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 See the
Orders of Magnitude article for useful details on power outputs and
energy consumption levels of various weapons systems.
 Hand
Weapons:
There are several key similarities and differences between hand weapons
used by Star Trek and Star Wars factions. All Star Wars weapons and
some Star Trek weapons share in common the feature of firing distinct
bolts; however, some Star Trek weapons may also fire continuous beams
(or autofired bolts frequent enough to seem a continuous beam).
The primary difference lies in the power of the weaponry at high
settings. Blasters have a per-shot yield that ranges from around the
potency of a pistol to ~100 kilojoules, with peak firing rates similar
to modern-day automatic weapons; meanwhile, the Cardassian phase
disruptor rifle's 4.7 megajoule discharge represents the destructive
power of a squad of stormtroopers firing several times. Even
considering the relatively short time in which a blaster bolt impacts,
the instantaneous power a blaster bolt delivers is at least an order of
magnitude lower than the peak power draw of an equivalent Star Trek
weapon.
The megajoule-range standard single bolt of a Trek rifle is roughly
equivalent to the shots fired by a light assault vehicle (AT-ST), while
a typical 1-2 frame long continuous burst, capable of mostly vaporizing
a humanoid or creating a noticable explosive blast rivals the standard
shots of a heavy vehicle or even light fighter.
Federation phaser rifles, although slightly less powerful, have an
incredible array of settings, allowing them to double as entrenching
tools, emergency heaters, and demolition devices. This requires
substantially more training to use than a standard Imperial blaster
carbine or Cardassian phase disruptor rifle.
Even a 22nd century Klingon disruptor appears quite destructive,
although the plasma and phase rifles seen in ENT do not seem to have
the sheer destructive power associated with later weapons. Earth
weapons of the 22nd century have yet to make the revolutionary leap to
phaser weapons made in the 10 years prior to TOS; Klingon weapons
appear to have already made this leap.
Large
Energy Weapons:
As with hand weapons, Trek and Wars large energy weapons tend to be
differentiated by being seen as beams and bolts, respectively, although
this distinction is not as clear as with hand weapons.
23rd and 24th century capital grade Trek phasers regularly output
gigaton-range blasts, giving them similar energy yields to the
theoretical throw weight of an entire broadside by an Imperial Star
Destroyer. Although this seems to be an expression of parity, ISDs do
not appear to fire broadsides quite as continuously as Star Trek
vessels fire their phasers. Indeed, ISDs do not appear to fire
broadsides at all, limiting themselves to perhaps one large bolt every
5-10 seconds. This gives a notable firepower advantage to Trek ships,
from the Constitution class forward.
22nd century Earth ships appear notably different. The NX class mounts
three phase cannons, and its overall output through these weapons is
low in terms of raw energy. It is difficult to determine an exact
standing, but it can be considered certain that ISDs have stronger
energy weapons, and mount far more of them. It is difficult to be
precise, but it seems likely that the NX class's phase cannon firepower
is comparable to the turbolaser firepower of a noticably smaller
corvette.
Star Wars weapons also appear slower.
As discussed at some length in the TESB and Notes sections, the bolt
speed typically seen in the Wars movies is entirely too slow for
weapons seen used against surface targets from orbit, and orbital
targets from the surface. Even the flight time from surface to orbit,
however, suggests that Trek has far faster beam weapons, while the fine
accuracy of beam weapons demonstrated so clearly in TOS has no
demonstrable analogue in real-life or Star Wars.
Both TOS phasers and Star Wars turbolaser bolts have been seen to
explode spontaneously at fixed distances as flak, although this feature
has not been seen in any other category of Star Trek.
One notable beam weapon in Star Wars behaves very Trekishly; the Death
Star shoots a continuous beam that propagates at a significant fraction
of c for a range not
dissimilar to TOS weapons. It is echoed in this behavior by several
prequel-era weapons.
Grenades
and Explosives:
Those looking for remarkable visual and conceptual
similarities between Wars and Trek need look no farther. The blue "boomas" of TPM look exactly
like the photon grenades of TOS, while the thermal detonator of ROTJ
seems to be a similarly destructive item.
Both Trek and Wars use shaped charges, satchel charges, and grenades in
a similar fashion. Grenades, in both cases, see noticably little use in
combat.
Missiles:
There is a clear departure of military design philosophies
between Star Trek and Star Wars, and with regard to weapons, this is
most clearly visible in terms of the use of missiles. In Star Wars,
missiles are used primarily by fighters, most often for attacking
larger ships, in a similar fashion to the microtorpedos of DS9. The
short blasts have brief power levels likely exceeding those of the
heaviest turbolasers in use, but seem to have overall yields that would
be lucky to compare well with the guns ISDs use regularly, let alone
the rarely used heaviest weapons. Their primary use seems to be in the
exploitation of weaknesses in shielding that fail to defend against
missiles, or possibly in overwhelming shields with a brief but intense
bursts.
Missile weapons larger and more powerful than than fighter-grade proton
torpedos are seen occasionally in Star Wars, although rarely used. They
nonetheless do not compare in range and power with the missile weapons
used extensively in all eras of Star Trek. Photonic torpedos are
weapons easily comparable with the heaviest of turbolasers, although
potentially somewhat weaker; photon torpedos may even provide over half
the overall firepower of a Federation vessel. Quantum and transphasic
torpedos are apparently superior to these in power, although not in
subtlety; they may have a higher minimum yield.
Other missiles are unusual, ranging from the high-energy plasma
torpedos of the Romulans to trilithium sun-destroying missiles to long
range strategic warp capable missiles, representing a range and order
of magnitude of power not seen in conventional Star Wars weapons.
Robot
Soldiers:
Coming Soon.
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