Blue Planet weapons data

The following information has not been confirmed by Volition and is therefore not canon for the FreeSpace universe.

See also: Category:Blue Planet weapons

This page references tech room entries and veteran comments for BP weapons that do not have their own BP-specific page, typically retail weapons.

Back to Blue Planet Tech Room data.

• Please note: numbers are a representation of manual testing and are likely to not be 100% accurate. However, this is the most accurate data at this time. If you have any testing data or updates to the information in the graph, please reach out on the Hard Light Discord **

Primary Weapons

'Big thanks to Svedal for gathering the data for the Blue Planet weapons.

Standard Primaries

Primaries				Damage Potential per Second			Damage Potential per Energy Unit
Name	Range	Refire Rate	Velocity	Armor	Shield	Subsys	Armor	Shield	Subsys	Energy	Special
Subach HL-7	900 m	0.2 s	450 mps	67.5	52.5	22.5	67.5	52.5	22.5	1 / s	-
Mekhu HL-7	970 m	0.15 s	485 mps	72	64	24	54.1	48.1	18	1.33 / s	-
Akheton SDG	750 m	0.35 s	500 mps	0	42.9	85.7	0	9.4	18.8	4.57 / s	Puncture
Morning Star	2000 m	0.15 s	1000 mps	23.3	60.7	9.3	4.4	11.4	1.8	5.33 / s	-
Prometheus R	900 m	0.45 s	450 mps	44	32	14	33	24	10.5	1.33 / s	-
Prometheus S	1500 m	0.35 s	750 mps	77.1	85.7	30	27	30	10.5	2.86 s	-
Maxim	3600 m	0.15 s	1800 mps	173.3	26.7	133.3	26	4	20	6.67 / s	Shudder
UD-8 Kayser	975 m	0.25 s	650 mps	112	100.8	39.2	23.3	21	8.2	4.8 / s	-
Circe	1350 m	0.4 s	450 mps	0	112.5	0	0	45	0	2.5 / s	-
Lamprey	900 m	0.3 s	450 mps	4.7	46.7	0	1.2	11.7	0	4 / s	Leech
Balor	1125 m	0.2 s	750 mps	76	88	32	60.8	70.4	25.6	1.25 / s	cycle
Vulcan	1000 m	0.2 s	1000 mps	98	56	21	98	56	21	1 / s	cycle
Scalpel	1000 m	0.175 s	1000 mps	0	160	137.14	0	70	60	2.29 / s	leech-afterburn
Maul beyond 150m	700 m	0.35 s	800 mps	102.86	85.71	68.57	45	37.5	11.25	2.29 / s	-
Maul within 150m	150 m	0.35 s	800 mps	154.29	128.57	68.57	67.5	56.25	30	2.29 / s	-
Rapier	1500 m	0.2 s	800 mps	85	100	40	42.5	50	20	2 / s	-
Gattler	2000 m	0.1 s	1500 mps	200	40	100	200	40	100	1 / s	cycle, ammo
Archer	3000 m	1 s	1500 mps	87.5	87.5	350	46.47	11.67	46.47	7.5 / s	puncture, ammo, huge
Cavalier	1800 m	0.4 s	750 mps	200	200	50	80	80	20	2.5 / s	-
Redeemer	1900 m	2.75 s	225 mps	523.64	262.82	130.91	36	18	9	7 / s	ammo,huge
Vajra	1100 m	3.425 s	800 mps	2335.77	583.94	291.97	100	25	25	12 / s	ammo, huge
Sidhe	750 m	0.75 s	800 mps	200	200	40	50	50	10	0.67 / s	ammo, 6shots
Gauss sidhe	1400 m	1 s	900 mps	150	150	30	16.67	16.67	3.33	1.5 / s	ammo, shudder
UX Accelerator	2000 m	2.75 s	1200 mps	349.09	349.09	43.64	48	48	12	4 / s	ammo, shudder, burst
Arquebus	3000 m	2 s	1500 mps	150	150	600	20	20	80	7.5 / s	ammo, huge
Firestorm	3250 m	0.2 s	1000 mps	250	50	50	250	50	50	1 / s	ammo, huge
Vishnan Primary	1000 m	0.3 s	1000 mps	93.33	74.67	74.67	93.33	74.67	74.67	1 / s	-
Vishnan Prox gun	1800 m	0.25 s	1000 mps	60	60	12	50	50	10	1.2 / s	Flak
Vishnan Grav spike	700 m	1 s	10000 mps	77.62	77.62	77.62	8.8	8.8	22	2.5 / s	beam
Shivan Light Laser	900 m	0.3 s	450 mps	26.7	26.7	26.7	26.7	26.7	26.7	1 / s	-
Shivan Heavy Laser	950 m	0.5 s	475 mps	30	30	30	37.5	37.5	37.5	0.8 / s	-
Shivan Mega Laser	600 m	0.75 s	400 mps	40	24	40	33.3	20	33.3	1.2 / s	-
Shivan Malak	1125 m	0.2 s	675 mps	110	110	44	22	22	8.8	5 / s	cycle
Shivan LanceSlowSlash	10000 m	12 s	1000 mps	1.47	1.47	1.47	16.67	16.67	16.67	0 / s	-
GTW Training Laser	800 m	0.5 s	200 mps	10	2	0	16.7	3.3	0	0.6 / s	-
Vasudan Light Laser	900 m	0.5 s	300 mps	10	2	10	16.7	3.3	16.7	0.6 / s	-
Targeting Laser	n/a	0.2 s	n/a	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.0 / s	-

