Photon torpedo | |
---|---|
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Production information | |
Manufacturer |
Various |
Designer |
Multiple |
Model |
Torpedo |
Type |
Weapon |
Cost |
N/A |
Technical specifications | |
Discharge |
Gamma ray photons |
Size |
Varies |
Weight |
Varies |
Power source |
N/A |
Range |
3 million kilometers (average) |
Usage | |
Affiliation |
Federation |

A Photon torpedo is the prime ship-mounted projectile weapon of choice for Starfleet and many other space-faring civilizations.
History[]
Technical data[]
In terms of appearance, it is a black oblong elliptical unit approximately 2.1 meters long and uses the same base casing as a class-8 probe with added glowing blue lines when activated. On the outer casing it also the Starfleet logo and at the rear is two micro-fusion thruster units.
Generally, the propulsion system of the torpedoes was a warp 'sustainer' engine which grabbed onto and held a subspace field from the vessel's active warp drive field through its sequential field induction coils. When launched in warp flight, a torpedo would continue to travel at warp; when launched at sublight through magnetic acceleration, a torpedo would travel at a high sublight speed, but would not cross the warp threshold.
It had a dry mass of only 186.7 kilograms. The reactant capacity was increased five percent over the previous design in 2401, leading to a slightly higher yield of 18.5 isotons in comparison to the prior 17.575 isotons. The reactants were in a cryogenic slush state and effective tactical range was 3 million kilometers.
As a safety measure, the matter and antimatter were kept initially completely separated in the warhead. Only after the launch were they mixed during flight in the combiner tank, while still separated from each other in magnetic packets. This mixing took a minimum of 1.02 seconds. This would explain why photon torpedoes were usually launched at very slow velocities when their targets were in relatively close range, as the travel time needed to be over one second for the warhead to be ready to detonate.
Federation photon torpedoes had a subspace detonator. It could be activated remotely to abort a torpedo that had been launched. The detonator destroyed the torpedo before impact.
Upon detonation, the photon torpedo would deliver a explosive payload of highly focused gamma ray photons and release a flood of ions in a blast radius of at least two hundred kilometers. Newer photon torpedoes have a yield of 18.5 isotons in comparison to the prior 17.575 isotons of the last generation. Photon torpedoes use 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb) of matter and the same amount of antimatter. Assuming a 100% mass-to-energy conversion ratio, reacting 1.5 kg of matter with 1.5 kg of antimatter would release the equivalent of 64.442 megatons of TNT, similar in scale (albeit more powerful) to the Tsar Bomba.
It is fitted with self-sustaining guidance systems and independent sensor nets capable of detecting both its position and when its systems were being tampered with: in such scenarios it would initiate a complete lockout and any further attempts would engage auto-destruct.