Phase cannon A phase cannon was a phase - modulated directed energy cannon weapon , a type of particle weapon which served as a successor to plasma cannon s and as a precursor to the phaser of the 23rd and 24th centuries . The prototype s of ship - mounted phase cannons were first introduced by Starfleet in the mid - 22nd century , designed as the primary defense of starship s and serving as a supplement for the lacking spatial torpedo es of the time . The first " NX " - class vessel to test and actively use phase cannons in battle was . Specifications . Yield . 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 . ( ) Aboard an NX - class vessel , the assembly was located on F Deck and could be accessed through a hatch within the armory . Instead of drawing power from the EPS grid , as they were designed , armory officer Lieutenant Malcolm Reed tied the turret relays directly into the impulse engine s to increase their yield by eighty percent . Inverters were installed to cut in at the first sign of an overload . ( ) These phase cannon assemblies were equipped with multiphasic emitters and could produce a beam with the maximum yield of 500 gigajoules . ( ) Later it was indicated that they could only emit 80 gigajoules . ( ) The cannons could also be overloaded by many times their normal maximum output , though this could cause significant feedback damage . Usage . When initially installed on the first NX - class vessel in 2151 , the phase cannons were located on the ventral side of the ship . Two were placed at the of the vessel , while one was placed at the aft on the ship ' s starboard side . ( ) By 2152 the first vessel of this class , the " Enterprise " NX - 01 , was outfitted to hold at least four cannons on the dorsal saucer section ; two at the bow and two closer to the stern , with one on each of the catamaran - like sections . ( ) An additional ventral aft cannon was added on the port section of the NX - class some time after the first cannons ' installation . ( ) Two more cannons were installed on the ventral part of the saucer section , only closer to the bow than the first cannons . ( ) Yet two more pairs of cannons were added to the dorsal and ventral side of the nacelle pylon s , near the impulse rocket s , some time prior to 2154 . ( ) Phase cannons were generally more powerful than spatial torpedoes and were therefore more effective in a firefight . Initially , " Enterprise " 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 , in turn , would result in serious damage to both of the ship ' s warp nacelle s , 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 phase cannons 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 online 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 . ( ) Because of this , Klingons regarded the cannons , which they identified as " low - yield particle cannons " , to be of little threat . ( ) History . Initial test and early use . " Enterprise " was originally designed to carry three phase cannons . However , due to " Enterprise " s premature launch in 2151 , Jupiter Station did not get the chance to install the cannons , though " Enterprise " was given one of the prototypes . On August 30 , 2151 , Malcolm Reed and were given the job of installing the prototype , as well as building two more from scratch . They were able to accomplish the installation – two forward cannons , one aft – in 48 hours , a job that would have taken the armory team at Jupiter Station at least a week . The initial test of " Enterprise " s phase cannons was conducted on September 1 , on an asteroid . The first shot was only to have " shaved " a few meter s off the top of a mountain peak equivalent to Mount McKinley , but the blast was so powerful that it formed a new crater within the asteroid . The resulting overload of the phase modulator s caused a plasma recoil that blew out relays across decks C and D . Following this , it was determined that the blast yield of the shot was ten times what was expected . It was then that the crew realized that the cannons had been manipulated by a mysterious alien race . When the alien beings attacked " Enterprise " , the cannons proved ineffective against the alien vessel ' s shielding . Reed and Tucker then caused another overload , this time intentionally , while using the gravity plating on C and D decks to absorb the plasma recoil . The resulting overload again increased the cannon ' s blast yield , which disabled the aliens ' shields and allowed " Enterprise " to gain the upper hand . ( ) In February of the following year , " Enterprise " used its aft phase cannon to disable the shields and