Spatial torpedo 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. 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.
Photon torpedo Photon torpedoes are a standard ship-based weapon armed with an
antimatter warhead. They are present in every version of the
Star Trek series and are a standard weapon on almost every Federation ship, though in
Star Trek: Enterprise (
ENT), the titular ship uses less powerful spatial torpedoes (guided, rocket propelled missiles) until receiving the more powerful "photonic" variant. Photon torpedoes first appear on a
Starfleet ship in the original series' episode "
Arena" as part of the USS
Enterprises armament. In the
Star Trek: Enterprise episode "
The Expanse", the
Enterprise (NX-01) first receives photonic torpedoes. Smaller Starfleet craft such as shuttlecraft and runabouts can be armed with "micro-torpedoes", a scaled-down version of photon torpedoes designed for use on craft too small to accommodate the full-sized weapon. When fired, photon torpedoes usually appear as a spiky orb of energy of varying colours, such as red, orange, yellow, blue, or green, or in the case of
Star Trek: The Original Series (
TOS), red bolts. According to the original notes to
TOS and
The Making of Star Trek, photon torpedoes are energy shielded to allow armor-penetration. Several episodes seem to suggest this (
TNG: "
Suspicions"). The energy output of a photon torpedo, according to the
Star Trek Technical Manuals is a maximum theoretical yield of 25 isotons and a maximum rated yield of 18.5 isotons. According to
Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, photon torpedoes use of matter and the same amount of antimatter. In the
TOS episode, "
Balance of Terror", photon torpedoes had replaced nuclear warheads as the primary wartime weapons on Federation starships. Torpedoes are often depicted as being easy to modify to suit specific situations. Despite the stated maximum yield, torpedoes can be made far more destructive with relatively little effort. In
Star Trek: Voyager, Tuvok and Kim modify a normal photon torpedo with a gravimetric charge, a piece of
Borg technology, to increase its destructive yield to 54 isotons. Kim comments that 50 isotons would be sufficient to destroy a small planet. Janeway later instructs them to increase its yield to 80 isotons. In
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Spock and Dr. McCoy modify a photon torpedo to track the plasma emissions from a
cloaked Klingon
bird of prey as it attacks the
Enterprise-A and the
Excelsior, similar to the principal function of a
heat-seeking missile. Photon torpedo launchers aboard ships are shown to be able to fire probes, which, in-universe, are designed with this functionality in mind. In
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, a torpedo casing is used as a makeshift coffin for
burial in space and as scientific probes as in the
TNG episode "
In Theory" and in
Star Trek Generations.
Plasma torpedo Plasma torpedoes are used by the Romulans, Cardassians, and (according to
Star Fleet Battles,
Klingon Academy and
Starfleet Command) the
Gorn. The damage of a plasma torpedo spreads out over several ship systems at once, but the torpedo loses its effectiveness after only a few minutes of travel. Romulan plasma torpedoes use trilithium isotopes in their warheads.
Gravimetric torpedoes Gravimetric torpedoes are torpedoes used by the Borg. The weapon emits a complex phase variance of
gravitons to create a gravimetric distortion capable of tearing starships apart.
Quantum torpedo Quantum torpedoes first appear in the
Deep Space Nine episode "
Defiant" as a weapon aboard the . In the
DS9 episode "
Paradise Lost", the USS
Lakota was also stated to be carrying quantum torpedoes, although they were never used. Additionally, the
USS Enterprise-E is equipped with quantum torpedoes in
Star Trek: First Contact and
Star Trek: Nemesis. The Federation are the only known users of quantum torpedoes. The
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual states that quantum torpedoes derive their destructive power from
vacuum energy. Various in-universe sources describe quantum torpedoes as roughly double the destructive power of standard photon torpedoes, putting their yield somewhere in excess of 100 megatons of TNT. Four of the USS
Enterprise-E's quantum torpedoes destroyed an unshielded
Borg sphere. The launcher appears on the 1701-E in
Star Trek: Insurrection but is never fired. In
Star Trek: Nemesis, nine of the
Enterprise-E's quantum torpedoes disable the
Scimitars cloaking function. Quantum torpedoes are normally shown in a shade of blue. As of
Nemesis the following ship classes have quantum torpedoes launcher;
Defiant–,
Intrepid–,
Luna–,
Sovereign–,
Vesta– ,
Akira– and
Achilles–class. In addition to the uncrewed Cardassian spacecraft
Dreadnought, these are the only ships known to be equipped with quantum torpedoes. Though Dreadnought only has quantum torpedoes due to the maquis acquiring them illicitly, along with their other military grade weapons. B'elanna Torres installed the quantum torpedoes on Dreadnought to increase its armament from the original complement.
