A phaser rifle was a type of phaser weapon, a rifle stock variation of the standard hand-held phaser weapon. Known in Federation parlance as a type-3, this was a type of phaser used by Starfleet in combat situations that required more powerful weaponry than a standard type-2 phaser pistol.
History and spefications[]
In the 2250s decade, phaser rifles were used by Starfleet during the Federation-Klingon War of 2256-2257. (DSC episodes: "The Vulcan Hello", "Context Is for Kings")
Aboard Constitution-class starships in the mid-23rd century, phaser rifles were not standard issue for landing party missions. When Scotty informed Captain James T. Kirk that a phaser rifle was transported down to planet Delta Vega from the Enterprise, he was surprised, as he hadn't ordered it personally. He withheld further comments when he realized his second-in-command, Spock, had ordered the weapon, and saw it had been received. (TOS episode: "Where No Man Has Gone Before")
By the late 24th century, phaser rifles came equipped with 16 power settings, fully autonomous recharge ability, multiple-target acquisition, and gyro stabilization. Some more advanced rifles, called compression phaser rifles, could fire energy pulses, along with the normal phaser beam. Despite all these features, many people outside of the Federation didn't trust these weapons, as they were too advanced and complicated in a combat situation. The Bajoran Resistance preferred to use a Cardassian phase-disruptor rifle, for example. (DS9 episode: "Return to Grace")
In late 2365 or early 2366, three female Trills were killed on Alpha Centauri by an unknown assailant using a type-3 phaser on "burn" setting. The murderer was discovered six months later to be Lieutenant Dar Ableen. (SCE eBook: Security)
Modified phaser rifles became more common in Starfleet usage around the year 2372. (DS9 novelization: The Way of the Warrior)
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Types of phaser rifles[]
Appendices[]
Connections[]
| Federation Starfleet hand-held weapons | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Directed energy weapons | type-1 phaser/hand phaser | Sestra phaser I • Atalskes phaser III • Sestra phaser IB • mark V personal phaser | 
|
| type-2 phaser/phaser pistol | Sestra phaser II • Atalskes phaser IV • Sestra phaser IIB • mark VI battle phaser • phaser (Kelvin timeline) | ||
| type-3 phaser/phaser rifle | phaser rifle (23rd century) • mark VII phaser rifle • type III phaser rifle • compression phaser rifle • enhanced compression rifle • phaser rifle (Kelvin timeline) | ||
| miscellaneous | assault rifle • infinity modulator • isomagnetic disintegrator • laser pistol • laser rifle • neural disruptor • phase pistol • sniper rifle | ||
| Projectile weapons | compound grenade launcher • photon burst • quantum burst • TR-116 • TR-120 | ||
References[]
External links[]
- Phaser rifle article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.