Future Enterprise add-ons

[JJohnson]

I was wondering, has anyone ever worked out what all the add-ons did on the 2395 Enterprise D?

Specifically, I'm wondering about the top bits added on the warp nacelles. Could those be what allow 'transwarp' for the ship, i.e. Warp 13?

On top we have:
-spindles - phaser cannons, like Defiant's pulse phasers?
-above shuttle bay - dual torpedo launchers (quantum? Photon?)
-third nacelle plus extension of secondary hull and impulse engine. It loses 2 shuttlebays, but it appears to gain possibly 2 on the third nacelle pylon (one with 3 entrances?)
-nacelle tops - phaser strips plus...? (side note: it would've been cool had those things on top glowed)

On bottom we have:
-phaser cannon
-wings on nacelles with dual phaser strips above and below - helped with higher warp speed, shaping the subspace field?

Only reason I ask, is I got my replica out and was just admiring the ship, and was wondering what your thoughts were on what all the extra bits did besides looking cool.

 

[jimbotron]

I believe the added bits on top of the nacelles are phaser arrays. I think they remained on one of the Galaxy ships in an episode of DS9.

 

[JJohnson]

I know the phaser arrays on top, but the full add-on looks like the tops of the nacelles of a smaller Enterprise model were glued on with what could be additional warp field grilles. Take a look at this picture, and you'll see what I mean.

 

[MacLeod]

Well perhaps the reason for use of the term Warp 13 has less to do with Transwarp but steady improvments in engine design So instead of Warp 9.8 it becomes Warp 12, 9.975 becomes Warp 13 and so on.