Mounting this on the dorsal surface limits its field of fire against ground targets. The armament is light even by those standards - a single disruptor cannon is carried, and although no hard figures are available this was used by Picard during his escape and appeared to be approximately the equivalent of a Starfleet Type IV phaser as used on many Federation shuttlecraft. Its flight performance is insufficient to allow it a serious role as a fighter craft, and it most probably serves as a ground attack craft.
The Scorpion is essentially a militarised shuttlepod - small, relatively limited in its capabilities, but easy to produce in quantity. The first close up look was gained when Captain Picard and Lieutenant Commander Data used a Scorpion to make their escape from the Praetor's flagship Scimitar. Starfleet intelligence had gained some intelligence on the craft, but relatively little was known about them. Notes The Scorpion is a Reman design in use with the Romulan Empire from circa 2378. Unknown, but in service in numbers by 2378 ġ x disruptor cannon, total output 150 TeraWatts