Polaron torpedo Polaron torpedoes, like the Dominion weapon, are capable of penetrating normal shielding with ease. They appear in various
Star Trek games. In
Starfleet Command III, it is one of the Klingon's three heavy weapon options, the others being the photon torpedo and the
ion cannon. It also appears in
Star Trek: Armada and
Star Trek: Armada II, as a researchable weapon for the Klingon Empire exclusive to the ''Vor'cha''-class cruiser which takes out one of the targeted ship's systems at random.
Transphasic torpedo Transphasic torpedoes appear only once, in the
Voyager series finale, "Endgame". They are high-yield torpedoes that are designed specifically to fight the Borg. The future Admiral Janeway brought them back in time in a Federation shuttlecraft and had them installed onboard
Voyager in 2378. They are among the most powerful weapons used in the
Star Trek universe; just one is capable of obliterating an entire Borg cube. They work by delivering destructive subspace compression pulse explosion. Upon detonation the pulse is delivered in asymmetric superposition of multiple phase states. Since the shields can block only one subcomponent of the pulse the remaining majority is delivered to the target. On the top of it every torpedo has different transphasic configuration generated randomly by a dissonant feedback effect to prevent Borg or any other enemy to predict the configuration of the phase states. Although they do not appear in the film
Nemesis, according to the non-canon
Destiny book trilogy these are kept by Starfleet as the weapon of last resort to be deployed to starships only when all else had failed against the Borg. Eventually, the situation becomes dire enough that the specifications are released to Federation and Klingon ships; the Borg eventually learn to adapt to them.
Isokinetic cannon The Isokinetic cannon was seen in only one episode of
Star Trek: Voyager, "
Retrospect". In the episode, representatives of USS
Voyager meet with a weapons trader and designer known as Kovin. The demonstration of the weapon destroys a target buoy composed of 10 m thick solid monotanium with a chromoelectric forcefield in one shot, coring it cleanly through.
TR-116 projectile rifle The TR-116 projectile rifle is a prototype weapon developed by the Federation for situations where conventional energy weapons might be rendered useless by damping fields or other countermeasures. It is introduced in the
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "
Field of Fire", where it is used in conjunction with a micro-transporter and a visual scanner headpiece to create an extremely potent sniper rifle. With the scanner, the shooter can precisely target people hundreds of meters away and through solid matter with no difficulty. Using the transporter attached to the barrel, the slug can then be transported during motion at full velocity, thus traveling through walls and materializing within point-blank range of the target.
Phased plasma torpedo Phased plasma torpedoes can phase out of normal space-time to bypass shields, then phase back in to detonate on a ship's hull, thus making shields worthless against them. They only appear in the PC game
Star Trek: Bridge Commander. Shortly after the recovery of the Pegasus device, the phasing properties used in the design are seen as a delivery system for torpedoes. Reducing the size of the phasing coils used to accomplish an intangible state proves difficult. Further, the antimatter within the warhead has a destabilizing effect on the phasing coil. A new kind of explosive material is needed, and it is found using the principles behind the first observed Romulan plasma weapons. The installation of a high-energy plasma infuser allows a torpedo casing to be filled with a warhead charged with high-energy plasma from the ship's warp nacelles. Warp plasma is highly unstable and can be easily detonated. Using a nanite-controlled trigger for reactant release allows vessels to deliver a high-energy plasma warhead payload within a Mark IV torpedo casing.
Chroniton torpedo Chroniton torpedoes are a unique form of weapon employed by the
Krenim. The weapons phase in and out of normal time, allowing them to pass through ordinary shields and directly damage a vessel's hull. Though dangerous, their reliability is not absolute, as
Seven of Nine and
Tuvok (as well as
Kes in the alternate timeline presented in "
Before and After") find an undetonated chroniton torpedo lodged in
Voyagers hull, which in turn allow the crew to adapt the shields to withstand further attacks.
Positron torpedo The Kessok are a highly intelligent race that ally themselves with the Cardassians, albeit through deceit, in the video game
Star Trek: Bridge Commander. They utilize positron torpedoes: powerful, slow-moving projectiles able to inflict nearly twice as much damage as quantum torpedoes. ==Biological, radioactive, and chemical weapons==