Weapon types[edit | edit source]
Spacecraft weapons are broadly divided into two types:
- Guns: fire destructive energy or projectiles incapable of self-propulsion.
- Self-propelled: fires either destructive self-propelled projectiles or countermeasures.
Guns[edit | edit source]
Guns are broadly divided into two types:
- Energy weapons: includes lasers, electron guns, plasma particle blasters, and tachyon cannons. They are more effective at penetrating unshielded hulls than ballistic weapons, but less effective against shields.
- Distortion Cannons: A subtype of energy weapons designed to attack an target's "pipe" systems, such as power and heat management.
- Ballistic weapons: includes mass drivers, scatterguns, gauss guns, and dredge guns. They are more effective at penetrating energy shields than energy weapons, but less effective against unshielded hulls.
Self-propelled weapons[edit | edit source]
Missiles are the only type of self-propelled weapon identified so far that is actually a weapon. Countermeasures are the other broad category of self-propelled weapon, though their function is to inhibit the function of enemy weapons or spacecraft and are therefore defensive in nature.