Technology

Spitballing ideas here

Planetary Space Gun

The Republic developed a weapon that would have been able to defeat them when they were conquering their planet. A kinetic cannon on the surface of a planet that can fire a rod into space. This cannon is built underground and the barrel extends out of the ground and is housed in a bunker-skyscraper. This building is capable of small angle adjustments to allow the aiming of the gun.

This cannon spins a projectile around a large underground tube before it has enough inertia to reach its target, then it is shifted into the barrel and launched into space at its target.

This weapon delivers a payload to orbit in about the same time as a missile but is undetectable. Where a missile launch on the surface can be detected and a ship could prevent a missile from reaching its target, a kinetic rod being launched several times the speed of sound is basically impossible to dodge. The time comes in that the spin up to meet speed requirements can take a bit, but several shots can be put in the tube at the same time.

The Space Cannon’s projectile is a smart shell in that it can perform minor adjustments to it’s trajectory at the cost of slowing down. The projectile also contains a small amount of explosives which can be detonated on impact to deal HE damage to ships, or detonated just before it reaches its target to provide an “airburst” like effect, dealing less damage to a larger area.