Ranged Weapon Review MTB-50 Ram'or Hyperbeam Cannon

[Thyr Kyron]

M T B - 5 0
R A M ' O R
HYPERBEAM CANNON
​

"No comment."
- Kestri Heavy Engineering engineer on the weapon design.

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: To create a next-generation anti-capital ship weapon for the Iron Covenant.
• Image Source: N/A
• Canon Link: N/A
• Permissions: Roble Manufacturing
• Primary Source: RMHC-14 Angband Hypermatter Cannon

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

• Manufacturer: Kestri Heavy Engineering
• Affiliation: The Iron Covenant
• Market Status: Closed-Market
• Model: MTB-50 Ram'or Hyperbeam Cannon
• Modularity: None
• Production: Semi-Unique
• Material:
  • Multi-layer armor plating
    • Impervium carbide, outer thermal spray coating
    • Quadanium steel base
    • Chromium-titanium internal protective casing
  • Durasteel Structure
  • Duravlex Inner Barrel Plating
  • Gadolinium magnoelectronic components
  • SACG-23S Shock-Absorbent Gel
  • Thorilide Shock-Absorbing Base
  • Liquid-Aenite Coating
  • Mirkanite supercompression chamber liner
  • Sybarium crystal focusing lens
  • Agrocite crystal actuator lattice
  • Capacitators
  • Laminanium Superconducting Core
  • Dolovite Heat Insulation

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Classification: Perpetual beam cannon
• Size: Extremely Large
• Weight: Extremely Heavy
• Ammunition Type:
  • Concentrated hypermatter, antimatter particles
• Ammunition Capacity: Extremely Large (Sustained Beam Cannon)
• Effective Range: Battlefield
• Rate of Fire: Extremely High
• Damage Output: Extreme
• Recoil: Average

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Protective anti-element coating
• Hypermatter annihilation chamber core
  • High-spin agrocite-based laser actuator
  • Energy coupler
  • Ionic cascade overcharge chamber
  • RGHT-BH5 Erebus Particle Collider
  • Antimatter particle diffractor, concentrator
  • Sybarium Crystal power amplification
• Heat-sink cooling shrouds
  • Preventative overheating of barrel and laser components
  • SACG-23S Shock Absorbent Gel-based cooling tubes
• Recoil-absorbent thorilide base

STRENGTHS

• Marked for Death: The hyperbeam cannon fires a sustained beam of hypermatter at a ship, designed to create a destructive chain reaction when interacting with shield systems that scales with time.
• Shield Scaling: The stronger a shield system is, the stronger the chain reaction, culminating in an extreme optimization and power scaling when interacting with the positive energy feedback loop created by molecular shielding.

WEAKNESSES

• Non-Mobile: The weapon cannot aim on its own and must be aimed by maneuvering the ship within which it is installed.
• Mosquitos and Elephants: While an effective weapon against large or cumbersome capital ships, against maneuverable ships and small craft the weapon is useless.
• Shield Cycling: A targeted ship may power down shield systems, thereby all but eliminating the effectiveness of the weapon.
• Power Management: Starships between 2 km and 5 km in size cannot produce sufficient power to install any other weapon systems besides the hyperbeam cannon.
• Large Ship Installation: Starships under 2 km in length cannot install the weapon.

DESCRIPTION
The MTB-50 Ram'or Hyperbeam Cannon is a fixed hypermatter-based axial weapon designed to inflict devastating damage on heavily shielded capital ships. The design centers around a modified hypermatter annihilation chamber and high-spin agrocinite-based laser actuator that channels raw hypermatter into an ultra-dense, sustained energy beam of antimatter particles. These positively charged particles are extremely destructive when they encounter the negatively charged particles of shield systems. The longer the beam is concentrated on a shielded target, the more destructive the result is designed to be.

However, due to its immense power and space requirements, starships between 2 and 5 kilometers in length are forced to have it as the only weapons system installed, and any ships smaller than that cannot install the weapon.

The weapon's primary strength lies in its anti-shield design. When the beam strikes an enemy vessel, it is designed to interact with shield systems to create an escalating chain reaction. The stronger and more advanced the target's shield system -- especially molecular shielding --the more destructive the feedback loop becomes. This is designed to shred through heavy defenses that would easily withstand conventional turbolaser fire.

Conversely, the design suffers from significant operational limitations. Because it is non-mobile and fixed in place, the firing ship must align its entire hull to aim the weapon, rendering it useless against fast, agile fighters and smaller craft. Additionally, target ships can mitigate or entirely negate the weapon's effects simply by lowering their shields before impact, cutting the chain reaction. Lastly, its massive energy draw places extreme demands on ship power management, restricting its use on smaller platforms.

 

[Admiral Burtch]

Thyr Kyron

Hey there! I'll be judging your submission today.

Interesting concept! There are just a few things I'd like clarified before proceeding.

Weapon Operation: Could you elaborate a little on how the weapon functions? The submission describes a sustained hypermatter beam, an annihilation chamber, and supercompressed cesium gas, but it's unclear how these elements interact or what is actually being projected at the target.

Shield Interaction: You describe the weapon as causing an escalating chain reaction that becomes more destructive against stronger shields. Could you explain what causes this interaction?

Please also soften the language describing the weapon shredding through opposing defenses. It's fine to describe its intended destructive potential, but the outcome should remain open to the opposing writer.

Clerical Problem: The RGHT-BH5 Erebus Particle Collider link appears to be malformed.

Tag me when you've addressed those points and I'll take another look!

 

[Thyr Kyron]

Admiral Burtch

Hey! I've given it the once-over and cleaned up several stuff. The broken link has been fixed, and I also added a primary source, a hypermatter cannon I made a while back that this submission is roughly based on. Also toned down any language that may dictate outcomes. Let me know if anything still stands out to you.

The premise behind the cannon's function is that a modified hypermatter annihilation reactor provides the enormous amounts of power necessary to create charged antimatter particles. These particles basically have the opposite charges of normal matter particles, so when they collide with (negatively charged) normal particles, the two "annihilate" each other and are converted to energy.

Of course, this is Star Wars pseudoscience, so to avoid it being a superweapon, I am making this effect specifically effective against deployed shields. In the submission, I was a lot more focused on the game-balancing aspect of the sub than the hard science behind it, but I can elaborate more or less as you'd prefer.