engines of a Mazarite ship , although " Enterprise " had to drop to impulse to do so . Travis Mayweather recounted this incident to his brother , Paul , in January of 2153 . ( ) Shortly thereafter , the forward cannons were used to disable a cloaked Suliban vessel hidden within a binary star system . While an assault team was on the ship acquiring information , the cannons were again used on the Suliban ship to collapse a corridor containing several Suliban , clearing the way for the assault team to escape . ( ) Later , while escaping the Suliban Helix , " Enterprise " used its aft cannon on the pursuing s while at warp speed . The cannons destroyed at least one of the ships . ( ) New protocols . In August of 2152 , Reed proposed new tactical protocols that would increase the efficiency of " Enterprise " s weapons , including the phase cannons . While under the influence of radiation emitted from a nearby singularity , Reed implemented the new protocols without Captain Archer ' s permission . Later , with the rest of the crew having succumbed to the radiation , Archer and T ' Pol attempted to navigate " Enterprise " away from the singularity as quickly as possible by piloting the starship through a field of debris . When the need arose to use weapons against a large meteoroid that was in the ship ' s path , T ' Pol worried that the phase cannons could not be charged in time . However , when a smaller piece of the meteoroid collided with the ship , Reed ' s tactical protocols initiated and the phase cannons were automatically brought online . T ' Pol then used the cannons to destroy the remaining meteoroids , allowing " Enterprise " to safely escape the singularity . Following this incident , Reed ' s new security protocols were made standard procedure . ( ) Later uses and applications . The following month , the cannons were used in an attempt to disable the engines of a Retellian freighter which had captured Commander Tucker . Although the cannons appeared to disable the freighter ' s port warp nacelle , it was merely a ruse by the freighter ' s pilot , Firek Goff , to disable " Enterprise " s own warp engines . ( ) Later , Commander Tucker threatened to use " Enterprise " s cannons on Vulcan and Andorian vessels if they attempted to enter orbit of Weytahn . ( ) Not long afterwards , a vessel crewed by noncorporeal being s were able to take " Enterprise " s cannons off - line and capture the ship , although " Enterprise " ultimately escaped . ( ) The ship ' s aft phase cannons were later used in defense against a group of s which were pursuing " Enterprise " in an attempt to capture the in the ship ' s launch bay . The cannons destroyed at least one cell ship ; several s took care of the rest . ( ) The cannons were later used in battle against a Klingon Bird - of - Prey commanded by Duras , although they did negligible damage . ( ) In of 2153 , the cannons were used to disable the weapons of " Arctic One " , which had been taken over by the Borg . Later , after several spatial torpedoes were used to weaken " Arctic One " , a single , final shot from a phase cannon destroyed the transport . ( ) Later that same month , the cannons were used to destroy a decoy device which was generating a false Tellarite warp signature and preventing " Enterprise " from locating the Tellarite ship which had captured Captain Archer . ( ) By 2153 , phase cannons were installed on several other classes of Starfleet vessels as well , including and another type of starships . ( ) The Expanse . Phase cannons proved to be vital part of " Enterprise " s weapons complement during the starship ' s search for the Xindi weapon in the Delphic Expanse . ( ENT Season 3 ) During the Xindi incident , a phase cannon emitter aboard " " was used to destroy the locking mechanism of a Delphic Expanse sphere so the vehicle could gain entrance . Later , " Enterprise " fired its cannons at the sphere to lure an Osaarian pirate ship into close vicinity of " Enterprise " so Hoshi Sato could download information on the Xindi from the pirate ship ' s computer banks . Although the first attempt using a single , minimum yield blast from one cannon did not succeed , a second blast using both cannons destroyed the sphere ' s portal and got the Osaarians to attack " Enterprise " , allowing Sato to successfully download the information they needed . ( ) The cannons were later used against two Xindi - Reptilian vessels who were attempting to retrieve their spy , Rajiin , from " Enterprise " . ( ) Several months later , when " Enterprise " entered a polaric field and its hull was bombarded with nucleonic particle s , the aft