Sector 001 Starfleet Database
Weapons/Plasma Torpedos
| The Plasma Torpedo is a weapon which was
first employed by the Romulan Bird of Prey in 2266 against a string of
Federation outposts along the Romulan Neutral Zone. The plasma torpedo
consisted of a small but powerful force field generator which fired
from a standard torpedo tube. The generator would then establish a
small but very powerful force field around itself and a much larger
concentric field with a radius of about one hundred metres. The parent
vessel established a field bridge through this outer layer and vented
its plasma conduit system into the empty shell between the two fields.
The breach was then sealed, and the vessel would break away and let
the torpedo continue on its way. A high power sensor on the central
body was capable of locking onto the target, and by venting part of
the plasma in a specific direction some degree of control could be
established over the course of the plasma torpedo.
This was a very complex and cumbersome weapons system with many disadvantages - venting the main plasma system of the starship causes an almost total loss of power while firing, which means that the ship must both decloak and drop to sublight speeds while firing. The guidance system is extremely limited by the difficulties inherent in operating any sensor system through a high energy plasma field, and any degree of manoeuvring causes a significant drop in eventual yield. Because of these difficulties the plasma torpedo has therefore not been very successful when used against mobile targets such as Starships. Fixed installations, on the other hand, are a different matter. The plasma torpedo essentially focuses the entire energy output of a starship into one colossal discharge; when used against a Federation asteroid based outpost a single plasma torpedo collapsed the shields and caused near total destruction of the installation even through several kilometres of solid rock. This level of destructiveness was not available with any other weapons system of the time. Today the plasma torpedo is still in service with the Romulan Warbird as a heavy weapon for use against fixed installations. 
This log recording from the bridge of the USS Enterprise shows an
early
Although capable of high warp speeds and extremely powerful, the plasma torpedo has limited range and does not maneuver well. Here the torpedo is beginning to dissipate.
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