The Type 4 Phaser Rifle is a Compression Phaser Rifle designed to replace those currently in service on many Intrepid, Defiant and Akira class starships as the Primary compression rifle. While it does not have the same fire rate as Type 3 pulse Phaser Rifles or the Scorpion Mark 1, it is well suited for ship environments and its beam packs a punch.
The Type 4 was created with data retrieved from the databanks of the U.S.S. Voyager upon her return home from the Delta Quadrant. It has taken Starfleet a few years but in 2385 they were able to put together a working prototype.
The Type 4 phaser is Unique in its self as it has a built in life form tracker that can detect and track lifeforms after initial contact is made, the weapon also has the capability of self adjusting its settings to correctly match those required for the physiology of the target to ensure that the target is brought down in both a lethal or non lethal way. The current allocation of Type 4 Phaser Rifles is with the Fleet at Megiddo Station, in the Megiddo Sector of the Gamma Quadrant, further allocations are being made through out Starfleet and production will continue into the next decade.
