Editing Weapons in Star Trek (section)

===Photon torpedo===
{{original research section|date=March 2018}}
[[File:Star Trek - Photon torpedoes.jpg|thumb|250px|An ''Akira''-class starship fires photon torpedoes.]]
Photon torpedoes are a standard ship-based weapon armed with an [[Antimatter weapon|antimatter warhead]]. They are present in every version of the ''Star Trek'' series and are a standard weapon on almost every Federation ship, though in ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' (''ENT''), the titular ship uses less powerful spatial torpedoes (guided, rocket propelled missiles) until receiving the more powerful "photonic" variant. Photon torpedoes first appear on a [[Starfleet]] ship in the original series' episode "[[Arena (Star Trek: The Original Series)|Arena]]" as part of the USS ''Enterprise''{{'}}s armament. In the ''Star Trek: Enterprise'' episode "[[The Expanse (Star Trek: Enterprise episode)|The Expanse]]", the [[Enterprise (NX-01)|''Enterprise'' (NX-01)]] first receives photonic torpedoes. Smaller Starfleet craft such as shuttlecraft and runabouts can be armed with "micro-torpedoes", a scaled-down version of photon torpedoes designed for use on craft too small to accommodate the full-sized weapon.

When fired, photon torpedoes usually appear as a spiky orb of energy of varying colours, such as red,<ref>{{cite AV media|title=[[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]] |date=1991 |medium=Motion picture}}</ref> orange,<ref>{{cite AV media|title=[[Star Trek: First Contact]] |date=1996 |medium=Motion picture}}</ref> yellow, blue, or green,<ref>{{cite AV media|title=[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture]] |date=1979 |medium=Motion picture}}</ref> or in the case of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' (''TOS''), red bolts. According to the original notes to ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|TOS]]'' and ''The Making of Star Trek'', photon torpedoes are energy shielded to allow armor-penetration. Several{{Specify|date=October 2024|reason=Although the text says "several," only one episode is used as a source}} episodes seem to suggest this (''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|TNG]]'': "[[Suspicions (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Suspicions]]"). The energy output of a photon torpedo, according to the ''Star Trek'' Technical Manuals is a maximum theoretical yield of 25 isotons and a maximum rated yield of 18.5 isotons. According to ''Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual'', photon torpedoes use {{convert|1.5|kg}} of matter and the same amount of antimatter. In the ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|TOS]]'' episode, "[[Balance of Terror]]", photon torpedoes had replaced nuclear warheads as the primary wartime weapons on Federation starships.

Torpedoes are often depicted as being easy to modify to suit specific situations. Despite the stated maximum yield, torpedoes can be made far more destructive with relatively little effort. In ''Star Trek: Voyager'', Tuvok and Kim modify a normal photon torpedo with a gravimetric charge, a piece of [[Borg]] technology, to increase its destructive yield to 54 isotons. Kim comments that 50 isotons would be sufficient to destroy a small planet. Janeway later instructs them to increase its yield to 80 isotons. In ''[[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]]'', Spock and Dr. McCoy modify a photon torpedo to track the plasma emissions from a [[Cloaking device|cloaked]] Klingon [[Klingon starships|bird of prey]] as it attacks the ''Enterprise''-A and the ''Excelsior'', similar to the principal function of a [[Infrared homing|heat-seeking missile]].

Photon torpedo launchers aboard ships are shown to be able to fire probes, which, in-universe, are designed with this functionality in mind. In ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'', a torpedo casing is used as a makeshift coffin for [[burial at sea|burial in space]] and as scientific probes as in the ''TNG'' episode "[[In Theory]]" and in ''[[Star Trek Generations]]''.