Directorate Officer
Image Source: N / A
Intent: To provide smaller ships with a heavy, long-range kinetic weapon
Development Thread: If necessary
Manufacturer: Lucerne Labs
Model: LLT-13 Arbalest-class Mass Driver Cannon
Affiliation: Galactic Republic, Lucerne Labs
Modularity: Ammunition (see below)
Production: Mass-Produced
Material: durasteel frame, dallorian alloy plating, magnetic coils, capacitors, various electronics
Classification: Ship-to-ship Mass-Driver Cannon
Size: Capital Ship-Mounted
Length: 60 meters
Weight: 150 tons
Ammunition Type: slugs
Ammunition Capacity: dependent on carrier vessel
Effective Range: same as long-range turbolaser
Rate of Fire: semi-automatic (1 slug every 2 minutes)
Special Features:
-Counts as 10 capital guns (heavy(x2) long-range(x5) mass driver cannon)
Strengths:
-provides smaller ships effective long-range firepower
-Can be adapted to fire different types of ammunition (only 2 types currently)
Weaknesses:
-Cannot be turreted (fixed fire arc only), limiting its use against small & agile targets
-Slow rate of fire
Description: After witnessing the power of the Vortex cannon, Commodore Gir Quee directed the engineers of Lucerne Labs to work on building a significantly larger version of the company's mass driver cannon, with the eye towards being able to mount it on a smaller ship as an artillery-like support weapon. But the resulting weapon, dubbed the Arbalest for its slow recharge time but its hefty punch, works on entirely different principles than the company's first cannon: it's a coilgun.
The sixty meter long barrel is made up by superconducting coils which are charged to form a strong magnetic field, which draws a ferromagnetic projectile to the center of the coil. As the projectile nears the end of one coil, it switches off, and the next coil in line switches on, gradually accelerating the projectile in a linear motion until it exits the barrel. This means that the acceleration of the projectile is slower and more gradual than that of comparable railgun, which in turn means that the Arbalest also has a much longer barrel in order for the projectile to reach the same velocity as a railgun. This also means that the Arbalest has a much slower rate of fire as well, but the advantage to this system is that it costs significantly less energy than a railgun of comparable power, and the energy draw is more gradual as it goes through each coil, allowing even small ships like corvettes to mount it. But because its barrel is so long, and must be properly protected with cooling systems and various insulators, there is no hope of the Arbalest ever being a turreted weapon. This means that the Arbalest is unlikely to be able to target ships the same size as its carrier vessel or smaller with slugs, unless those ships are either stationary, or slower and less maneuverable than the ship that is carrying the Arbalest.
The Arbalest currently only has two ammunition types available for it:
Slug: This is a simple 5 meter long slug of ferrocarbon is the most common type of ammunition used by the Arbalest. Rather than relying on any specific payload, it uses its large mass and high relativistic velocity to impart great kinetic energy against the target. Against many lightly armored targets, the slug will only partially vaporize as it penetrates, and could theoretically keep going out through the other side of the hull. Against more heavily armored targets, almost all of the slug will almost always vaporize, but will also take out much of the thick armor if it does not penetrate, making that area of the hull weaker to subsequent attacks.
Beehive: This mine is composed of a ferrocarbon shell covering a faraday cage which carries a dozen explosive submunitions. After a Beehive is launched, the ferrocarbon shell and faraday cage break away, releasing the submunitions to spread much like buckshot. Because of their high velocity, these explosive submunitions will typically hit a target all across its hull, essentially trading the penetration of a slug for a larger area of effect. It's not commonly used by the Arbalest because of its higher cost and lessened effectiveness against armor, but is occasionally used to attack smaller or more agile targets, which could likely evade a slug, or to attempt to bypass defensive screens set around a target vessel (such as starfighters, dovin basals, etc).
Primary Source: N / A
Intent: To provide smaller ships with a heavy, long-range kinetic weapon
Development Thread: If necessary
Manufacturer: Lucerne Labs
Model: LLT-13 Arbalest-class Mass Driver Cannon
Affiliation: Galactic Republic, Lucerne Labs
Modularity: Ammunition (see below)
Production: Mass-Produced
Material: durasteel frame, dallorian alloy plating, magnetic coils, capacitors, various electronics
Classification: Ship-to-ship Mass-Driver Cannon
Size: Capital Ship-Mounted
Length: 60 meters
Weight: 150 tons
Ammunition Type: slugs
Ammunition Capacity: dependent on carrier vessel
Effective Range: same as long-range turbolaser
Rate of Fire: semi-automatic (1 slug every 2 minutes)
Special Features:
-Counts as 10 capital guns (heavy(x2) long-range(x5) mass driver cannon)
Strengths:
-provides smaller ships effective long-range firepower
-Can be adapted to fire different types of ammunition (only 2 types currently)
Weaknesses:
-Cannot be turreted (fixed fire arc only), limiting its use against small & agile targets
-Slow rate of fire
Description: After witnessing the power of the Vortex cannon, Commodore Gir Quee directed the engineers of Lucerne Labs to work on building a significantly larger version of the company's mass driver cannon, with the eye towards being able to mount it on a smaller ship as an artillery-like support weapon. But the resulting weapon, dubbed the Arbalest for its slow recharge time but its hefty punch, works on entirely different principles than the company's first cannon: it's a coilgun.
The sixty meter long barrel is made up by superconducting coils which are charged to form a strong magnetic field, which draws a ferromagnetic projectile to the center of the coil. As the projectile nears the end of one coil, it switches off, and the next coil in line switches on, gradually accelerating the projectile in a linear motion until it exits the barrel. This means that the acceleration of the projectile is slower and more gradual than that of comparable railgun, which in turn means that the Arbalest also has a much longer barrel in order for the projectile to reach the same velocity as a railgun. This also means that the Arbalest has a much slower rate of fire as well, but the advantage to this system is that it costs significantly less energy than a railgun of comparable power, and the energy draw is more gradual as it goes through each coil, allowing even small ships like corvettes to mount it. But because its barrel is so long, and must be properly protected with cooling systems and various insulators, there is no hope of the Arbalest ever being a turreted weapon. This means that the Arbalest is unlikely to be able to target ships the same size as its carrier vessel or smaller with slugs, unless those ships are either stationary, or slower and less maneuverable than the ship that is carrying the Arbalest.
The Arbalest currently only has two ammunition types available for it:
Slug: This is a simple 5 meter long slug of ferrocarbon is the most common type of ammunition used by the Arbalest. Rather than relying on any specific payload, it uses its large mass and high relativistic velocity to impart great kinetic energy against the target. Against many lightly armored targets, the slug will only partially vaporize as it penetrates, and could theoretically keep going out through the other side of the hull. Against more heavily armored targets, almost all of the slug will almost always vaporize, but will also take out much of the thick armor if it does not penetrate, making that area of the hull weaker to subsequent attacks.
Beehive: This mine is composed of a ferrocarbon shell covering a faraday cage which carries a dozen explosive submunitions. After a Beehive is launched, the ferrocarbon shell and faraday cage break away, releasing the submunitions to spread much like buckshot. Because of their high velocity, these explosive submunitions will typically hit a target all across its hull, essentially trading the penetration of a slug for a larger area of effect. It's not commonly used by the Arbalest because of its higher cost and lessened effectiveness against armor, but is occasionally used to attack smaller or more agile targets, which could likely evade a slug, or to attempt to bypass defensive screens set around a target vessel (such as starfighters, dovin basals, etc).
Primary Source: N / A
