Where are the Navigational Deflectors of other races' ships?

[Captain Picard's Hair]

They must serve some important function since most Federation designs feature one prominently; but no other race has ships featuring a visible part with this function. I mean, in addition to the navigational function it's named for, where would a Klingon ship fire a phased Thorion beam or a modulated Metrion beam from should the need ever arise?

[Reliant121]

I can only think they either incorperated it into the weapons systems or a Shield emitter.

[Captain Seafort]

Fed ships are the only ones I'm aware of that have dedicated nav deflectors. Since they're vital components, all others must have them, albeit using less visible designs. There are two possible options - either the deflector is, as Reliant pointed out, incorporated into the ship's weapons, or the Feds are unusual in using a deflector beam in addition to normal shielding. It may be a combination of both - using static shields like the Feds, but simply blasting larger objects instead of deflecting them.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

That still leaves the question of where a Romulan ship would fire a polarized Tomitron beam from.

[Reliant121]

Probably the forward Disrupter array. Unless they uncorperated such features into the Warp Nacelles.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

It was written in one of the Technical manuals that one of the purposes of the phasers was to blast away objects too large to be handled by the navigational deflectors. So, the Federation uses phasers to clear away material, but still uses the deflector, and other races don't.

Also, the navigational deflector, to perform it's stated function, should be at the very front of the ship like the Nova's or Defiant's. Other ships have the bulk of the overhanging saucer infringing on the Deflector's range of operation.

[Captain Seafort]

Who needs all that nonsense?

Fed solution: "This looks complicated, we'll *insert technobabble solution here*

Everyone else's solution: "This looks complicated, we'll need a bigger hammer.

[Deepcrush]

I totally agree with option 2!

[Reliant121]

This topic has been official 'de-topicinated'.

[Sionnach Glic]

Get used to it. It happens in pretty much every thread here.

Congrats on the promotion, by the way.

[Reliant121]

thank you. It isn't official yet but hey.

[Mikey]

Why would the nav deflector have to be at the foremost section of the ship? If shield generators can project a bubble-type shield over a small distance, why wouldn't the nav deflector be able to do the same?

BTW, congrats, Reliant. And the phenomenon you're seeing is called "TR-116 syndrome (q.v.)"

[Captain Picard's Hair]

Why would the nav deflector have to be at the foremost section of the ship? If shield generators can project a bubble-type shield over a small distance, why wouldn't the nav deflector be able to do the same?

BTW, congrats, Reliant. And the phenomenon you're seeing is called "TR-116 syndrome (q.v.)"

I was referencing the deflector beam it supposedly produces to push aside objects too large to be deflected by the deflector field (or, for that matter, any of the other assorted sorts of beams it is called on to project every other episode )

[Mikey]

Well, you're right about the endless array of "magic" beams of which it seems to be capable of, but I always saw the nav deflector beam itself as an analog of a pump-fed grenade launcher - not effective until out to a certain minimum range.