Weapons in Star Trek
The Star Trek fictional universe contains a variety of weapons, ranging from missiles (the classic photon torpedo) to melee (primarily used by the Klingons, a race of aliens in the Star Trek universe). The Star Trek franchise consists mainly of several multi-season television shows and a dozen movies, as well as various video games and inspired merchandise. Many aspects of the Star Trek universe impact modern popular culture, especially its fictitious terminology and the concept of weaponry on spacecraft. The franchise has had a widespread influence on its audiences from the late 20th to early 21st century.[1] Notably, Star Trek's science fiction concepts have been studied by real scientists; NASA described it in relation to the real world as "entertaining combination of real science, imaginary science gathered from lots of earlier stories, and stuff the writers make up week-by-week to give each new episode novelty."[2] For example, NASA noted that the Star Trek "phasers" were a fictional extrapolation of real-life lasers, and compared them to real-life microwave based weapons that have a stunning effect.[2]
"Photon torpedo" redirects here. For proton torpedo, see list of Star Wars weapons.Projectile weapons[edit]
Spatial torpedo[edit]
Also referred to as conventional torpedoes, spatial torpedoes are 22nd century weapons used by Enterprise. Spatial torpedoes are the ship's most powerful and primary ship-to-ship weapon before the installation of phase cannons.[19] Spatial torpedoes are themselves superseded by more powerful photonic torpedoes.[24] Unlike photonic torpedoes or any of the warhead's successors, spatial torpedoes are launched at sub-light velocity and can be used much in the manner of a missile, having the warhead on a fly-by-wire.[25]
Biological, radioactive, and chemical weapons[edit]
Thalaron radiation[edit]
Thalaron radiation was first used in the feature film Star Trek: Nemesis by the villain Shinzon to assassinate the entire Romulan senate. Later in the movie, Shinzon attempts to kill the crew of the USS Enterprise-E using a ship-mounted version. Thalaron radiation, even in small amounts, petrifies living tissue almost instantly. Its properties also allow its range and area of effect to be precisely controlled, from encompassing a single room to engulfing an entire planet. Its massive destructive potential leads the Federation to consider it a biogenic weapon, and an extremely illegal one at that.[32] It later features prominently in the plot of "Homecoming", the Star Trek: New Frontier short story in the 2008 Mirror Universe anthology Shards and Shadows, in which the rebels manage to steal a Romulan thalaron bomb intended for use by the Alliance, to strike a balance of power against them.[33]
Metreon cascade[edit]
The metreon cascade was designed by Dr. Ma'Bor Jetrel of the Haakonian Order. Unstable metreon isotopes were used to create a devastating explosion, with radiation effects similar to those of the 20th-century atomic bomb. Those not killed or vaporized in the initial blast suffered terrible radiation poisoning and death in the aftermath. It was used only once, on the Talaxian moon Rinax in 2355.[34]
Trilithium resin[edit]
Trilithium resin is a byproduct of a starship's warp engines that is lethal to humans, but harmless to Cardassians. A team of terrorists attempted to steal Trilithium resin from the warp core of the Enterprise-D when it was docked at Arkaria Station to receive a baryon sweep.[35]
Captain Benjamin Sisko would later use a Trilithium resin torpedo to render a Maquis planet uninhabitable to all human life for fifty years by detonating it in the atmosphere.[36]
Other weapons[edit]
Magnetometric guided charges[edit]
Around Stardate 43995, the Borg used this weapon to drive the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D, from the Paulson Nebula. This shortly leads to the abduction of Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
Multikinetic neutronic mines[edit]
During Season 4, Episode 1 of Star Trek: Voyager, Captain Janeway consults with Borg representative Seven of Nine on how to destroy Species 8472. Janeway calls Seven of Nine's "multikinetic neutronic mine" a "weapon of mass destruction," following up on a statement from Tuvok that it would affect an entire starsystem, destroying innocent worlds. The mine's five-million isoton yield can disperse Borg nanoprobes across a five-light year range.
