Ultimatum
Duranium Lord
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
The Mowers, so named after the initial testings ended in a nearby field catching fire (and its effect on infantry), are a new starship based weapon intended to be used as ground support and as a anti-fighter weapon, however with the proper targeting system and adjustments to the arrangement of components it can act as a point defense system and on larger craft. The design was based on ancient weapons designs that predated full space travel and even conventional use of energy weapons. The unit is rather obtrusive and the addition of a large gas canister into the unit creates a conundrum involving spacial issues. This along with the potential power draw, limits the additional features that could be added to the fighter. On most fighter craft this weapon must be considered the primary weapon due to its size taking up a large area of space within the fighter. Since the system runs on electricity it would make sense to create some form of protection against Electroweapons or Ion weapons, however the sizing issue became too great and it was opted to run without any natural protection. Instead any form of protection must come from the ship it is built into. If the ship is hardened against such weapons, and it covers the key components, then the system will be much less likely to fail under such conditions. If however the fighter has no such protection, a dangerous idea indeed, then the ionic or electro weapons will have a standard effect.
The weapon itself is a multi-barrel, rotating autocannon that fires mainly gas based blaster bolts. The large gas canister attached to the unit allows for a full 5,000 rounds to be fired. This canister can be attached to, or replaced with, a predesigned larger container for larger ships, which would allow cruisers or even gunships to contain more gas bolts, depending on the size of the craft. A gunship might be able to hold 7,000 rounds worth of gas, while a cruiser or larger could go as far as 10,000, unless specifically designed units are created for the craft. Each of these shots is strong enough to penetrate most vehicle armors and armored structures, needless to say all but the most powerful of infantry armor is useless against these. Of course, there are several, rare and difficult to obtain armor materials that could handle the shots with ease. When the main ammunition runs out, the unit switches over to electrical based projectiles that pull power from the ship that houses it. The draw is significant enough that it is recommended to avoid prolonged firing when drawing on fighter power. The electrical shots are far weaker than the gas based rounds. While capable of making short work of infantry, the electrical bolts are less likely to penetrate heavy vehicle armors. The draw is however significant enough to warrant avoidance of use except in extreme situations. If the fighter, as most are, utilizes a reactor of one form or other then the power draw of a three second burst will likely cause the fighter to lower shields for several seconds while the reactor attempts to catch up with the power draw.
The rate of fire is adjustable up to a maximum firing rate of 4000 rpm, this is however severely hampered by the heat of gas based fire. The barrels have been designed to handle two or three seconds bursts. While no recorded failure occurred during testing regarding overheating, the theoretical limit is ten seconds after that it is assumed that the internal mechanisms would begin to liquefy, leading to complete failure of fire and the need to replace the entire unit. Anything beyond three second bursts causes increase barrel wear and decreases the life of the barrels, which in turn makes the unit require more maintenance, high potentials of in combat failure over time, and sooner replacement.
The unit is such that if simply centering the rotary center to that of the fighter, the recoil will push the fighter off target, and can cause severe damage to the system unless proper measures are taken to reduce the recoil or change its affect pathway. While not affecting the flight speed very considerably, the recoil is enough to through the fighter around unless properly centered. The necessary method of installation is to have the unit placed in such a way that the gun is slightly off-center, so that the firing barrel is at the center line of the craft to limit the recoil throwing off the aim of the pilot. Otherwise the recoil of the shot will cause the craft to be pushed around.
