Weapon Systems:Note on distances:
Long-range: > 20,000 km
Medium-range: < 20,000 km
Close-range: < 1,000 km
Plasma and Pulse Cannons:
The Plasma weapons are a simple and effective concept: high temperature plasma (helium collected from the fusion reactor of a star ship [or xenon/argon] ionized and heated inside the barrel), is accumulated in a barrel chamber inside the weapon. Once the necessary Plasma charge is accumulated, the "bolt" itself is compressed, to allow the maintenance of concentration for a given time, released in the barrel of the weapon and accelerated by electromagnetic fields. The energy accumulated in a bolt is impressive, and, until the bolt begins to decay and dissipate, it is able to inflict devastating damages, and allows high penetrating power. The main disadvantage of the plasma weapons are the short range and the energy and plasma drainage from the main reactors. The great advantages are the piercing power and the ability to release on impact a large energy pulse, able to damage either the outer and inner structures of a target due both the thermal-ablative effect and to the concussive-explosive effect of the Plasma bolt: this last effect is very important even in regards of the penetration mechanism: when the plasma bolt impacts an amour, it vaporizes the material of the plate, and this generates even the equivalent of a powerful explosive blast, and a shockwave through the armor.
This "explosive" effect can be powerful enough to collapse mechanically and breach through armor and hull structure of a ship.
The Auroran armors are less sensitive to this effect due to the high mechanical (and thermal) resistance of the composite materials employed, and to the effective compartmentation of the hulls, but the crystalline armors, while proportionally equally or even more effective against beam weapons, are more brittle, and much more subject to the "concussive breaching" of the bolt weapons.
The Pulse technology is essentially a series of systems that enhance the plasma bolt compression and shaping, giving a better piercing power, and increasing slightly the range, and a fast feeding system that allows to increase up to an order of magnitude the rate of fire of a plasma based weapon.
Standard Plasma CannonMode:Phased Plasma Pulses
Power/Feeding requirements: 300 Terawatts
Range(effective): 540 km
Rate of fire: Standard, 60 pulses/barrel/minute
Nominal bore: 6.5 meters/5.8 meters, (barrel bore, 23 meters)
Energy for each shot/discharge: 235 Terajoules (plasma pulse)
Nominal piercing power, solid steel: 88 meters (plasma pulse)
Standard Pulse CannonMode:Plasma Pulses
Power/Feeding requirements: 215 Terawatts for the twin mount.
Range(effective):600 km
Rate of fire: Standard, Plasma 80 pulse/minute/barrell
Nominal bore: 3 meters (Barrel bore 11 meters)
Energy for each shot/discharge: 85 Terajoules/bolt(85 e12 joules)
Nominal piercing power, solid steel: 65 meters
Starfury Revolver Plasma Pulse CannonsThis weapon is a plasma bolter that, instead of a single primary feeding chamber, has a five chambers revolver device. In each one of these chambers is actuated the buildup of the plasma bolt, but while the average rate of fire is 120 shots/minute for each weapon, the peak rate of fire, so the rate of fire obtained when the bolts accumulated in the revolver chambers are released in a quick burst, is an awesome 900 shots/minute: the Aurora can release on the targets a salvo-like ripple of ten powerful plasma bolts in one thirdth of second
Mode:Plasma Pulses
Power/Feeding requirements: 25 Terawatts
Range(effective):100 km
Rate of fire: 900 pulse/minute
Nominal bore: 0.3 meters (barrel bore, 0.8 meters)
Energy for each shot: 1.5 Terajoules ( 1.5 e12 Joule)
Nominal piercing power, solid steel: 6 meters
Lance Weapons:Another simple weapon, based off of Laser (laz) technology prior to the Great Suppression by the Xilonog, Lances are powerful shipboard weapons capable of sustaining a beam for up to 20 seconds at a time, although at great energy costs. Auroran lances are typically fired for 6 second bursts requiring nearly 3,00 Terawatts of energy output. The raking capabilities, however, combined with penetration power are awe inspiring. Also due to the firing mechanics of lance weapons, beams are capable of travelling thousands of kilometers through the vacuum of space. However, lance weapons are only equipped onto capital ships, and are often not the most numerous weapons.
