THE TROOPS

There are two groups of the High Guard, the Argosy and the Lancers. The Argosy personnel are ship-based. The Lancers are the High Guard ground troops.

There are 8 major classifications of battleships (and several subcategories under those). Each type of ship has a unique complement of weapons and defenses. The ship's primary armaments are energy weapons based on antiproton technology. Each ship also has a (varying) number of missiles and drone fighters.

In Andromeda, they've taken smart bombs to the next level. Almost every weapon from bullets to drones has some form of intelligence. Many ships, including the Andromeda Ascendant, have sentient Artificial Intelligence Entities calling the shots.

In most science fiction (especially books), the formula for warfare is very simple: Tons of guns under multiple suns.

On TV, most space battles have about as much finesse as naval battles of the 18th century: ships line up against each other and fire their cannons point blank.

Andromeda's warfare tactics look like a more nuanced, modern 21st century networked war: multiple ships, drones and probes, all working together in stealth mode to destroy or evade an enemy. In short: strategy over firepower, brains over brawn.

The show also has distinctive personal weaponry for hand-to-hand combat.

Instead of stun guns, you capture an enemy by throwing a "bander" (a Frisbee that when tossed "unwinds into a series of coils, then wraps around its target, immobilizing it.").

For protection you wear a "bracer" on your arm that expands into a physical shield.

According to the official Andromeda web site: "In shield mode, a bracer's surface is optically reflective to reflect laser beams and is strong enough to deflect bullets and other kinetic projectile attacks. In addition to their combat capacity, bracers incorporate a number of sophisticated electronic devices, including portable computers, communicators and sensors."

The most common type of personal handgun is a gauss gun, which accelerates a smart bullet at supersonic speeds using electromagnetic forces.

The most distinctive (and probably signature) personal weapon of the show is the "force-lance" also called the F-Lance.

It looks like a harmless metallic tube approximately 1/3 meter in length but (according to the Andromeda site) "can be extended into a quarterstaff almost two meters long. When used in a melee, the F-Lance can be charged with an electrical current, shocking anyone it hits into unconsciousness...It can also fire a plasma beam, in both the extended and retracted position, which can be used in ranged combat, or as a cutting tool or light source."

The F-Lance can also launch a number of self-guided tiny attack drones (called "effectors") that both target opponents and intercept incoming bullets and missiles.