Stealth

Stealth is a form of technology used to render starships invisible, or at least less detectable, to sensors.

Many spacefaring civilizations use varying forms of stealth technology. Perhaps the epitome of stealth is the cloaking device, which uses selective bending of light to render a ship totally invisible. This is used by many organizations, including the Romulan Star Empire, the Klingon Defense Force, and the Suliban Cabal. However, the power consumptions of cloaking technology are high, meaning weapons and shields cannot be used while a cloak is on. The holy grail of cloaking technology is the interphase cloaking device, which allows a starship to pass through solid matter.

More primitive versions of stealth are known to be used by many other races, such as the Xyrillians, the Hirogen and the Kazon-Nistrim (called "masking circuitry"). The people of Cheron had an unusual yet advanced form of stealth technology. Their ships were perfectly detectable by sensors, but sheathed in special materials that made them invisible.

Stealth technology may also include the use of holographic equipment and is not limited to space travel. In 2154, the Romulans deployed two drone-ships which used holographic technology to disguise themselves as other vessels. The Federation uses holographic technology to hide facilities called duck blinds from pre-warp civilizations. Vosk (leader of the Na'kuhl) developed a form of stealth time travel that enabled him to escape Daniels' forces in the 29th century to an alternate 1944 Earth.

References

• TOS:
  • "Balance of Terror"
  • "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"
• Star Trek Movies:
  • Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
  • Star Trek: Insurrection
• TNG: "The Pegasus"
• VOY: "State of Flux"
• ENT:
  • "Unexpected"
  • "Shockwave, Part I"
  • "Storm Front"
  • "Babel One"
  • "United"
  • "The Aenar"