Phase cannon

A phase cannon is a phase-modulated energy weapon, a type of weapon which served as a successor to plasma cannons, and as a precursor to the phaser of the 23rd and 24th centuries.

The prototypes of ship-mounted phase cannons were first introduced by the Starfleet in the mid-22nd century.
They were designed as the primary defense of NX class starships and serving as a supplement for the lacking torpedoes of the time.
The first NX class vessel to test and actively use phase cannons in battle was the NX-01 Enterprise.

Specifications

Designed as a starship-based version of the hand-held phase pistol, the phase cannon was rated for a maximum power output of 500 gigajoules. The cannons of NX class starships were mounted on retractable turrets, which extended from the ship's hull when deployed, and rotated as they were being targeted. Like phase pistols, phase cannons emitted a concentrated beam of energy that could be set at different yields.

The phase cannon assembly was equipped with multiphasic emitters, and had a maximum yield of 80 gigajoules.

• Aboard an NX class vessel, the assembly was located on F Deck and could be accessed through a hatch within the armory.
• When initially installed on the first NX-class vessel in 2151, the phase cannons were located on the ventral side of the ship.

• By 2152, the first vessel of this class, the NX-01 Enterprise, was outfitted to hold at least four cannons on the dorsal saucer section.

Phase cannons were generally more powerful than spatial torpedoes, and were therefore more effective in a firefight. Initially, a ship's phase cannons could not be fired while the vessel was at warp, as doing so would cause the weapon's particle discharge to destabilize the ship's warp field. (This would result in serious damage to both of the ship's warp nacelles, and could possibly even destroy them.) By 2152, Enterprise armory officer Malcolm Reed had corrected this problem, as the ship was able to fire its aft phase cannon at warp while it was pursued by a Suliban fleet.

Phase cannons took some time to charge when manually activated. This issue was resolved with the implementation of Reed's tactical alert, which brought the weapons automatically on line after the alert was given.

Despite their power, phase cannons were sometimes unable to penetrate the defenses of other alien vessels. Not only did they prove relatively powerless against the shields of the first vessel they were used against, but it would have also taken a sustained beam to punch through the hull of a battle cruiser. That was assuming, of course, that the battle cruiser remained still long enough, which was unlikely. Likewise, the cannons could be easily taken out with a single photon torpedo shot from a Klingon Bird-of-Prey. Because of this, Klingons regarded the cannons, which they identified as "low-yield particle cannons", to be of little threat.