cannons were redirected towards the back end of the hull and used to blast away the particulates which had accumulated on the ship ' s launch bay doors . This allowed for the launch of the ship ' s shuttlepod s , which were then used to tow " Enterprise " a small distance , giving the larger vessel a strong enough momentum to clear the polaric field . ( ) The cannons were later used to quell attacking Triannon ships who were defending themselves against " Enterprise " while the starship was under the control of D ' Jamat and his religious sect . After Archer reclaimed command of " Enterprise " , he had the cannons powered down to prove the starship was no longer a threat . ( ) As " Enterprise " pressed forward into the Delphic Expanse in search of the Xindi weapon , the ship came into contact with a number of debilitating spatial anomalies . One severe encounter in December of 2153 disabled all of the ship ' s weapons , including the phase cannons . Fortunately , the Andorian warship " Kumari " , under the command of Shran , was nearby to lend assistance . Shran assigned his tactical officer , Lieutenant Talas , to assist Lieutenant Reed in repairing the weapons . With Talas ' s help , the phase cannons were not only operational within a short period of time , but were also working at 94 % efficiency . This was an improvement , as Reed was never able to exceed 93 % efficiency from the cannons . Soon after the phase cannons were brought back on - line , they were used to disable two Xindi - Reptilian vessels , allowing the " Kumari " to seize the prototype of the Xindi weapon . ( ) Shortly afterwards , the cannons were again used to disable another Xindi vessel , this time belonging to the Xindi - Primate Degra . He and his crew were then captured in order to gain information on the whereabouts of the Xindi weapon . ( ) The following month , the cannons were again used in an attempt to disable the engines of a Xindi - Insectoid vessel , but they proved ineffective . ( ) " Enterprise " suffered severe damage following a battle with Xindi - Reptilian and Xindi - Insectoid vessels near the red giant , , resulting in the loss of the ship ' s weapons , including phase cannons . Following their repair , the cannons were used against an Illyrian vessel while an " Enterprise " boarding party stole the alien ship ' s primary warp coil . During the assault , T ' Pol had Reed adjust the cannons to a narrow confinement beam and disable the Illyrian ship ' s power junction , allowing the boarding party to remove the warp coil and transport it and the party back to " Enterprise " . ( ) Nonetheless , at least two of the front cannons were not operational until two days after the Xindi attack . ( ) Later , the cannons were deployed as defense against a group Kovaalan ships within a nebula . Disturbance from the nebula interfered with the cannons ' targeting scanners , making it necessary for its target to be within close range . ( ) Soon after , " Enterprise " participated in a major battle in which the starship ' s phase cannons were used against Xindi - Insectoid and Reptilian vessels as they escorted the weapon away from the Xindi Council planet . At least one Insectoid ship was damaged after being struck by a phase cannon beam . ( ) A short time later , " Enterprise " s original forward phase cannons ( coupled with photonic torpedo es ) were used in an attempt to destroy the Xindi weapon before it could be launched against Earth . Again , at least one Xindi - Insectoid ship was destroyed by the phase cannons during this battle . Also during the battle , phase cannons were used in defense against the lead Reptilian ship while a team of MACO s infiltrated the ship to rescue Ensign Sato . ( ) Home . By the time " Enterprise " had completed its mission in the Expanse and returned to Earth in 2154 , Starfleet , upon the recommendation of Captain Archer , had developed pulsed phase cannon s . These advanced phase cannons were installed aboard the . ( ) During the Augment Crisis of May 2154 , Captain Archer was trapped within the central core of Cold Station 12 , where he was in danger of being infected with the thousands of deadly pathogens stored there . With interference from the core preventing his transport , " Enterprise " s phase cannons were used to open the core ' s outer hatch , decompressing the core and blowing Archer into space . After being exposed to the vacuum of space for only an instant , Archer was transported back to the safety of " Enterprise " . Later , " Enterprise " was able to stop the Augment s from using pathogens stolen from the station to infect a Klingon colony . In retaliation , the Augments – aboard a stolen Klingon Bird - of - Prey – attacked " Enterprise " , disabling all weapons save for the ship ' s aft cannon , which was then used to destroy the Klingon ship ' s main plasma junction and disable the vessel . ( ) " Enterprise " later employed the cannons against a fleet of Vulcan warships which attacked the Starfleet vessel to drive it away from their planet , as per orders from Administrator V ' Las . However , " Enterprise " proved to be no match for the Vulcans and was forced to retreat . ( ) A short time later , the cannons were again used against the Vulcans to defend Andorian ships during a skirmish near Regulus , but the weapons were unable to penetrate the Vulcan ships ' shields . ( ) In November of that year , " Enterprise " used the cannons in an attempt to disable what appeared to be an Andorian warship which had attacked them without provocation . The cannons proved ineffective against the Andorian ship ' s shields , and even after Commander Shran supplied " Enterprise " with the coordinates for the attacking vessel ' s shield generator , the shields remained intact . The attacking vessel was ultimately forced to withdraw due to a fluctuation in its power grid , and it was later discovered that it was actually a drone ship controlled by the Romulan s and capable of disguising itself as other vessels using holographic technology . ( ) The drone ship was able to simulate phase cannon fire using tri - phasic emitter s , as evidenced by its attack on a Rigellian scoutship while disguising itself as " Enterprise " . Later , the real " Enterprise " intercepted the drone ship a second time , using phase cannons to disable its holographic emitters . Without its camouflage , however , the drone ship proved far too maneuverable for " Enterprise " to lock onto it in order to disable the drone ' s weapons . This forced the Starfleet vessel to shut down its own weapons and divert power to its hull plating . ( ) " Enterprise " later employed phase cannons when facing off against two drone ships , but it was only through the assistance of Jhamel and the sacrifice of Gareb , two Aenar , that the drone ships were destroyed . ( ) Later that month , " Enterprise " fired phase cannons at a Klingon Bird - of - Prey which had attacked the Starfleet vessel near the wreckage of a , but they were unable to prevent a Klingon boarding party from transporting aboard " Enterprise " and sabotaging its warp matrix . ( ) Both " Enterprise " and " Columbia " used their phase cannons against three Klingon battle cruiser s that were attempting to eradicate Qu ' Vat Colony . Although " Columbia " managed to disable one of the Klingon ships , the cannons for the most part were ineffective against the battle cruiser ' s shields . Retaliation from the Klingons resulted in the loss of " Columbia " s weapons and " Enterprise " s aft phase cannons . Ultimately , however , a peaceful resolution was found and the colony was spared . ( ) In December 2154 , Captain Archer , while under the influence of pheromone s secreted by the three Orion slave girl s aboard " Enterprise " , ordered Reed to fire the phase cannons at an attacking science vessel despite the fact that it was of no threat to " Enterprise " due to its low - yield weaponry . Because a single phase cannon hit would destroy the vessel , Reed refused to follow Archer ' s orders . Archer began to aim the cannons himself , but , as T ' Pol had predicted , the science vessel ceased its attack and moved off . ( ) In 2256 , the was apparently revealed to still be armed with phase cannons when first officer Michael Burnham suggested they be targeted at an unknown object of possible Klingon origin as a way of luring the Klingons out from hiding . ( ) Alternate timelines . In 1944 of an alternate timeline in which Earth ' s history had been altered as a result of the Temporal Cold War , " Enterprise " s original forward phase cannons were used in an attempt to prevent " Shuttlepod 1 " , which had been hijacked by Silik , from reaching Earth . The cannons managed to damage the pod , but it was able to land on Earth nonetheless . ( ) Soon after , the cannons were used to subdue a squadron of Stuka s , allowing " Enterprise " to destroy the facility housing the Na ' kuhl and their temporal conduit and returning the timeline to normal . ( ) In 2154 , an " Enterprise " from an alternate timeline carried the same complement of weapons as " Enterprise " of 2154 , despite the former vessel having been in existence for 120 years . Thus , the alternate " Enterprise " continued to use phase cannons , although they