Armament
Armament
There are other dangers inherent in space travel besides the natural phenomena already mentioned. Pirates, smugglers, and hostile aliens abound along the routes of space. Weaponry—both offensive and defensive—has developed in direct proportion to star travel capabilities.
Following are descriptions of the most common offensive and defensive armaments in the Alliance and Imperial arsenals. Many are known by different names in different sectors, and there may be subtle variations from system to system. However, the names and descriptions given follow standard Imperial Navy usage, which is also used by the Rebellion forces.
While other weapons exist—nuclear warheads, particle beams, nova generators, and other more primitive technologies—they are usually found in common usage only in frontier or isolated regions.
Laser and Blaster Cannon
The terms "laser" and "blaster" are synonymous, except that "blaster" usually implies a smaller, lighter weapon. Ship-mounted lasers and weapons vary greatly in power.
Most smaller ships, such as light freighters and starfighters, have some form of weaponry. In addition to weapons built specifically for starships, some weapons are converted and redesigned from ground-forces armament. To do so, most such weapons are given advanced focusing systems to keep their beams coherent over greater distances.
Still other ships use smaller versions of the weapons in common use on capital ships.
Laser and blaster cannons are usually mounted on lightly armed vessels, such as starfighters and licensed commercial vessels. They are capable of rapid fire, but are prone to overheating. They usually output their power in the visual-light spectrum, so that the gunner can see where his shots are going.
Some lasers can be altered to change their beam color to any wavelength in the electromagnetic spectrum. This allows such vessels to attack "invisibly" (by firing in the non-visible spectrum) to gain initial surprise, but because such attacks can be detected by sophisticated electronic defense systems, this tactic is only of limited effectiveness.
Turbolasers
Heavy shipboard laser weapons require immense amounts of power to cut through the shields and armor of large military craft and to penetrate planetary defenses. To generate this power, turbolasers are equipped with turbine generators and banks of capacitors to build up and store the energy necessary to make a very powerful laser pulse.
Because of the time needed to build up energy, turbolasers usually have a lower rate of fire than normal lasers, but deliver a bigger punch. Turbolasers are strictly regulated; in theory only the Empire, sector, or local governments can construct or mount such weapons.
Ion Cannon
When a commander wishes to render an enemy harmless, rather than destroy him outright, ion weapons are employed. High-energy ionized particles, when fired in sufficient strength, can wreak havoc with the sophisticated electronics and controls of starships. These weapons are used primarily by planetary and system defense forces (who are often more concerned with driving off or deterring an enemy than destroying him).
Ships use ion cannons to disable an enemy, then use their other more lethal weapons to finish him off. Ion weapons also allow pickets and fleet vessels to capture enemy vessels with relatively minor damage. Pirates also use these weapons to disable choice targets and then board them.
Proton and Concussion Weapons
Proton torpedoes, concussion missiles, and bombs have become one of the primary surface-attack weapons of light space forces. This is because even small vessels, such as the Z-95 Headhunter and the TIE bomber, can carry these weapons and deliver them accurately from low altitudes flying at great speeds, allowing little time for point-defense systems to react.
Unlike heavier space bombardments by turbolasers mounted in immense Star Destroyers, these weapons are effective against ray- and energy-shielded targets. Complete particle shielding will deflect proton torpedoes, however.
Proton torpedoes carry a proton-scattering energy warhead. Concussion weapons (both missiles and bombs) carry an armor-piercing warhead containing a compact energy pack. When they explode, such weapons give off powerful concussive blasts which disrupt delicate instruments and equipment, and cause shock and blast damage to more durable targets.
Tractor Beams
Over the millennia, the tractor beam has been altered from a commercial cargo-moving tool to an offensive weapon. Military tractor beams are powerful enough to capture and arrest even an immense vessel in mid-flight.
The power of the tractor depends upon the size of the generator driving it, and it usually follows that the larger the ship, the more powerful the pull of the tractor (however, some small and mid-sized commercial space tugs, which guide immense vehicles into orbiting dock facilities, have powerful tractors).
According to current military doctrine, tractor beams are employed to arrest the maneuverability of the target vessel, thus allowing the attacking ship's weapons to bear upon the targets with greater accuracy. However, it is extremely difficult for the tractor to lock on to fast-moving targets, and ships can break the tractor's grip if they can maneuver beyond the beam's covering arc.
Source: REUP:417