus-1 topology string, into a vacuum in the detonation chamber. When the matter/anti-matter which is enriched with fluoronetic vapor is combined, it powers a continuum distortion emitter. From there it expands the membrane and pinches it out of the background vacuum. The membrane forms into subatomic particles accompanied by a high-explosive energy release. Variable-yield, a Quantum Torpedo usually releases more than double the energy of a standard Photon Torpedo in the 50-60 Isoton range.

Note : Though Photon and Quantum Torpedoes are fantastically powerful weapons, the initial matter/antimatter reaction often destroys the device before the reaction can be fully completed. This means that torpedoes rarely, if ever, achieve their full destructive potential.

General Components of Torpedoes:

Whether talking about a photon torpedo, a quantum torpedo, or any other type of physical (not strictly energy based) torpedo, the components will generally be the same. Each torpedo tube will have its own propulsion system, guidance system, small matter/anti-matter reactor to power the unit, separated matter/anti-matter storage units for the warhead, and the warhead. The warhead itself consists of four subcomponents, the reactants (matter/anti-matter in the storage units which has a combined use with the matter/anti-matter reactor), the arming system, and the detonation system, and the detonation chamber.

• Propulsion system: A sub-light engine built into the torpedo to allow for it to maintain speed once fired from a ships launch chamber. The more course corrections required the more power required. Extreme course correction are not possible because of forces imposed on the torpedo tube itself can cause detonation, so torpedoes are limited in the rate of course change; this may cause the torpedo guidance system to lose its target lock.
• Guidance system: Internal sensors within the torpedo tube that signal the propulsion system to direct the torpedo towards its intended target. The sensor system is limited in his capabilities, and thus can be fooled or evaded. Guidance systems have two abilities. One being the internal sensors can be programmed to scan and aim for a specific object, location, etc., or the other being that it can simple be pre-programmed to follow a specific course.
• Matter/Anti-matter reactor: Just like the warp core on a starship, this unit produces energy by combining matter and anti-matter within an intermix chamber where the two, within a controlled environment, annihilate each other producing energy.
• Matter/Anti-matter storage units: Deuterium tanks are simple storage containers used to store the deuterium matter needed, while the anti-matter storage units use magnetic fields to suspend the anti-matter in place to prevent contact with its normal matter container.
• Arming system: This system activates all the internal components within the torpedo tube, and readies the detonation system.
• Detonation system: This system has three different components. Component one is the trigger system. Upon sensing an impact the system signals the warhead to release the matter/antimatter storage pods to allow the two reactants to collide within the detonation chamber, resulting in the release of energy; this is nearly the same concept, except intended, as a warp core breach. Component two is a proximity system. This system interacts with the guidance sensors to determine its distance from an object. Once within range it will activate the triggering system to allow the mix of the matter/anti-matter. The final component is the timer/manual detonation system. This system allows for the torpedo to have a timed detonation, or for the tactical officer to manually activate a self-destruct. Star Fleet Torpedoes now incorporate a fail-safe that after a predetermined time, the torpedo, regardless of set program, will self-destruct; this is to prevent Star Fleet technology into inadvertently violating the prime directive, or falling into enemy hands.
• Detonation chamber: This is where the two reactants collide with one another resulting in the release of energy. The detonation chamber an also house a reactant of its own which when combined with the explosive energy of the other reactants, can create a much more devastating effect (this is seen with the Quantum Torpedoes).

Torpedoes on Star Fleet ships/installations:

As any officer knows, it takes time for torpedo’s to load and become ready for launch. This is because unlike many systems on a starship, this one still involves a physical mechanical process. Torpedoes have to be physically moved from their storage in the Torpedo bays, to the torpedo tubes which them moves them and properly positions them within the launcher.

Launcher Components/Sections:

Overall, a starship torpedo launcher can be broken down into two major sections; the torpedo bay and the launch chamber. Torpedo bays generally consist of a launch control room, torpedo tubes, and the storage bay; often, even if located on another deck the storage bay is still referred to as a part of the torpedo bay. The Launch Chamber is considered a section of its own, and is not internal to a starship.

