Directorate Officer
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Intent: To provide the Republic with their own version of the old Imperial General Purpose Warhead Launcher
Development Thread: N/A
Manufacturer: Lucerne Labs
Model: LLT-7 General Purpose Warhead Launcher
Affiliation: Galactic Republic / Lucerne Labs
Modularity: Ammunition
Production: Mass-Produced
Material: Durasteel body parts, electronics
Classification: starfighter-scale warhead launcher
Size: Ship-Mounted
Length: 1.5 meters
Weight: 1 metric ton
Ammunition Type: projectiles
Ammunition Capacity: varies dependent on warhead carried (4 concussion missiles, 3 proton torpedoes, 2 proton rockets, 1 space bomb, or other equivalent).
Effective Range: dependent on exact munition carried, but typical starfighter ranges
Rate of Fire: semi-automatic
Special Features:
-can carry different types of warheads
-warheads are launched using compressed air
Description: Originally, Lucerne Labs was looking for a new warhead launcher that would add some flexibility to the mission profiles of their smaller craft. Their search ended up centering on the SFS M-g-2 GPWL and the Arakyd Flex Tube proton torpedo launcher, both of which can hold a bewildering variety of weapons. However, it was decided that for political and logistical reasons, it would probably not best to outsource such a key component of their designs. They would have to develop their own, which resulted in the LLT-7 General Purpose Warhead Launcher. It is a basic starfighter warhead launcher modeled on the old SFS M-G-2 General Purpose Warhead Launcher, and is almost identical in terms of its performance. But it is a different system functionally, and actually shares more in common in basic design with the Krupx MG-7 Proton Torpedo launchers famed for their use in the original X-wing.
Each LLT-7 base is a cylinder of compressed air fitted behind an interchangeable revolving drum which holds the ordinance. A burst of compressed air propels the projectile out of the launcher, where if the projectile has its own propulsion system, it ignites. Otherwise, the initial inertia supplied by the launcher propels the projectile to its target. There are four sizes of drum, which different sized chambers to carry different sized ordinance. The most common one is chambered to carry and fire four standard concussion missiles or very similarly sized ordinance. The second can carry three proton torpedoes or similarly sized ordinance. The thir only has two chambers, which it typically uses to carry a pair of heavy rockets, but like the others, other similiarly sized ordinances can be used. The last one is unique in that it is not a revolving drum, but actually a single-shot firing chamber for only one large piece of ordinance, typically a space bomb. This bomb is a typically a small yield proton bomb designed for space use only, and is not capable of wide-area effect destruction. The drums can be changed by most starship mechanics with the proper tools, but calibrating the air compressor to fire with the new drum takes more time than is available in most combat settings. Consequently, starfighters using the LLT-7 are not capable of exchanging drums in combat, although they can be reloaded given enough time by conventional deck crews or dedicated vehicles like combat utility vehicles.
Compared to many other warhead launchers, the LLT-7 cannot carry as many warheads, nor does its compressed air launching system mean that it can fire them as quickly as the others can, but it is capable of supporting a wide variety of ordinance types, which lends some tactical flexibility to Republic craft. But in order to use this strength, it requires some forethought and planning by the ship's pilots and their support staff.
Primary Source: Not applicable