Weapons

Terrans

Subach HL-7

The Subach-Innes HL-7 is a xaser weapon, firing a bolt of coherent plasma both excited by and continuously emitting x-ray light. Until the Shivans appeared with their shield technology, these weapons were considered an unnecessary and costly extravagance. But Great War dogfights against Shivan craft quickly taught the Allies that their ships didn't stand a chance unless they could punch through shields. The HL-7 was the standard issue fighter-grade weapon during the Second Shivan Incursion. It has been supplanted by the Balor cannon.

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Mekhu HL-7

A Vasudan variant of the Subach HL-7 design with enhanced rate of fire and range, at the cost of per-shot damage. This design met Vasudan requirements for better long-range attack during the Second Shivan Incursion, but the Balor cannon rendered it obsolete.

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Akheton SDG

During Reconstruction, the Akheton was the Alliance's most vital tactical weapon. A descendant of the GTW-41x Advanced Disruptor, the Akheton induces extremely powerful current in the target, ineffective against armor and hull mass but capable of destroying delicate subsystems. The Akheton remains in service as part of the Alliance's HESTIA imperative, the counter-insurgency and policing of civilian space, but in the tactical space it has largely been supplanted by the Maxim massdriver. Modern Akheton variants are commonly down-charged, so that any damage inflicted on a targeted civilian craft is more easily repaired.

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Morning Star

Commissioned during the Second Shivan Incursion, the Morning Star is a tactical weapon designed to disrupt and degrade enemy bomber formations. With superb range and velocity and a shockwave effect on jacket collapse, the Morningstar excels at warhead intercept.

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Prometheus R

The Prometheus retrofit was an attempt to manufacture the mighty Prometheus cannon without access to the technological and industrial base of Sol. Shortages of vital materials were used as a public excuse for simple failure of institutional knowledge - after an awkward attempt to hybridize technology from the older Banshee cannon, the Prometheus R failed to perform to acceptable specifications due to huge issues with the onboard power supply. The weapon could not outperform the Subach HL-7. This proved a mild boon when thousands of units were seized by the NTF Rebellion, stranding them with a cheap but only marginally effective primary weapon. Conspiracy theorists often seize on this as proof that the NTF was a GTVI false-flag operation to disrupt Vasudan economy superiority.

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Prometheus S

A beacon of defiance during the Great War, the Prometheus cannon has served Alliance pilots for fifty years - and will continue to serve for many more. Powered by a fusion cell, the Prometheus uses a radar/lidar suite to analyze the target, determine weaknesses, and package a plasma round for maximum effect. Superb range and single-shot damage make the Prometheus an ace's favorite weapon, since it can make good snapshots against rapidly maneuvering targets.