• Launcher Control Room: This is where most work stations within the torpedo bay are located. From here all torpedo launcher operations are monitored. If necessary the launch control room can also fire torpedoes; this is often only done if no other location such as the Bridge or Engineering has immediate launch control.
• Storage Bay: Torpedoes are stored in the torpedo bay storage area, and are left unarmed until moved to the next section of the loading process. Torpedoes in the storage bay pose no immediate threat of detonation. The storage section is designed so that as little movement is required to relocate the torpedo to the torpedo tubes. On ships with larger compliments of torpedoes, they may be stored on multiple racks containing a conveyor belt system that moves the torpedo down the line to a rotating belt that moves the torpedo down and around in a revolving manner, and into place on the track leading into the torpedo tube. Smaller compliments may just have a single rack that simply lowers down the torpedo onto the torpedo tube track.
• Torpedo Tube: This section safely transports the torpedo away from the storage compartment to the launch chamber. Once a torpedo makes its way here it is armed, and sent down to the launch chamber.
• Torpedo Launch Chamber: The launch chamber is the final stop before the torpedo is fired. Type and operations may vary depending on the starship. In some cases, on larger starships, a single chamber can hold up to 8 carefully placed torpedoes to be fired simultaneously. Launchers can accommodate this because they utilise electromagnetic fields in conjunction with the torpedo’s own thrusters to launch the torpedo at high velocities. Star Fleet torpedo launchers are the only known political power to currently have this type of launch chamber technology.

Abilities of Star Fleet Torpedo Launchers:

As previously mentioned, some launch chambers can accommodate the firing of multiple torpedoes at one launch; these are known as "Burst-Fire Torpedo Tubes". This is because they use a series of electromagnets in the launch chamber to propel the torpedo from the ship. Smaller ships lack this ability because additional space is required to position and hold the torpedoes within the launcher. Additionally, the main purpose for this function is that as starships increase in size, generally their maneuverability decreases as well. This presents a problem when trying to line up the ship to have the enemy target within the launchers firing arc. During any one given battle, the opportunities to use torpedoes are much less as the ship size increases. To offset this tactical weakness, larger ships can then fire a larger number of torpedoes during an opportunity given.

There are setbacks to this function however. One being the load time would be much higher as the torpedoes have to be positioned correctly in the launch chamber and programmed by tactical else they risk bumping into each other during launch and explode in close proximity to the launching ship/station and destroy itself. The other risk is, while it’s going through the load process and positioning within the launch chamber, one strong hit by an enemy’s weapons into the launchers would explode the torpedoes and potentially destroy the ship, or at the least cause severe damage.

Because of this risk, one would attempt to fire the contents of the launch chamber as soon as practical.

Micro Torpedoes

Micro Torpedoes or micro-torpedoes are small-scale weapons carried by smaller vessels such as Escorts, Fighters or Runabouts. Roughly one third of the size of a torpedo; micro torpedoes lack the range and yield of their larger counterparts. Microtorpedo launchers lack the electromagnetic fields that assist in the launch of larger weapons, and rely solely on the thrust of the small engine to carry the warhead to target. These are sometimes misidentified as "Missiles" due to the lack of powered launch tube.

Plasma Torpedoes

The fiery ball of the Plasma Torpedo is the last thing many starship captains will see before meeting their maker. The Romulan navy commonly uses this devastatingly powerful weapon to supplement their standard Photon Torpedo launchers, while the Cardassian military only utilise them on automated defence platforms. There are four known sub-types to this weapon, all believed to be armed with an internal "fire and forget" seeker head, though Plasma Torpedoes are notoriously less capable at tracking moving targets than their less destructive cousins:

• Type F : The least powerful plasma torpedo, the Type F still packs a pretty good punch. This variation of the Plasma requires roughly the same amount of energy to arm as the photon torpedo. However, it takes approximately 33% longer to arm this weapon. Like all plasma torpedoes, it begins losing warhead strength the instant it is launched. A full strength strike yields twice the power of a photon torpedo. All plasma torpedoes lose 5% of their warhead strength for every 10,000km travelled.
• Type G : Used almost exclusively by the Gorn, this outdated weapon is still in service on many Gorn warships. The faster Type S is slowly replacing it. This weapon requires 35 percent more power to arm and cycles 33% slower than the photon torpedo. The warhead strength is three times that of the photon torpedo
• Type S : The type S is the typical version of this weapon. It requires 33% more power than a photon and cycles 28% slower. The warhead of the Type S torpedo is four times more powerful than the photon torpedo.
• Type R : At one time, this powerful weapon could only be mounted on large bases. However, this weapon has been seen on some of the newest Romulan and Gorn ships. The type R requires more than 50% more power than a photon and 33% more time to arm. The warhead on this weapon is six times more powerful than the photon torpedo. It is believed that Romulan ships cannot cloak and charge this weapon at the same time, as the energy requirements are too demanding.
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• Board index Discussion and Debate Trek/Wars

