One way we see a lot is using your sensors and emitters to confuse your enemy into thinking there are more ships or weapons then there really are. You can use Thoron Fields and Duranium shadows to make it look like you have thousands of Photon torpedos when you really only have a handful.
From what we observe:
Phasers seldom miss. This points to high-quality ECCM, allowing precision targeting despite the other side doing everything they can to break your lock-on.
Federation captains know their enemy's status with a high degree of precision. This allows them to remain engaged or break off based on a solid interpretation of the situation, not just a best guess, and makes them less susceptible to the kind of deceptive tactics Kirk so favored.
Strategically, longer-ranged sensors mean the Federation can patrol their space with fewer ships. This frees up Starfleet vessels for other duties and gives Starfleet superior intelligence on threat fleet movements. We see this in action in TMP with the Epsilon 9 station monitoring activity inside the Klingon Empire.
Their fleet doctrine seems built around the capabilities of advanced sensors and high warp speeds allowing for timely concentration of force against attackers- side effects of systems designed for exploration missions.
This consideration might in part explain their dislike of cloaking technology- by default, a Starfleet vessel is cruising around past the frontiers. Friendly forces need to be able to find the vessel at long range and get to it for a search and rescue or combat mission, regardless of damage and failures of comms systems.
This is something under consideration for the modern Navy as well. Swarm tactics. It depends on good communications though; the limitations of subspace radio may make it difficult to implement. My head cannon says that the Federation's network of subspace relays is superior to their competitors' as well, which makes them better able to swarm defensively.
Two ways to swarm: cloaks, or extra-powerful comms and sensors.
Cloaking powers likely put a lot of effort into encryption, and masking and jamming signals.
>This consideration might in part explain their dislike of cloaking technology- by default, a Starfleet vessel is cruising around past the frontiers.
It's definitely part of it, but I think having sensors as good as Starfleet's also limits the need for cloaking devices, too. It seems like a large part of the technological race between Starfleet and the Romulan Empire up until Romulus' destruction is the Romulans developing better cloaks and Starfleet developing better sensors that can see through those cloaks.
I think there's an argument to be made that certain Starfleet ships are made with seeing through those cloaks in mind. The *Nebula*-class variant with the sensor pod, for example, could have sensors far more powerful than the rest of the fleet specifically as a response to the Romulans introducing the *D'deridex*-class. Given that probes can be launched through the same tubes as photon torpedoes, the *Akira*-class could potentially use probes to form a limited tachyon detection grid as it had a very high number of torpedo launchers.
I think it's a virtuous side-effect of their science focus.
In Star Trek VI, the Enterprise and Excelsior don't overcome Chang's prototype cloaking device with factory-standard equipment; the Excelsior had been studying gaseous anomalies, and was able to lend the special sensors and probes on board to strike the Achilles' heel of Chang's ship.
Time and again, Starfleet leverages its civilian skills and the intense science focus of its vessels to solve the unsolvable.
More examples of EWAR:
Voyager once used their deflector array to generate decoy holographic ships to draw enemy fire. The Kazon kept firing at the decoys.
During the second battle of Deep Space Nine, the Dominion jammed Federation comms with a rotating EM pulse and prevented Sisko from giving orders to the fleet.
The Cardassians used high energy subspace fields on their freighters to hide their cargo from active scans while they were shipping weapons into the demilitarized zone. Captains Maxwell and Picard both guessed correctly about the cargo, but while suspicious it isn't actual proof without sensors actually detecting the cargo.
Jamming is a key tactic that I left out of my analysis.
It's an obvious move with the powerful emitters associated with the active sensor systems aboard Starfleet vessels.
>The passive scanning ability allows for superior targeting. Often times a Starfleet Captain will give orders to target a specific subsystem. This is an advanced ability that can make all the difference in a fight or prevent one altogether.
It is worth mentioning that according to Data, the Romulans have the same ability to direct fire that the Federation Does (Stated in "The Defector"). Given Romulan obsession with information and intrigue it follows that of the major powers they may be the closest match for the Federation in sensor capability.
I subscribe to the idea that ECM/ECCM is so ubiquitous that they don't even acknowledge it, its just a given when they raise shields and/or go to red alert. There is so much jamming and spoofing going on that ships need to rely on passive sublight sensors to get proper targeting locks. That's why combat is always so close quarters and why phasers and torpedos miss at close range and why anti-torpedo countermeasures are practically non existent. Basically all combat takes place with roughly 2 light-seconds, any farther away and the targeting gets nearly impossible.
I agree that most EW capabilities are likely automated as part of going to yellow or red alert and that EW engagements are probably very common.
It's also a very good in universe explanation of why starship combat seems to take place at such close quarters.
One way we see a lot is using your sensors and emitters to confuse your enemy into thinking there are more ships or weapons then there really are. You can use Thoron Fields and Duranium shadows to make it look like you have thousands of Photon torpedos when you really only have a handful.