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Maxim

A child of Reconstruction-era advances in metallurgy and conventional explosives, the Maxim is a caseless, smoothbore autocannon capable of devastating armor from extreme range. Ballistic weapons fell out of favor during the 14 Year War because they underperformed compared to jacketed plasma weapons, and the rise of fighter-grade shields seemed to put the last bullet through the concept. But the rise of warship-grade beam weapons, combined with newer, more sophisticated rounds, created a requirement for long-range attacks against warship hulls and turrets. The Maxim now serves as a cornerstone of Alliance tactics, with heavy assault wings trained to mob targets and strip their turrets from beyond their range of reply. Enormous ammunition and power requirements and the need for barrel changes after every 4000 rounds fired prevent the Maxim from being deployed aboard warship turrets in most cases, and in any case, the design relies on the firing platform's ability to reposition. Maxim rounds shear apart ineffectively on shields.

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UD-8 Kayser

Based directly on Shivan weapons technology, the Kayser's exact mechanism is highly classified - perhaps because of its ramifications for the potentially explosive growth of Shivan lethality. Although described to pilots as a powerful, short-range particle cannon, the Kayser is in fact more like a quantum safecracker. The device fires constellations of subatomic particles entangled and suspended in a state of quantum uncertainty. When the constellation strikes a target, an unknown interior feedback mechanism collapses the constellation into a state lethally attuned to the target's structure. Damage is inflicted by sprays of virtual particles that emerge from the quantum vacuum. Shivan weapon examples used this mechanism, but ineffectively, and Alliance technicians were able to apply a set of filters which clamp the possible outputs to a narrower range. Further refinement of the target range created the efficient Balor next-generation cannon.

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Circe

The Circe tactical weapon bombards the target with highly variant electromagnetic emissions jacketed in a plasma shell, interfering with the shield's ability to transfer power across the geometry. Feedback mechanisms monitor the shield's emissions to maximize damage. Devastating against shielded targets, the Circe became a mainstay weapon against the Shivans, and it remains in wide production - in part because its mechanisms are simple and robust.

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Lamprey

The orphan of the GTVA's Capella-era tactical weapons suite, the Lamprey is a cousin of the Circe designed to disrupt onboard power systems and cause catastrophic failures. In practice, it could not reliably overwhelm the hardened systems of military warcraft. Recent refits have improved the Lamprey's induction capabilities, and in theory it should now be able to disrupt afterburners, weapons, and turret-mounted guns. Pilots believe that simply shooting the target down remains more pragmatic.

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Rockeye

The Rockeye heatseeker remains in service, if not in favor, as a weapon for head-to-head engagements. With good range and no need for aspect lock, pilots can snap off a few Rockeyes on the approach, forcing the enemy to break off. But the missile's obsolete seeker head makes it vulnerable to countermeasures.

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Tempest

The beloved MX-6 Tempest dumbfire rocket is a pilot's best friend. A pod of Tempests provides massive expendable firepower at short range. When pilots need to murder bombers, strafe hard targets, or kill maneuverable foes with volleys of damage, they pack Tempests.

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Hornet

The GTVA's surplus 2.6 million Hornets have yet to be depleted, but pilots rarely deploy this Great War classic except for light assault work against undefended targets, or saturation attacks against enemy cruisers. The Hornet launches four shaped-charge warheads, but their ineffective seekers aren't smart enough to fly lead pursuit on a target, leaving them trailing sluggishly after fighters. In the dogfight role all vessels are now issued the Tornado.

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Tornado

A direct descendant of the Hornet, the Tornado provides GTVA interceptors and space superiority fighters with superb punch in a dogfight. If and only if locked onto a target, the Tornado launches volleys of four smart-seeking aspect-guided missiles with shaped-charge and coil-flash payload. Effect on light targets is devastating. Alongside the Harpoon, the Tornado forms the core of the GTVA's space superiority missile suite.

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Harpoon

The GTM-19D Harpoon wields a fuzzy-logic tracking system, a depleted uranium warhead, and a swift Boone Thrusters drive. As the Alliance's standard-issue ship-to-ship missile, the Harpoon has been killing enemy fighters since before the Second Shivan Incursion. The design is a classic example of successful procurement, and most post-Capella refinements have simply reduced cost and logistical overhead. The Harpoon surplus is on track to outpace the Hornet within the year.

