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The
U.S.S. Courageous has a standard weapons system, consisting of
phaser arrays mounted on strategic locations on the hull, and three
torpedo launch systems, one mounted on the saucer section, directly
above Shuttlebay One, and the others in the same locations as found
on Galaxy class ships.
Overall, the weapon
systems aboard the U.S.S. Courageous are similar in respects
to standard Galaxy class ships, with two notable exceptions.
The first exception
is on the dorsal side of the saucer section. Two mini-phaser cannons
are mounted on defensive sails on the starboard and port sides of the
bridge module. The placement provides more comprehensive weapons range,
protecting the bridge section.
The mini-phaser cannons
are essentially modified versions of the pulse phasers commonly found
on Defiant class starships. They are able to project concentrated
bursts and sustained bursts, in essence, alternating between pulse phaser
operation and normal phaser operation.
The other notable exception
is found on the underbelly of the saucer section. The phaser cannon
is a larger version of the mini-phaser cannons found atop the saucer
section. It is also capable of concentrated bursts and sustained bursts.
The concentrated bursts are several dozen times more powerful than the
most advanced pulse phasers or normal phasers available in Starfleet.
The sustained pulses are approximately three times more powerful than
the normal phaser output.
The phaser cannon’s
housing takes up the two bottom decks of the saucer; space needed for
specialized systems such as dedicated EPS relays, coolant systems, and
energy refocusers.
Shielding
The U.S.S. Courageous
has a shield system similar to those found on standard Galaxy
class starships. The shields serve to protect the ship from navigational
hazards and weapons fire.
Located on each the
two dorsal defensive sails are small-scale shield emitters, designed
to create a stronger shield bubble around the vital bridge module, compensating
for the extremely visible location on top of the ship’s saucer
section.
In addition to a top-of-the-line
shield system, the U.S.S. Courageous also has a layer of ablative
armor on her outer hull. This accounts for a certain percentage of the
ship’s mass increase and size increase over a standard Galaxy
class ship. The ablative armor is designed to disperse energy from standard
energy attacks, as well as providing extra toughness against explosives.
Declassified Research Materials:
 Computer Simulation of Phaser Cannon Fire
Close Up view of the Dorsal Sails and Bridge Module
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