I dusted off my hardcopy of Spacedock the other day and got inspired to stat up a small ship. I wanted it to have a torpedo/probe launcher, but the fluff text says a launcher is usually a 30m tube, and that's longer than the ship I was designing. So I came up with this package:
CARRONADE
This is a downgrade package to use with torpedo tubes. Build your launcher with normal SU costs, then reduce the SUs by 1/3 and torpedo range by 1/2.
Since most torpedoes are fired at far less than maximum range, Starfleet R&D came up with a shorter and lighter torpedo tube that takes up less of the limited space available on small vessels. The shorter launch tube means the missile leaves with a lower muzzle velocity, so maximimum range is reduced considerably. A historic-minded weapons developer named it for a light, short-range cannon common in Admiral Nelson's Royal Navy of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The carronade will add some respectable firepower to runabouts and shuttles, and is also an easy add-on to give more short-range punch to larger vessels.