The Speed of Blasters, Lasers, Turbolasers, and Phasers

Post by Enterprise E » Mon Oct 07, 2013 2:48 pm

Re: The Speed of Blasters, Lasers, Turbolasers, and Phasers

Post by Mike DiCenso » Mon Oct 07, 2013 10:55 pm

Post by Lucky » Mon Oct 14, 2013 1:01 am

Enterprise E wrote: We've seen a lot of discussions about how powerful phasers, lasers, turbolasers, and blasters are. However, I haven't seen many debates on how fast each bolt, beam, or pulse travels. So how fast do phaser, laser, turbolaser, and blaster bolts pulses and beams travel?

Star Trek wrote: Franchise: Star Trek Series: Enterprise Season: 01 Episode: 14 Title: Sleeping Dogs wrote: (a phase pistol is loaded, a target projector is set up) 
 REED: You have a ten second firing window. Ready? 
 HOSHI: Ready. 
 REED: Go. (pushes button on PADD, the 3D target starts moving around and Hoshi fires a lot of shots in its direction) Time. 
 HOSHI: Any better? 
 REED: Your hit to miss ratio is still below fifty percent. If those had been live rounds you'd have blown out two or three bulkheads. 
 HOSHI: I never had this much trouble with the EM-33. 
 REED: This is an entirely new weapon. Unlike the EM-33 you don't have to compensate for particle drift. Just point straight at the target, and try and keep your shoulders relaxed. It's hard to aim accurately when you're tense. (clears throat) 
 HOSHI: You all right? 
 REED: Yeah, fine. You'll get the hang of it. Let's try for twenty seconds this time. 
 (engine sound changes) 
 HOSHI: I thought we were staying at warp for the next few days. 
 REED: (checking monitor) We're approaching a gas giant. Class nine. 
 HOSHI: So much for target practice. 
 REED: We'll pick it up tomorrow.

Franchise: Star Trek Series: The Next Generation Season: 04 Episode: 12 Title: The Wounded wrote: http://tng.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/ ... ded122.jpg http://tng.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/ ... ded128.jpg http://tng.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/ ... ded129.jpg PICARD: Mister Data, overlay weapon ranges of the two ships. 
 DATA: The warship is three hundred thousand kilometres from the Phoenix. It is opening fire. The Phoenix has taken a direct hit. The Phoenix is beginning evasive manoeuvres. It has positioned itself outside the weapons range of the opposing ship. The Phoenix has powered up both phasers and photon torpedoes. The Phoenix is firing photon torpedoes. 
 (and one of the lights on the screen goes out) 
 MACET: He has destroyed our warship. 
 PICARD: Does the supply ship have any weapons? 
 MACET: Very limited. Certainly not enough to defeat a Nebula class starship. 
 DATA: Sir, the Phoenix is firing on the 
 (another light goes out) 
 MACET: The warship carried a crew of six hundred, the supply ship, fifty.

Star Trek: First Contact wrote: [Phoenix cockpit] LAFORGE: Plasma injectors are on-line. Everything's looking good. I think we're ready.
RIKER: They should be out there right now. We better break the warp barrier in the next five minutes if we're going to get their attention.
LAFORGE: Main cells are charged and ready.
RIKER: Let's do it.
COCHRANE: Engage.
LAFORGE: Warp field is looking good. Structural integrity is holding.
RIKER: Speed, twenty thousand kilometres per second.
COCHRANE: Sweet Jesus!
(Cochrane has spotted the Enterprise in orbit)
RIKER: Relax, Doctor. I'm sure they're just here to give us a send-off. [Enterprise-E engineering] (Picard is on the Borg bio-bed)
DATA: I am bringing the external sensors on-line.
(the Phoenix appears on the viewscreen) [Phoenix cockpit] RIKER: Thirty seconds to warp threshold. ...Approaching light-speed.
COCHRANE: We're at critical velocity.