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Trebuchet

The Trebuchet was a godsend during the Capella ordeal, allowing GTVA forces to disarm Shivan beam cannons from outside range of reply and providing some hope against wave after wave of bombers approaching from all directions. With a four kilometer powered flight envelope and a massive warhead, the Trebuchet must be evaded - at pain of destruction. Alliance tactics wholeheartedly embraced this weapon, and all contemporary pilots are trained in pop-up attacks and beam disarmament. Assault squadrons train to fire waves of Trebuchets against hard targets as improvised bombs. Some parties within High Command are certain that the Shivans will develop the ability to intercept and destroy these warheads, but in the meantime, they are a vital tactical asset.

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Piranha

The Piranha cluster munition deploys a spray of heat-seeking submunitions that identify and attack nearby craft. Bombers commonly carry the Piranha for terminal defense against interceptors, since a Piranha launch forces pilots to evade and break off their gun runs. Pilots often deride the Piranha as a 'die less' weapon, since any situation requiring bombers to defend themselves is already dire - but in live combat, dying less is a very worthy goal. Alliance warships also carry large stocks of Piranhas for close defense against fighters. A next-generation Piranha replacement, the Joint Cluster Defensive Munition, is currently mired in procurement and budget troubles.

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Stiletto II

The Stiletto II tactical bomb targets warship subsystems, accelerating to a terminal attack speed that gives it excellent penetration against point defense. The warhead penetrator cannot inflict armor damage, but it effectively disables systems in the armor. Smaller and cheaper than the Trebuchet, the Stiletto II may be the Alliance's single most important fighter-based weapons system against hostile warships, outstripping even the Maxim cannon. A prominent design school advocates reducing the heavy bomber fleet in favor of strike bombers carrying only Stiletto and Trebuchet variants. The weapon's aesthetics caused a minor stir among the Vasudan Capstone subculture, who see it as obscene.

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Infyrno

The Piranha's dark mirror, the Infyrno is a cluster weapon designed to annihilate wings of slow-moving bombers by saturating the area with submunitions. The design requires pilots to dumbfire the Infyrno and then manually detonate it on target, since on-board logic systems cannot penetrate enemy jamming well enough to determine an optimal point of detonation. The surprising rate of fratricide in initial deployments caused a quiet drawdown in Infyrno production, and the warhead remains tainted by its reputation decades later.

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Cyclops

The aging GTM-12 Cyclops remains in service due to an excellent series of modernization programs and enormous institutional inertia. As the Alliance's standard-issue anti-warship munition, the Cyclops defines the term 'bomb': it performs a lengthy scan cycle to analyze the target's armor and systems state, locks on, separates, and thrusts to impact while at risk of point defense fire. When fired in large volleys, the Cyclops provides good probability of hit even against modern warships, but the threat environment has grown so hostile to bombers that it is clear the Cyclops' time is limited. The special issue Helios antimatter bomb is largely restricted to anti-Sathanas FIREBREAK units, and Cyclops procurement has run so rampant that the GTVA sometimes sells consignments of older warheads off for use as mining tools despite the security risk. The Myrmidon space superiority fighter's Block 6 upgrade enables it to serve as a fighter-bomber, carrying Cyclops torpedoes.

In recent conflicts, the Artemis strike bomber has become the primary Cyclops delivery platform, since it can perform 'dive bomb' attacks in which it delivers the warload at close range. These tactics are institutionally and politically incendiary.

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Helios

The pointy end of a whole generation of theoretical science, the Helios annihilates matter and antimatter to yield a devastating shaped-charge jet and shockwave. Hastily deployed against the SJ Sathanas, the Helios proved its brute worth by helping disarm the warship's main beam weapons. Today, the Alliance's sluggish antimatter production struggles to stockpile enough Helios warheads to meet the threat of a third Shivan incursion. If the Alliance could build or obtain a solar antimatter farm, Helios production would jump by an order of magnitude, but this orbital infrastructure requires economic investment that instead went to the Sol Gate. After the deployment of the Helios and the Meson Bomb during the Second Incursion, anonymous physicists at the Hideki Institute produced the doggerel collection "This Grant Application [Won't] Kill Shivans".

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EMP Advanced

EMP weapons detonate a warhead within a thistle of snap-flash coils to produc immense pulses of radiation and energetic particles even in the void of space, threatening nearby targets with systems overload. Military-grade hardware will survive and reset, but for the duration of the pulse's effects, targeting, communications, and guidance are badly effected. Small craft such as warheads are particularly vulnerable to EMP strikes, and High Command is currently investigating the possible use of EMP effectors to degrade incoming warhead flights.