now fired a blue beam of energy rather than an orange beam . ( ) In an alternate timeline in which Earth was destroyed by the Xindi weapon , phase cannons were still a Starfleet vessel ' s primary line of defense in 2165 . In that year , " Enterprise " s cannons were used to knock out the engines of a Yridian ship . Later , " Enterprise " and the remaining Starfleet vessels used phase cannons against invading Xindi - Reptilian and Insectoid warships . " Enterprise " s cannons were disabled in the attack . ( ) Background information . Phase cannons were introduced in , twelve episodes into s first season . Prior to this , utilized plasma cannons ( seen only once , in ) . The phase cannons were designed as an early version of the ship - mounted phaser technology seen on , the - era series , and the . There is much confusion as to exactly how many phase cannons were installed aboard " Enterprise " during the course of the series . In " Silent Enemy " , it was specifically stated that " Enterprise " had been designed to carry three cannons . The ports for these cannons were located on the ventral ( bottom ) part of the ship , with two at the bow and one at the aft ( the latter seen in ) . One of the cannons initially installed was a prototype built by Starfleet engineers ; the other two were built from scratch by Tucker and Reed . However , in ( the opening episode for season two ) , phase cannon - like beams were fired from several areas on the dorsal ( top ) section of the ship . These weapons were later specifically referred to as phase cannons in . This would seem to imply that at least two more cannons were built from scratch and " Enterprise " refitted to carry them . We also saw phase cannons fired from the very front of the bottom part of the saucer section near the end of season two . There were also cannons seen fired from ship ' s warp nacelle pylons during season three , but whether these were also made from scratch or whether they were installed during the ship ' s refit in preparation to search for the Xindi weapon is not clear . There is a possibility that some of the phase cannons seen fired were the result of special effects errors . Another possibility is that some of the energy beams seen were actually the plasma cannons which " Enterprise " had utilized prior to the installation of the phase cannons , although the effect used was the sustained , orange beam associated with the phase cannon as opposed to the short , red bursts seen used by the plasma cannon . For this reason and those listed above , and because most were specified as being phase cannons , we must assume that all these energy effects shown were meant to be phase cannons . Then again , the shuttlepod s had similar effects for their weapons , but these were specifically referred to as plasma cannons in . Complicating matters , however , is Reed ' s line in ( the last episode of the second season ) stating that a shot from a Klingon vessel had taken out " both forward phase cannons " , after which the ship must go straight to firing torpedoes . Then there is T ' Pol ' s line in ( a third season episode ) in which she states that Reed had been able to bring " both forward phase cannons online " . These lines of dialogue suggest ( although they do not confirm ) that the ship still only had two phase cannons at the front of the ship ; this , however , contradicts what was seen in previous episodes . Further complicating things is Reed ' s line in ( a season four episode ) in which he states " the aft cannon [ is ] online , but just barely " . Again , this indicates the ship still only had one aft cannon as in the beginning despite visual evidence to the contrary . It also contradicts dialogue from later episodes ( specifically and ) , in which Reed uses the plural form for the aft cannons , proving the ship does indeed have more than one aft cannon . Also , rotating phase cannons are clearly seen on the far bow of the ship ' s ventral ( in front of the originally - installed forward cannons ) in , although we can assume they were installed sometime between " The Forgotten " ( when there were apparently only two forward cannons ) and . The last reference to the ship ' s phase cannons occurred in , set in 2154 . It is unclear whether or not the cannons continued to be used afterwards , although the presence of phase - pistols in the 2161 - based holodeck scenes in make it likely that phase cannons were used until at least that point . It is unknown at which point in time phase cannons were replaced , or if the laser weapon s seen in the pilots for the original series were their immediate successor .