Star Trek: 10 Huge Discoveries That No One Cared About
3. The Many Better Alternatives To Warp Travel
Spore Drive. Borg transwarp conduits. Quantum slipstream drive. All are examples of propulsion systems far superior to warp in every way (and likely not as damaging to space). Unfortunately, all of these alternate technologies fall into development hell and end up never being in widespread use, despite being proven effective if done right.
It shouldn't be too hard for Starfleet to reverse-engineer transwarp technology from a salvaged Borg cube for example but usually after one failed attempt that ends in catastrophe, they scrap the whole idea and usually classify it too.
Then of course there's Captain Janeway who, instead of studying the Caretaker array to perhaps learn how to control it, decides to blow it up to keep it from the Kazon.
Aside from some minor improvements, Starfleet's warp engines have operated on the same basic principals from the time of Zefram Cochrane's first faster-than-light flight in 2063 all the way to Star Trek: Picard in 2399. It definitely seems like it's time for an upgrade.