Franchise: Star Trek Series: Voyager Season: 07 Episode: 06 Title: Treachery, Faith and the Great River wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKuJoND9DTU

Star Wars wrote: This site has some pictures of the Malevolence while out of range http://www.nolettershome.info/?Season_1 ... %5BTCW1%5D The official lenght or is it height is listed at Starwars.com http://starwars.com/explore/encyclopedia/technology/malevolence/ wrote: Height: 4,845 meters long

Series: Star Wars Title: The New Essential Guide To Weapons & Technology ISBN: 978-0-345-44903-0 Page: 5 wrote: Blaster technology is relatively easy to grasp, which has allowed the weapon to spread across the galaxy. A blaster relies on two key components: a gas chamber and a power pack. The gas chamber can be filled with any of a number of energy rich gases, including Tibanna gas from Bespin. When the weapon is fired, a small amount of blaster gas moves through a conversion enabler (often called the XCiter), where energy from the power pack excites the gas. The volatile gas then moves through an actuating module, which converts it into a particle beam. This beam moves through a prismatic crystal or some focusing device before emerging from the barrel as a bolt of glowing energy. Blaster bolts can appear in many different colors, dictated by the type of gas and crystal focusing device, although red and green bolts are the most common. All blaster bolts produce a smell similar to ozone.

Series: Star Wars Title: The New Essential Guide To Weapons & Technology ISBN: 978-0-345-44903-0 Page: 19 wrote: Illegal in most parts of the New Republic, disruptors are similar in design to blasters. However, a disruptor's oversized XCiter and actuating module is capable of processing a huge volume of blaster gas when the weapon's trigger is pulled, resulting in a much more powerful energy beam than a blaster. The weapon's galven cylinders tightly focus this high-energy beam into a destructive force that can disintegrate durasteel plates.

Series: Star Wars Title: The New Essential Guide To Weapons & Technology ISBN: 978-0-345-44903-0 Page: 69 wrote: Laser cannons are similar to blasters in design. Volatile blaster gas, funneled from a supercooled and armored chamber, is combined with a power charge. The resulting energy is directed through a long barrel, where galven coils focus it into a damaging beam. Other circuitry in the barrel increases the beam's power, allowing laser cannons to inflict incredible damage

Series: Star Wars Title: The New Essential Guide To Weapons & Technology ISBN: 978-0-345-44903-0 Page: 71 wrote: Unlike a standard laser cannon, a turbolaser employs a two-stage supercharging process. The first stage creates a typical laser beam, which is then guided through a stream of energized blaster gas to dramatically increase its potency. As with other laser cannons, the turbolaser's energy field is focused by galven coils in the weapon's barrel. The two-stage design creates a blast with triple the power of standard laser cannons. The Taim & Bak XX-9 turbolasers aboard an Imperial Star Destroyer can even conduct planetary bombardments.

Post by Lucky » Tue Nov 19, 2013 2:12 am

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ST weapon accuracy and range

This article deals with demonstrated accuracy and range of various weapons used by major Star Trek civilizations like the Federation , Borg , Dominion , and Klingon Empire .

As the examples provided below demonstrate, engagement range for Star Trek vessels is extremely inconsistent. In combats shown on screen, engagements occur at ranges of a few hundred meters up to several kilometers. Dialogue, on the other hand, often describes ranges of tens of thousands of kilometers. Furthermore, ranges in 23rd century engagements (TOS) are often greater than ranges in 24th century engagements (TNG).

There is no clear explanation for the discrepancies, but there is plenty of speculation:

• Electronic countermeasures may prevent accurate targeting from extended range, forcing ships to close to ensure hits. This would be particularly likely in large fleet engagements.
• Star Trek ships often target specific systems on enemy vessels, especially in the 24th century. Such precision targeting might require closing the distance, especially where ECM is in use.
• 1.1 TOS "The Changeling"
• 1.2 TOS "Journey to Babel"
• 1.3 TOS "The Deadly Years"
• 1.4 TNG "Q Who"
• 1.5 TNG "Conundrum"
• 1.6 TNG "Yesterday's Enterprise"
• 1.7 TNG "The Wounded"
• 1.8 TNG "The Arsenal of Freedom"
• 1.9 TNG "A Matter of Honor"
• 1.10 DS9 "The Search, Pt. I"
• 1.11 DS9 "The Die is Cast"
• 1.12 DS9 "Call to Arms"
• 1.13 VOY "Basics, Part I"
• 1.14 VOY "Non Sequitur"
• 1.15 VOY "Equinox"

TOS "The Changeling"

The Enterprise , under attack from the one-meter-tall probe Nomad , returns fire with photon torpedoes. While the precise range is uncertain (the ship was using evasive maneuvers), the last stated range was 90,000 kilometers. A direct hit was reported, although it had no effect. Of course, the same episode says that Nomad hit the Enterprise with the equivalent of 90 photon torpedoes in one shot, and all it did was reduce their shields by 20%; so according to this episode, it would take 450 photon torpedoes to inflict serious damage on a Constitution -class starship.