Dreadnought[edit]
Dreadnought was a Cardassian self-guided missile, containing one thousand kilograms of matter, and another thousand of antimatter. Tuvok describes this as enough to destroy a small moon. Although described as a self-guided missile, in practice Dreadnought functions much like an autonomous starship, and it even had life support capability on board. It possesses shields, phasers, a complement of quantum torpedoes, a Thoron shock emitter, a plasma wave weapon, engines capable of reaching at least Warp 9, and a sophisticated computer AI. It appears in the Voyager episode of the same name. It had been captured by the Maquis due to a failed detonator and reprogrammed to attack its original creator. It was dragged into the Delta Quadrant in much the same manner as Voyager, and when unable to resolve the unforeseen situation it locked on to a planet that was similar to the one it was programmed to target, but which was inhabited by innocents. Dreadnought was equipped with an exceptionally sophisticated artificial intelligence, capable of "paranoia" to a certain degree, as when reprogrammer B'Elanna Torres attempted to prevent it from destroying the innocent planet, it came to the conclusion that she had been captured by her Cardassian enemies and forced to make up a story to prevent the attack; it then pretended to follow her commands and shut down, only to re-activate and continue its mission once she was no longer aboard.
Series 5 long range tactical armor unit[edit]
Similar in purpose to the Cardassian Dreadnought, the Tactical Armor Units are self-guided missiles with sophisticated artificial intelligence. They are much smaller than Dreadnought, being only a few feet in length, and while nowhere near as powerful, they are nonetheless classified as weapons of mass destruction, capable of destroying everything in a 200-kilometer radius with a highly focused antimatter explosion. Their coordination and control is done through a "Strategic Command Matrix", analogous to a nuclear control network of the type used by the United States. Each one possesses shielding, warp drive of indeterminate speed, and a sentient, genius-level artificial intelligence programmed to do whatever is necessary to reach their targets and detonate. They can detect and prevent tampering, are intelligent enough to find a way past almost any obstacle, and can win engagements even when outnumbered. They were created by a Delta Quadrant race called the Druoda, and the devices were greatly feared for their endurance and tenacity.[45]
Q firearms[edit]
Q firearms were used in the Q Civil War by the Voyager crew to compensate against the infinite power of the Q in "The Q and the Grey". They are depicted as muzzle-loading muskets, to fit with the American Civil War-theme used by the Q Continuum as a concession to the human characters' limited perceptions. Presumably, their actual form would be as incomprehensible to non-Q as the Continuum itself. The use of the weapons caused stars to go supernova as a side effect in normal reality. They are arguably the most powerful weapons ever wielded by any humanoid species, as indicated by their ability to injure the otherwise-invulnerable Q.
Red matter[edit]
In the 2009 Star Trek reboot, red matter was developed on Vulcan before 2387. When even a droplet is ignited an unstable singularity is formed; accordingly, it must be stored in a protective chamber. The red matter was originally to be used to save the Romulan homeworld from a volatile supernova, but the design was finished too late to prevent Romulus' destruction. Upon capture in the "past" (2258) by the Romulan Nero, it was used as a planet-destroying doomsday weapon in conjunction with a plasma drill which bored a hole almost to the core of a planet. A small amount of red matter was then activated at the bottom of the drilling site, creating a black hole in the heart of the planet that would tear it apart from within. Red matter was thus used to destroy an alternate Vulcan ("alternate" due to temporal disruption, from Nero's haphazard method of time travel), then ultimately destroyed Nero's ship, the Narada, along with all remaining technology from his ship, and all of the remaining red matter.
Psionic resonator[edit]
A psionic resonator was a weapon that functioned by amplifying telepathic energy and focusing it into kinetic form. In 2369 one type of Vulcan psionic resonator, known as the Stone of Gol was discovered to still exist, though in pieces, long after it was thought destroyed. The mercenary Arctus Baran was hired to locate the pieces and deliver them to the Vulcan Isolationist Movement.[46]