Arrayed for Success: The Evolution of Tactical Systems

Arrayed for Success: The Evolution of Tactical Systems by Pope Torak

A starship's mission payload will commonly included a wide variety of devices classified as tactical systems. Ranging from graviton based deflector shields to particle beam weaponry, these systems often have applications outside of combat. Starfleet energy weapons have often been used in secondary functions as scientific instruments, while projectile launchers have a wide set of applications in deploying automated sensor platforms. Consequently, Starfleet designers are encouraged to provide a minimal level of tactical capability to all starships.

At its foundation Starfleet had an eclectic mix of particle and EM based weaponry at its disposal. These ranged from UESF's phased plasma weapons ("Phase Weapons"), Centauran high-energy microwave lasers, Vulcan and Andorian teytron based particle cannons, and Tellarite verteron based heavy particle cannon. Eventually a hybrid weapon was developed on New Montana's Sloane High Energy Physics Institute that combined high-intensity EM pulses with energy phasing techniques from particle cannons. Although it behaved substantially differently from traditional laser weaponry, Starfleet adopted the nomenclature of lasers to this technology and utilized it as its primary shipboard armament until the 2240s.

Energetic particles named nadions were discovered in the 2220s. Experiments conducted at the Supraluminal Linear Collider in the 2230s confirmed that phased nadion particles created an efficient energy transfer effect. Weapons applications of this "rapid nadion effect" were rapidly developed in the 2240s. The resultant phaser has remained the baseline Federation weapon technology despite substantial advancements in the intervening century and a half.

Phasers come in three principle types when utilized aboard starships. The most basic design involves a self-contained emplacement consisting of a high-capacity sarium krellide power cell, target acquisition sensors, and omni-directional phaser emitter assembly. These emplacements are then connected to the ship's primary EPS conduits that are used to feed the power cell. These emplacements are capable of firing variable intensity beams using energy stored in their power cells. Typical starship mountings involve paired emitters sharing an enlarged power cell, cooling equipment, and enhanced targeting sensors.

Modern starships utilize a substantially improved phaser design simply referred to as "arrays". Arrays consist of large connected segments of multiple phaser emitter assemblies linked to provide wide angles of fire. A single array can range from between a few score to several hundred emitter segments. Each emitter segment consists of an energy-storage prefire chamber and a discharge emitter facet. EPS conduits feed the entirety of the array, allowing all of the prefire chambers in a given array to convert plasma to rapid nadions. These prefer chambers then use an annular confinement beam to condense the nadions into a single beam released through a limited number of emitter facets. The resultant is a beam with greater destructive potential and shield penetration characteristics.

In theory longer phaser arrays feature greater power, but array segments also present a vulnerability. Compared to standard duranium/tritanium hull or even transparent duranium windows, the LiCu 518 emitter facets lack structural strength. Further, due to the effects of subspace forcefield effects on beam coherence, emitter arrays do not feature SIF-emitter integration like other parts of the hull. Finally, a phaser array can present a tempting target for threat forces, as the array's contour also corresponds to a ship's major EPS conduit network.

Despite the advantages of larger arrays, a phaser array that covers too much of a starship's surface area represents a significant vulnerability for the ship in question. Unless a starship's structural frame is specifically designed for a large emitter array, most phaser arrays consist of sub-hull segments consisting only of prefire chambers that are channeled into emitter facets with limited exposure on the outer hull. On older starship designs like Miranda or Excelsior most of these exposed emitter elements are placed in locations that once housed phaser emplacements, giving the illusion of starships continuing to use old-style ball emitters.

Greater array surface area remains a powerful advantage for modern starships. Having a greater number of emitter facets allows more flexible fire angles, faster rate of fire, and substantially improved thermal dissipation. While the total number of prefire chambers are roughly equal between a mid-2360s Excelsior (Repulse configuration, 2358) and Intrepid, the substantially greater surface area of an Intrepid main phaser arrays allows for roughly twice the fire rate and three times the thermal endurance. This reality has increased calls to either retire hull designs not optimized for surface array segments or to find practical solutions to refit more surface segments to existing designs.

The final standard variation of phasers are pulse phaser cannons, first deployed on the Defiant-class starship. Pulse phasers require larger prefire chambers than standard starship phasers plus an additional rotary drum consisting of six high density sarium krellide power cells. The combined output allows a single relatively compact 35m long phaser cannon to match the destructive yield of a full power Excelsior-class primary phaser array. Flawless microgravity grown emitter crystals and beam focusing coils layer this energy into a multi-layered pulse. The resultant bolt provides substantially greater shield penetration characteristics than even narrow-band beam blasts.