Standard LanceMode:Sustained beams of 6" of duration, 20" maximum capability
Power/Feeding requirements: 3500 Terawatts (3500 e12 Watt)
Range(effective):70,000 km
Rate of fire: Average, 3 beams/minute. Maximum, 0.5 beam/minute.
Nominal bore: 0.533 meters
Nominal piercing power, solid steel:210 meters
Railguns:Railguns are potent weapons. Conceptually simple, it is just a linear electric motor that accelerates a conductive projectile, it requires very good material technology to became a really operative and effective weapon. Since their inception they were well liked because of their awesome piercing power and affordability, and the ability to destroy enemy armors and systems. The actual railgun projectiles, are a composite shot that has a lightweight external frame, that is essentially the "armature" of the impacter and its "engine" inside the barrel. The Frame, or "Sabot", holds along its centerline a rod made of an iridium/cobalt based alloy, extremely dense (about 20, so 2.5 times the steel), slender and though, that represents the 85% of the mass of the projectile: at the impact the external sabot virtually sublimates, with a relatively low penetration and a craterization of the external face of the armor, but the kinetic energy of the rod is so high and so concentrated on a small area, that this inner core is virtually unstoppable. The railgun has two purposes, medium range saturation of an area, and close range devastation. Significant downsides to railguns are that they are often fixed emplacements, requiring well thought out manuevers to use fully, and that each round is unguided. The benefits of railguns, however, are obvious. They have a devestating effect against slower vehicles with weak armor, easily capable of ripping enemy vehicles to shreds. Each round, however, has no explosive impact, instead each hit is quite similar to a hollow tip bullet from ancient projectile weaponry.
Standard RailgunMode:Single shots, 5 shots bursts, free bursts.
Power/Feeding requirements: 12 Terawatts @ 30 Rounds/minute.
Range(effective):8000 km
Rate of fire: 30 rounds/minute/barrel
Nominal bore: 406 millimeters (16")
Energy for each shot/discharge: 1,1 Terajoules
Muzzle speed: 70000 meters second
Nominal piercing power, solid steel: 125 meters
Defensive Systems:The outer armour is a composition of regular plates of standard dimensions (30*20 meters), with the outer ablative covering that is made by a lamination of low thickness (28mm) layers of amorphous Silicon nitride , saturated with boron whiskers, and layers of multicellular metal (Titanium) foam (50mm): this external layer is followed by a coryndon crystals metal matrix composite and by a third, thick layer of a 3-D mesh of carbon nanotubes in a Beryllium-Titanium alloy matrix (Commercial denomination: Plasteel).
This stratification is more effective than the old one against the conventional energy/kinetic attacks, but his interaction with the antineutron beams is conceived, as possible, to destroy mainly the external laminate through an ablative process, in the attempt to sacrifice as much as possible of the outer armour, preserving the inner hull. The intermediate layer is similar in concept to the former scheme, but with a more sophisticated design, with collapsible cylinders (Pugliese sacrifical structures) contained in the metal foam layer, more effectives than the old homogeneous foam regards the energy dissipation ability. The inner armour is again a sandwich of titanium alloy bonded with three intermediate layers, with the first made of corindon crystals in a ceramic matrix, the second made of carbon nanotubes in a metallic/resin hybrid matrix, and the third of organic, high strength fibres in an organic matrix. All this is bonded to the structure of the hull, that is a series of beams, plates and bulkheads of carbon nanotubes in a resin matrix, with large use of sandwich structures, molecularly bonded together to build the sturdiest hulls ever seen on a combat spaceship.
Disruption Field:
***Information on this technology is classified***
Open to public knowledge: Using intense electromagnetic radiation, a field is created which hugs the vessel utilizing the disruption field. Combat has proven that it does not entirely negate the power of the laser, but instead dissipates it over a wider area, allowing ablative armor to absorb it quicker before it can punch through to the armor less susceptible to laser and particle beams. The field also utilizes a gravitic repulsion field, which repels or slows down incoming projectiles, allowing the armor to receive softer blows.
