The transphasic torpedo was a very powerful weapon brought back in time from the early 25th century by Admiral Janeway. These torpedoes were designed specifically for use against the Borg and a single transphasic torpedo is capable of destroying a Borg Cube. (VOY episode: "Endgame")
The transphasic torpedoes work by delivering a subspace compression pulse existing in an assymetric superposition of phase states. If one subcomponent of the pulse is blocked by shielding, enough others will still succeed in penetrating to the target to ensure that the majority of the pulse is still delivered. Each torpedo's transphasic configuration is different, randomly generated by a dissonant feedback effect, so there is no way for the Borg to predict the configuration of its phase states in order to shield against them. (TNG novel: Greater Than the Sum).
In 2381, the USS Enterprise-E had been fitted with transphasic torpedos. During the Borg sieges in February of this year, Captain Jean-Luc Picard recomended that the whole fleet be outfitted with the devices, to give the fleet a better chance of survival. He was over-ruled by Admiral Alynna Nechayev, who feared that the more the weapons were used, the more opportunity it gave the Borg to adapt. Once the Borg invasion began, the Enterprise and Starfleet command distributed the torpedo's specifications to every vessel they could. Starfleet also provided the technology to the Klingon Defence Froces. By the conclusion of the Borg conflict, the Borg ships had adapted to transphasic torpedoes before the invasion could be stopped. (Destiny novel: Gods of Night) (Destiny novel: Lost Souls)
Connections
- Transphasic torpedo article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.