- Intent: To create a weapon for future LOOM craft to take advantage of
- Image Source:
- Canon Link: N/A
- Restricted Missions: N/A
- Primary Source: N/A
- Manufacturer: LOOM
- Model: Ulti-Class
- Affiliation: Closed-Market
- Modularity: Firing Rate can be adjusted
- Production: Limited
- Material: Duranium, Durasteel, Blaster Components
- Classification: Gatling Cannon
- Size: Ship-Mounted
- Length: 7 m (whole system)
- Weight: 300 kg (whole system)
- Ammunition Type: Electrical, Blaster
- Ammunition Capacity: Gas based system contains a maximum of 5,000 rounds, electrical is draws power from craft
- Effective Range: 5 km (Maximum range: 10 km)
- Rate of Fire: Maximum: 4000 rpm
- High rate of fire
- Armor piercing rounds
- Electric or Gas fire
- Fires very quickly
- Gas rounds can penetrate most vehicle armors
- Can adjust fire rate to accommodate different necessities
- Potentially disastrous recoil on fighter craft
- Rather obtrusive system within fighter design
- Heat from fire has significant constraints on prolonged fire
- Use of electric bolts draws significantly on the fighter's power source
- Has no inbuilt defenses against ionic weapons
The Mowers, so named after the initial testings ended in a nearby field catching fire (and its effect on infantry), are a new starship based weapon intended to be used as ground support and as a anti-fighter weapon, however with the proper targeting system and adjustments to the arrangement of components it can act as a point defense system and on larger craft. The design was based on ancient weapons designs that predated full space travel and even conventional use of energy weapons. The unit is rather obtrusive and the addition of a large gas canister into the unit creates a conundrum involving spacial issues. This along with the potential power draw, limits the additional features that could be added to the fighter. On most fighter craft this weapon must be considered the primary weapon due to its size taking up a large area of space within the fighter. Since the system runs on electricity it would make sense to create some form of protection against Electroweapons or Ion weapons, however the sizing issue became too great and it was opted to run without any natural protection. Instead any form of protection must come from the ship it is built into. If the ship is hardened against such weapons, and it covers the key components, then the system will be much less likely to fail under such conditions. If however the fighter has no such protection, a dangerous idea indeed, then the ionic or electro weapons will have a standard effect.
The weapon itself is a multi-barrel, rotating autocannon that fires mainly gas based blaster bolts. The large gas canister attached to the unit allows for a full 5,000 rounds to be fired. This canister can be attached to, or replaced with, a predesigned larger container for larger ships, which would allow cruisers or even gunships to contain more gas bolts, depending on the size of the craft. A gunship might be able to hold 7,000 rounds worth of gas, while a cruiser or larger could go as far as 10,000, unless specifically designed units are created for the craft. Each of these shots is strong enough to penetrate most vehicle armors and armored structures, needless to say all but the most powerful of infantry armor is useless against these. Of course, there are several, rare and difficult to obtain armor materials that could handle the shots with ease. When the main ammunition runs out, the unit switches over to electrical based projectiles that pull power from the ship that houses it. The draw is significant enough that it is recommended to avoid prolonged firing when drawing on fighter power. The electrical shots are far weaker than the gas based rounds. While capable of making short work of infantry, the electrical bolts are less likely to penetrate heavy vehicle armors. The draw is however significant enough to warrant avoidance of use except in extreme situations. If the fighter, as most are, utilizes a reactor of one form or other then the power draw of a three second burst will likely cause the fighter to lower shields for several seconds while the reactor attempts to catch up with the power draw.
The rate of fire is adjustable up to a maximum firing rate of 4000 rpm, this is however severely hampered by the heat of gas based fire. The barrels have been designed to handle two or three seconds bursts. While no recorded failure occurred during testing regarding overheating, the theoretical limit is ten seconds after that it is assumed that the internal mechanisms would begin to liquefy, leading to complete failure of fire and the need to replace the entire unit. Anything beyond three second bursts causes increase barrel wear and decreases the life of the barrels, which in turn makes the unit require more maintenance, high potentials of in combat failure over time, and sooner replacement.
The unit is such that if simply centering the rotary center to that of the fighter, the recoil will push the fighter off target, and can cause severe damage to the system unless proper measures are taken to reduce the recoil or change its affect pathway. While not affecting the flight speed very considerably, the recoil is enough to through the fighter around unless properly centered. The necessary method of installation is to have the unit placed in such a way that the gun is slightly off-center, so that the firing barrel is at the center line of the craft to limit the recoil throwing off the aim of the pilot. Otherwise the recoil of the shot will cause the craft to be pushed around.