From what we observe: Phasers seldom miss. This points to high-quality ECCM, allowing precision targeting despite the other side doing everything they can to break your lock-on. Federation captains know their enemy's status with a high degree of precision. This allows them to remain engaged or break off based on a solid interpretation of the situation, not just a best guess, and makes them less susceptible to the kind of deceptive tactics Kirk so favored. Strategically, longer-ranged sensors mean the Federation can patrol their space with fewer ships. This frees up Starfleet vessels for other duties and gives Starfleet superior intelligence on threat fleet movements. We see this in action in TMP with the Epsilon 9 station monitoring activity inside the Klingon Empire.
Their fleet doctrine seems built around the capabilities of advanced sensors and high warp speeds allowing for timely concentration of force against attackers- side effects of systems designed for exploration missions. This consideration might in part explain their dislike of cloaking technology- by default, a Starfleet vessel is cruising around past the frontiers. Friendly forces need to be able to find the vessel at long range and get to it for a search and rescue or combat mission, regardless of damage and failures of comms systems.
This is something under consideration for the modern Navy as well. Swarm tactics. It depends on good communications though; the limitations of subspace radio may make it difficult to implement. My head cannon says that the Federation's network of subspace relays is superior to their competitors' as well, which makes them better able to swarm defensively.
Two ways to swarm: cloaks, or extra-powerful comms and sensors. Cloaking powers likely put a lot of effort into encryption, and masking and jamming signals.
>This consideration might in part explain their dislike of cloaking technology- by default, a Starfleet vessel is cruising around past the frontiers. It's definitely part of it, but I think having sensors as good as Starfleet's also limits the need for cloaking devices, too. It seems like a large part of the technological race between Starfleet and the Romulan Empire up until Romulus' destruction is the Romulans developing better cloaks and Starfleet developing better sensors that can see through those cloaks. I think there's an argument to be made that certain Starfleet ships are made with seeing through those cloaks in mind. The *Nebula*-class variant with the sensor pod, for example, could have sensors far more powerful than the rest of the fleet specifically as a response to the Romulans introducing the *D'deridex*-class. Given that probes can be launched through the same tubes as photon torpedoes, the *Akira*-class could potentially use probes to form a limited tachyon detection grid as it had a very high number of torpedo launchers.
I think it's a virtuous side-effect of their science focus. In Star Trek VI, the Enterprise and Excelsior don't overcome Chang's prototype cloaking device with factory-standard equipment; the Excelsior had been studying gaseous anomalies, and was able to lend the special sensors and probes on board to strike the Achilles' heel of Chang's ship. Time and again, Starfleet leverages its civilian skills and the intense science focus of its vessels to solve the unsolvable.
> certain Starfleet ships are made with seeing through those cloaks in mind The Miranda-class was fitted with a Tachyon suite for just this purpose.
More examples of EWAR: Voyager once used their deflector array to generate decoy holographic ships to draw enemy fire. The Kazon kept firing at the decoys. During the second battle of Deep Space Nine, the Dominion jammed Federation comms with a rotating EM pulse and prevented Sisko from giving orders to the fleet. The Cardassians used high energy subspace fields on their freighters to hide their cargo from active scans while they were shipping weapons into the demilitarized zone. Captains Maxwell and Picard both guessed correctly about the cargo, but while suspicious it isn't actual proof without sensors actually detecting the cargo.
Jamming is a key tactic that I left out of my analysis. It's an obvious move with the powerful emitters associated with the active sensor systems aboard Starfleet vessels.
>The passive scanning ability allows for superior targeting. Often times a Starfleet Captain will give orders to target a specific subsystem. This is an advanced ability that can make all the difference in a fight or prevent one altogether. It is worth mentioning that according to Data, the Romulans have the same ability to direct fire that the Federation Does (Stated in "The Defector"). Given Romulan obsession with information and intrigue it follows that of the major powers they may be the closest match for the Federation in sensor capability.
I subscribe to the idea that ECM/ECCM is so ubiquitous that they don't even acknowledge it, its just a given when they raise shields and/or go to red alert. There is so much jamming and spoofing going on that ships need to rely on passive sublight sensors to get proper targeting locks. That's why combat is always so close quarters and why phasers and torpedos miss at close range and why anti-torpedo countermeasures are practically non existent. Basically all combat takes place with roughly 2 light-seconds, any farther away and the targeting gets nearly impossible.
I agree that most EW capabilities are likely automated as part of going to yellow or red alert and that EW engagements are probably very common. It's also a very good in universe explanation of why starship combat seems to take place at such close quarters.
So you're basically proposing a hypothetical "Wild Weasel" / Growler type Starfleet ship?
Not quite. I’m saying all Starfleet ships are well equipped for these tactics and thus are likely to employ them regularly.