Starfleet Jedi: General Comparison of FTL Travel

Taking into account six Star Wars movies, five Star Trek series, and ten Star Trek movies, it becomes impossible to make any consistent comparison between speeds.

Traditional warp may be faster, slower, or roughly the same speed as hyperdrive. The only fair assumption is that the 23rd-24th century Federation, Klingon Empire, Romulan Star Empire, Cardassian Empire, Dominion, and other comparable civilizations have warships of similar mobility to Star Wars ships.

It is clear that advanced forms of warp, long-distance transport, transwarp, and slipstream drives are substantially faster than the highest speeds derivable from Star Wars. Thus, a few factions in Star Trek would enjoy a mobility advantage over the Empire.

It is also clear that low-grade civilian warp vessels typically maintain speeds well below Star Wars standards, along with typical 22nd century vessels.

The maneuverability of vessels using hyperdrive is unclear; however, the maneuverability of warp vessels seems to be extraordinary. Although it would appear to place some strain on the system, high-acceleration warp maneuvers are possible, and Star Trek ships are far more likely to make short range FTL "hops."

There are restrictions on the use of FTL drives in either franchise. In both cases, courses must be plotted carefully to avoid inadvertantly intersecting with a star or planet.

A strong enough gravitational pull may also prevent the use of either 7- In this particular case, warp drive is a couple hundred times more robust than hyperdrive. While hyperdrives require some distance from an Earthlike planet, warp drives can be engaged directly from the surface of a sun.

The minimum power requirements for the drive systems vary wildly. A hyperdrive-equipped ship needs 17-357 megawatts per kilogram to jump to lightspeed from a safe depth in a planetary gravity well; similarly, a warp-powered ship needs ~80 gigawatts per kilogram to jump to lightspeed from the surface of a sun. Also, simply applying the warp field requires a similar order of magnitude of power.

This, combined with the fact that warp drive cannot be effectively run with a fusion engine, while hyperdrive has only been seen with a fusion engine, and has likely comparable tactical speeds, mean that hyperdrive is far more energy efficient than warp drive.

	Faster-Than-Light Travel Speed Maneuverability Restrictions Energy Requirements Sensors and Communications Taking into account six Star Wars movies, five Star Trek series, and ten Star Trek movies, it becomes impossible to make any consistent comparison between speeds. Traditional warp may be faster, slower, or roughly the same speed as hyperdrive. The only fair assumption is that the 23rd-24th century Federation, Klingon Empire, Romulan Star Empire, Cardassian Empire, Dominion, and other comparable civilizations have warships of similar mobility to Star Wars ships. It is clear that advanced forms of warp, long-distance transport, transwarp, and slipstream drives are substantially faster than the highest speeds derivable from Star Wars. Thus, a few factions in Star Trek would enjoy a mobility advantage over the Empire. It is also clear that low-grade civilian warp vessels typically maintain speeds well below Star Wars standards, along with typical 22nd century vessels. The maneuverability of vessels using hyperdrive is unclear; however, the maneuverability of warp vessels seems to be extraordinary. Although it would appear to place some strain on the system, high-acceleration warp maneuvers are possible, and Star Trek ships are far more likely to make short range FTL "hops." There are restrictions on the use of FTL drives in either franchise. In both cases, courses must be plotted carefully to avoid inadvertantly intersecting with a star or planet. A strong enough gravitational pull may also prevent the use of either 7- In this particular case, warp drive is a couple hundred times more robust than hyperdrive. While hyperdrives require some distance from an Earthlike planet, warp drives can be engaged directly from the surface of a sun. The minimum power requirements for the drive systems vary wildly. A hyperdrive-equipped ship needs 17-357 megawatts per kilogram to jump to lightspeed from a safe depth in a planetary gravity well; similarly, a warp-powered ship needs ~80 gigawatts per kilogram to jump to lightspeed from the surface of a sun. Also, simply applying the warp field requires a similar order of magnitude of power. This, combined with the fact that warp drive cannot be effectively run with a fusion engine, while hyperdrive has only been seen with a fusion engine, and has likely comparable tactical speeds, mean that hyperdrive is far more energy efficient than warp drive.