TOS "Journey to Babel"

Under attack by an Orion vessel, the Enterprise plays dead. The attacker halts it's warp strafing attack, dropping to sublight and closing on the Enterprise . At a stated range of 75,000 kilometers, Kirk orders the helmsman to fire phasers, scoring a direct hit.

TOS "The Deadly Years"

Having taken command of the Enterprise , Commodore Stocker attempts to reach a starbase by taking the ship on a shortcut through the Romulan Neutral Zone to get urgent medical care to the rapidly aging Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scott. The ship is consequently attacked by several Romulan Birds of Prey . When Kirk resumes command, Sulu informs him that the range of the Romulan vessels is "fifty to one-hundred thousand kilometers".

TNG "Q Who"

When the Enterprise is attacked by a Borg Cube , Picard orders Worf to target the source of the tractor beam and fire. Shockingly, it takes Worf four tries to hit the beam emitter from point-blank range; the first three shots aren't even close! The range appears to be a kilometer or less.

TNG "Conundrum"

Riker says they are still 55 seconds from "optimal firing range" of the Lysian Central Command, even though they appear to be practically on top of a stationary target that is both very large and very poorly defended (by Federation standards). Although the crew up to that point had been deceived by a Satarran agent into thinking of the Lysians as dangerous opponents, their sensors clearly showed the inferior quality of the Lysian defenses.

At any rate, "optimal firing range" is not necessarily the full range capability of the ship.

TNG "Yesterday's Enterprise"

Three un-cloaked Klingon Birds of Prey close to within a few kilometers before firing on the Enterprise . Likewise, the Enterprise , knowing they will be attacked by the Klingons, doesn't fire until the enemy is at close range (there is no political reason to delay firing, since the Federation is in a state of war with the Klingons in this alternate-timeline episode). The dialogue describes ranges of hundreds of kilometers, but as usual, the visual effects are not consistent with the words.

TNG "The Wounded"

This episode is often cited as evidence for long-range combat by major ST civilizations:

As Data is speaking, the viewscreen shows a two-dimensional display of the battle. If this display is oriented to provide the most useful view of the battle (placing all three of the vessels being tracked in the same plane), then it shows the relative weapon ranges of the ships and the distance between the them. The display casts doubt on Data's description of the battle, since the viewscreen shows that the Phoenix is still well within weapons range of the Cardassian ship, which actually has greater range than the Phoenix if the display is accurate.

It should also be noted that the ships involved in the battle are travelling at warp speeds , so a gap of 300,000 km could easily drop to zero in less than a second. It may also be worth noting that the Phoenix engaged with torpedoes , and the Cardassian ship was pursuing the Phoenix : the Phoenix would therefore have been running away from any torpedoes fired by the Cardassian ship, while the Cardassian ship was running toward the torpedoes fired by the Phoenix , possibly explaining the "out of range" statement (assuming torpedoes have greater range than phasers).

The battle between the Enterprise and the Cardassian warship, Trager , earlier in the episode, further disproves any optimistic interpretation of Data's range description. As the screenshot to the left shows, the ships engage at a range of several hundred meters. Presumably, the Cardassians closed to optimum range to maximize the effect of catching the Federation starship off-guard. Even so, the Trager's ambush caused only minor damage.

TNG "The Arsenal of Freedom"

Left in command of the Enterprise , Geordi takes the drive section of the ship into the atmosphere of the planet Minos to lure a cloaked alien drone into following them. The drone pursues them into the atmosphere, where they are able to detect its wake and target it. If the drone were capable of attacking from a range of thousands of kilometers, it would not have needed to follow the Enterprise into the planet's atmosphere. Geordi's tactic is presumably based on the assumption that the Minosian drone's targeting limitations are similar to their own.

Earlier in the episode, a shot from the drone hits the Enterprise , and the source appears to be in shot but not visible. It's not clear whether the drone is too far away to be visible or simply not visible to the naked eye because of its alien cloaking technology ; while it shows up briefly on sensors when attacking (too briefly to be successfully targeted by Federation weapons), the drone is never actually seen until it enters the planet's atmosphere.