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SGFIM-I

The Standard Guided Fighter Intercept Missile, nicknamed as FighterKiller is a light warship defensive option with minimal cost in heat or power output. 250-round munitions cells grant the SIM excellent endurance, and its munitions can engage targets out to 950 meters. Fire rate is limited to one missile per eight seconds due to ammunition feed issues.

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"Houndtooth" Terran Turret

Bessimer-Kohn has manufactured countless 'Houndtooth' plasma pulse weapons. Classified as a Light Tactical Engagement System, the Houndtooth is used as a point defense gun and light attack option on Terran warships. It is compact, power efficient, and has excellent thermal characteristics, freeing up energy for subspace drive recharge and other vital functions. It is now being phased out in favor of the Sahr Corporation's pulse weapons.

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"Djinn" Terran Huge Turret

The Bessimer-Kohn 'Djinn' heavy plasma pulse weapon offers enhanced range and damage at the cost of ROF and projectile speed. Considered long obsolete, the 'Djinn' remains in service only due to its low heat output and cost. Outclassed by modern pulse weapons, the Djinn is emblematic of the economic issues that have rocked the post-Capella GTVA.

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"Catbird" Terran Weak Turret

A downgraded version of the Houndtooth warship plasma weapon, the Catbird is fitted to ships with power grid or heat sink problems, such as the Charybdis AWACS. Its firepower is inadequate for any conceivable tactical situation except asteroid defense, but funding for a fleet-wide replacement program has yet to materialize.

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"Phalanx" Antifighter Beam

A light beam cannon with a fast-rise capacitor system, SPAR optical targeting, and an 1800-meter magnetic bottle, the Phalanx Point Defense Beam System can rapidly and accurately engage incoming fighters and warheads with quick pulses. In warship engagements, it can be fired as a direct beam to supplement main batteries. This weapons system is critical to warship close defense doctrine.

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"Phalanx" Ultra Beam

A GTI modification of the Phalanx antifighter beam, the Phalanx Bravo discards all targeting systems in favor of a supplementary mini-reactor. This gives it greatly enhanced range and rate of fire, but it must be used in conjunction with an outside targeting source like a TAG system. Experimental versions of these weapons with on-board targeting equipment are currently undergoing combat evaluation trials.

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"Forge Dove" Light Beam

Used on the Fenris cruiser, the much-maligned lighter cousin of the Forge Eagle tactical beam is limited by the power grid of the ship that mounts it. Incapable of prolonged individual bursts, it relies on its relatively short recharge time to compensate for its low damage output. The Forge Dove is an unhappy compromise, arguably inferior to the fusion mortar system it is mounted alongside.

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"Forge Eagle" Tactical Beam

The RNI Tactical Beam System, codenamed 'Forge Eagle', is a mid-range tactical plasma beam with an efficiency-boosting twist. It uses a sweeping magnetic bottle to guide a relativistic plasma stream through contained arcs. Although it offers limited hull penetration, it is capable of firing even without accurate targeting solutions. Current GTVA combat doctrine calls for these weapons to be used to disarm or disable enemy vessels quickly. Forge Eagles are used as the main weapons of the flexible Deimos corvette and as a battery weapon on larger warships.

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"Pave Warden" Light Beam

The lightest tactical beam in the Terran arsenal, the Subach-Innes Cruiser Engagement System was built small and accurate, but at the cost of rate of fire. Its capacitors' long rise time, coupled with plasma core flow issues, hobble it with a 45-second charge cycle. Its compact mountings allow multiple beams to be fitted even on cruisers.

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"Crypt Hammer" Heavy Beam

The Subach-Innes Warship Engagement System, codenamed 'Crypt Hammer', was the primary GTVA destroyer beam during the Second Shivan Incursion. Reliable, accurate, easy to maintain, and highly robust, the Crypt Hammer remains a favorite of Terran warship crews. It provides the main tactical power of Orion and Hecate combatants. It has one of the lowest failure rates of any GTVA weapons system, but it produces copious heat and its mountings are bulky.