The system's complexity and fixed emitter requirement makes it a narrow arc weapon. As a result current anti-starship models of pulse phasers are limited in application to a handful of ship designs with optimized hull geometry such as Defiant, Achilles and Vesta-class starships. Substantially smaller models are used as point defense weapons aboard larger starships or tactical fighters, taking advantage of their shield penetration characteristics to shoot down shielded torpedo weapons.

Additional types of nadion-based weaponry are theoretically available for Starfleet use. These include compressed nadion beam cannon (colloiquially known as "phaser lances"), nadion pulse cannon, and photon cannon. All of these technologies remain far too cumbersome for starship use, and only a handful are used for defense of fixed installations and planetary facilities.

Projectile weapon launchers provide substantial flexibility to Starfleet ships. Variable yield warhead packages and precise control software allow torpedo weaponry to be used in everything from combat to seismic engineering projects. A typical starship's torpedo stocks contain at least half a dozen warhead configurations along with various automated scientific probes.

Starfleet torpedo launchers are based on a combination of subspace field coils and a compressed gas acceleration system. Although modern superconductors allow for extremely efficient linear acceleration utilizing magnetic fields, the fact that most antimatter based weaponry utilizes magnetic containment for their payloads precludes their use for torpedo launching. The sacrifice in comparative efficiency and the greater mass of subspace field coils is considered an acceptable trade-off when weighed against the destructive power and flexibility of antimatter munitions.

Torpedo launchers range in size from short-barrel external mount torpedo launchers in Danube-class runabouts to the 12-torpedo capacity Mk.95 burst fire launchers found on Sovereign-class starships. Casing width is standardized across the range of Starfleet torpedo types at 76cm. Other dimensions can be altered to change a torpedo's payload and guidance characteristics, ranging from the standard 25 isoton Mk.IX Photon Torpedo of 210cm x 45cm to the 100 isoton Mk.VI Heavy Torpedo at 350cm x 70cm.

The term "torpedo" has come to be used for warp capable guided smart munitions utilizing sustainer engines. In Starfleet nomenclature a "Missile" refers to a self-accelerating guided warhead equipped with a more robust propulsion system. Missiles tend to be used on craft too small even for microtorpedo launchers, often carried on external hardpoints. "Rocket" is used to describe any warhead that does not have active guidance systems, while anything that does not fit the three previous descriptions is called a "device".

All current Starfleet projectile weapons are equipped with a graviton based penetration shield. These shields are responsible for the characteristic "glow" of a standard torpedo weapon and allow projectiles to survive glancing hits from energy weapon based defenses. Further, these shields serve as a penetrator against deflector shield systems and increase the possibility that a torpedo will detonate inside a threat vessel's shield perimeter.

Found primarily on runabouts, tactical fighters, and point defense systems for fixed installations, microtorpedo launchers are more akin to rapid fire shell guns than anti-shipping torpedoes. Firing quantum, kinetic, or antimatter warheads contained in a 13cm x 3cm x 3cm casing, these weapons are capable of rapid-fire, semi-guided attacks on larger targets. Despite their dimunitive size and limited ammunition capacity, these weapons can provide a sub-1000m³ vessel with hitting power similar to large, high-energy beam weapons at a fraction of the size.

Phaser Types:

Type I - Concealed Handheld Weapon. Full energy discharge regarded as baseline output of all phasers. Discharge Rating: 1

Type II - Handheld Sidearm Weapon. Discharge Rating: 20.5

Type III - Two-handed Rifle Weapon. Available as beam, compression, and multi-configuration models. Discharge Rating: 30.75

Type IV - Fire Support/Light Anti-Vehicle Weapon. Discharge Rating: 120

Type V - Standard Anti-Vehicle Weapon. Discharge Rating: 350

Type VI - Heavy Anti-Vehicle/Starship Point-Defense Weapon. Discharge Rating: 700

Type VII - Light Anti-Starship Weapon. Discharge Rating: 2,000

Type VIII - Standard Anti-Starship Weapon. 4,500

Type IX - Heavy Anti-Starship Weapon. 7,500

Type X - Enhanced Range Anti-Starship Weapon. Discharge Rating: 10,000

Type XI - Planetary Defense Weapon. Discharge Rating: 15,000

Type XII - Heavy Planetary Defense Weapon. Discharge Rating: 20,000

Projectile Weapon Classifications:

Class I - Handheld support weapon. e.g. Photon Grenade

Class II - Anti-vehicle/fire support weapon. e.g. Photon Mortar

Class III - Light Anti-Starship Weapon. e.g. Microtorpedo

Class IV - Standard Anti-Starship Weapon. e.g. Mk.IX Photon Torpedo, Mk-IQ Quantum Torpedo.

Class V - Heavy Anti-Starship Weapon. e.g. Mk. VI High-yield Photon Torpedo, Mk-IIQ Quantum Torpedo.

Class VI - Heavy Planetary Defense Weapon. e.g. Sol Perimeter Defense Drone Warheads, Tricobalt Device.

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