TNG "A Matter of Honor"

A Klingon Bird of Prey is preparing to attack the Enterprise-D . Riker, serving aboard as an exchange officer, advises to the Klingon captain to close to within 40,000 km before firing.

The dialogue suggests that the ships could have engaged from a range of more than 40,000 km.

DS9 "The Search, Pt. I"

The Defiant is travelling at warp and under cloak within Dominion space. Long-range sensors detect two Jem'Hadar warships cruising at warp five on a course that will bring them within 100,000 kilometers. Kira says that's well within their weapon range.

DS9 "The Die is Cast"

Commander Sisko orders Dax to bring the Defiant to within 500 meters of a group of Jem'Hadar fighters before firing on them. The advantage he sought by closing to such short range isn't clear. The Jem'Hadar attack ships opened fire from a reported 50 kilometers range, a brief glimpse of the Defiant's viewscreen supports this.

DS9 "Call to Arms"

In this episode, a Dominion fleet attacks Deep Space 9. Even when engaging a completely immobile target, the Dominion ships close to within several kilometers before opening fire.

The screenshot on the right shows the Dominion/ Cardassian fleet approaching Deep Space 9 to the point of it taking up a significant fraction of the field of view. Yet in the following scene, Damar reports that they will not be in weapons range for another minute [1] .

After the battle is joined, the attacking fleet continues to fight at extremely close ranges; however, even ranges of several hundred meters appear to be too great for Deep Space 9 targeting sensors to achieve a reasonable accuracy. On the left we can see a Cardassian Hideki-class attack ship flying straight towards Deep Space 9's central assembly. The Hideki doesn't change course or attempt to evade incoming fire, yet Deep Space 9 only scores two grazing shots on it, thus failing to stop the craft.

Further evidence of limited accuracy comes from the end of the episode. As the Defiant and a Bird of Prey flee DS9, the Dominion fleet opens fire, and we see 11 shots fired without a single one hitting the fleeing ships. The shots can be seen at right, and -- as is immediately apparent -- the ships are flying in a tight formation without making any attempts to evade enemy fire. As before, the range is on the order of several hundred meters or several kilometers at most.

VOY "Basics, Part I"

Voyager comes under attack from several Kazon Predator -class ships, with ranges stated in thousands of kilometers. The Kazon begin firing torpedoes from more than 10,000 kilometers. Janeway refuses to return fire until closer than 2000 kilometers.

Relevant dialog:

It is clear that Voyager could at the very least have fired photon torpedoes at any time, but Janeway clearly wants to conserve them. It is also apparent that the Kazon could not accurately target the Voyager at warp speed, as they were "randomly" detonating torpedoes ahead of the ship. Indeed, even at sublight speeds, Paris saw no reason to begin evasive maneuvers until closer than 2000km.

As usual for Star Trek, the visual effects shots are inconsistent with the dialogue, showing engagement ranges of a few thousand meters , at most.

VOY "Non Sequitur"

Ensign Harry Kim is thrust into an alternate timeline where he never served on Voyager . In order to get back to his proper timeline, he convinces the alternate timeline Paris to help him steal a runabout and return to the temporal phenomena that brought him from his timeline to this one. Consequently they are pursued and fired on from several thousand kilometers by a Nebula-class starship.

The relevant dialog:

Remarkably, in a cut scene between when Paris calls out the range and when Kim calls out shield damage, the visuals show the Yellowstone being hit by the Nebula's phaser beam which appears from far behind it, then the runabout passes out of view and the Nebula immediately appears as a small point, grows larger as it nears the camera, and then passes offscreen as the runabout did.

VOY "Equinox"

Voyager reportedly attacks the Equinox with phasers from 30,000 km away. Upon closer inspection of the episode, however, we find that no evidence of such range exists. On the contrary, the episode implies far shorter maximum ranges of Federation ships.

Since Janeway only instructed the crew to start targeting Equinox's power core at 30,000km, and since there is a scene cut between the order and the first known hit, there is no way to determine how far away Voyager actually was when it started firing upon Equinox.

Further events in the episode suggest much lower ranges:

If Voyager were capable of scoring hits from anywhere near 30,000km, there would be no need to follow the Equinox into the atmosphere and risk damage due to atmospheric friction.

• ↑ Star Trek Minutiae
• ↑ Chrissie's Transcripts Site
• ST Starship Offense

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