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Overloaded "Crypt Hammer"

See also: LRBGreen

During its engagement with the Sathanas juggernaut, the GTVA Colossus overloaded its 'Crypt Hammer' beam emitters, forcing additional power to the magnetic bottle and increasing plasma core feed rates. Overloading beam weapons is not standard practice on GTVA warships, but as confidence in power grid and heat sink handling has increased, trained crews have begun drilling on tactical weapon overloads. This comes at the cost of subspace engine recharge and emitter endurance.

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"Mjolnir" Weapons System

The devastating RNI Mjolnir Weapons System is powered by an onboard muon-catalyzed fusion reactor. Capable of engaging destroyer-size targets as part of its intended role as a node blockade, the Mjolnir offers devastating firepower but at the cost of limited flexibility. It requires frequent maintenance due to its limited reactant supply and a tendency to burn itself out.

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Vasudans

Mkh/Akh 121b Beam System

Mekhu Enterprises and the Akheton Corporation collaborated to design Vasudan beam systems, making grim but effective use of hours of scans gathered while the Lucifer bombarded Vasuda Prime. The 221b Beam System is used as a supplementary weapon on Vasudan destroyers, where it has earned high praise - it outperforms even Shivan beam weapons. Unexpected heat issues prevented it from being mounted on Vasudan cruisers, leaving them tremendously anemic against warships.

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Mkh/Akh 183 Beam System

The gap between cruiser-size and destroyer-size beam weapons is large, due to nonlinear scaling of heat sink and power requirements. Corvette-class warships demanded a middle ground. Mekhu Enterprises science teams focused on maximizing beam effect rather than power, using an arcing magnetic bottle to cut a path across the target. Due to Vasudan expertise in power grid design, the 183 outperforms its Terran equivalent by a small margin. The Sobek corvette makes good use of this weapons system.

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Mkh/Akh 255a Beam System

The Mekhu/Akheton 255a destroyer-mounted heavy beam uses a coaxial sensor suite to analyze debris spall from the target and uses that data to fine-tune beam radius and velocity for maximum effect. This striking piece of technology, later implemented in next-generation beam weapons, was developed by the Akheton Corporation based on systems used in the SDG. Sophisticated but power-hungry, the 255a outperforms its Terran equivalent by a small margin.

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Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance

"Crow Lash" Flak System

The flak gun is a post-Great War innovation and a key element of warship close defense doctrine. Firing caseless, smart-fused, electrically ignited explosive shells at barely subnuclear yields, the flak gun damages targets by fragmentation and blast. Modern flak guns can sustain area suppression barrages for minutes at a time before their ammunition is depleted. Although heat-efficient, flak gun deployment is limited by the need for large ammunition bunkers. One common model is the 'Crow Lash' system, is used on most GTVA warships both Terran and Vasudan.

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Fusion Mortar System

Direct-fire missile launchers firing low-yield fusion torpedoes from thousand-round revolver magazines mounted on some GTVA warships. While these weapon systems have high maintenance requirements, they can provide firepower equivalent to a light beam system with only moderate strain on a ship's power and cooling systems. The Fenris and Leviathan cruisers, as well as the Hatshepsut destroyer, are the most notable warships mounting these.

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Shivans

Shivan Cluster Missile

Shivan warships and bombers deploy cluster weapons in self defense. Launching multiple heat-seeking submunitions, these weapons appear similar to our own Piranha warheads. The warhead bus produces a shockwave that can be hazardous to nearby craft. The Nahema bomber in particular appears to employ these weapons extensively.

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Shivan Light Laser

Shivan weapon systems fire particle bursts with complex effects. Kinetic and thermal damage is the primary means of attack, but the weapons are not of sufficient power to match Alliance fighter-mounted equivalents. Strangely, Shivan weapons appear to contain sophisticated quantum computational systems which allow the burst to be programmed on the atomic level. The resultant attack can actually alter the probabilistic waveforms of baryonic matter and trigger zero-point energy microbursts. This system is used by the UD-8 Kayser to devastating effect. Puzzlingly, however, the system appears to be disabled in Shivan weapons.

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Shivan Heavy Laser

Shivan fighter weapons are qualitatively inferior in performance to their Alliance counterparts. Yet analysis of captured specimens has revealed that these weapons are incredibly sophisticated on the technological level, capable of yields that match or exceed the GTVA's best weapons systems. Why are Shivan weapons performing below their maximum specification? Some have postulated that the Shivans are intentionally holding back, but the merciless nature of the past two Shivan incursions renders this hypothesis unlikely. GTVI analysis continues.

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Shivan Mega Laser

In recent years, elements of GTVI have suggested that the unused capabilities of Shivan weapons systems are analogous to the stretches of noncoding DNA present in the human and Vasudan genomes. In this hypothesis, the excess capabilities of Shivan weapons technologies are latent, awaiting a selective pressure that will activate them. Yet the Shivans clearly display intelligent, goal-directed behavior - why would they build weapons and then find themselves unable to use them to their full potential? This apparent paradox has yet to be resolved.

Shivan Point Defense Laser

The Shivans' primary turret weapons system outperforms its Terran counterpart, the Houndtooth, in most respects. Shivan warships deploy this weapons system against incoming bombs, as a deterrent to fighters, and against hostile warships. GTVA scientists have yet to replicate the finesse of the manufacturing techniques used in this weapon.

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Shivan Weak Point Defense Laser

Like Allied vessels, Shivan ships seem to pay careful attention to power usage and heat regulation. This light point defense laser places minimal strain on power grids or heat sinks. It is unclear whether Shivan technology is in fact limited by these constraints, or whether Allied forces have simply yet to encounter top-of-the-line Shivan weapons.

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Shivan Assault Plasma System

Firing excited plasma drawn directly from onboard reactors and barely confined by a projected magnetic bottle, this massive turret weapon is a serious threat to unshielded targets. Loose bolt cohesion, and the slow travel speed necessitated by the turret's magnetic manipulation, lessen its effectiveness against well-shielded or agile targets. GTI analysts have suggested that these weapons may be downgraded or crippled versions of Shivan beam weapons - begging the question of why they appeared in the Great War.

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Shivan Antifighter Beam

Anti-fighter beams were developed after the Great War, a result of improvements in magnetic bottle technology and low-rise-time capacitors. Why did the Shivans of the Second Incursion suddenly possess this technology? Did they develop it in parallel? Why does Shivan technology display such inconsistent levels of sophistication? These questions remain unanswered. The Shivan anti-fighter weapons system is capable of near-continuous fire at slightly reduced energy levels compared to its GTVA equivalent.

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Shivan Super Laser

The Lucifer's primary weapon systems were later identified as beam cannons of immense power. Driven by five onboard reactors, these weapons made short work of Allied warships. Tragically, they could also be adapted to fire on planetary targets for hours at a time, a task at which they excelled.

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Shivan Light Beam Cannon

Alliance beam cannons were reverse-engineered from scans of the Lucifer. Shivan beam weapons systems continue to outperform them, offering comparable or superior firepower with reduced power drain and heat output. This beam cannon is a cruiser-grade weapons system used for direct-fire engagement of hostile targets. It is a serious but not overwhelming threat to Allied warships. Pilots who see a charging beam should break to avoid its path.

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Shivan Heavy Beam Cannon

The hellishly powerful Shivan destroyer-grade beam system annihilates layers of collapsed molybdenum armor with contemptuous ease. Firing a jet of tightly contained plasma at relativistic velocities, this beam system overmatches any warship in the GTVA arsenal. The heavy beam cannon is integral to Shivan shock-jump tactics, and provides a near-insurmountable advantage in line engagements. It is capable of near-continuous fire, and yet, frighteningly, its power requirements are so low that it can be mounted on modified cruisers. Ships carrying these weapons should be considered priority targets for disarming strikes.

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Shivan Juggernaut Beam Cannon

Alliance analysts have no explanation for this weapons system. The Sathanas' main beam cannons discharge kilotons of magnetically confined plasma at .9998 lightspeed. They are capable of continuous fire without overheating. It is unclear where the heat goes, leading GTI analysts to the unsettling conclusion that these weapons are not compatible with thermodynamics as we understand it. It is possible that waste heat is somehow shunted into subspace, or that the Shivans use quantum sleight-of-hand to process the heat out of local space. No allied warship can survive engagement with one of these weapons. Current GTVA tactical doctrine calls for concentrated bomber strikes to destroy these weapons before they can be brought to bear on allied capital ships.

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