W-165 planetary turbolaser

The w-165 planetary turbolaser was a heavy turbolaser manufactured by Kuat Drive Yards. At the time of its introduction, it was the most powerful planetary turbolaser ever built, and was four times as powerful as the v-150 Planet Defender .
==Description==
One of the most powerful turbolasers to be constructed, the Kuat Drive Yards w-165 planetary turbolaser was a massive planet-based weapon that included the turbolaser weapon and a stabilizing platform measuring one hundred and fifty meters in diameter. The emplacement was designed to be operated in any environment and was equipped with eight stabilizer legs that could support the emplacement on unstable terrain such as ice. The emplacements could even be positioned in bodies of water such as lakes or seas, using flotation platforms and durasteel anchor cables to maintain stable positions. Each unit cost ten million credits.
Although protected by armor and deflector shield generators, it was common for engineers to bury the base platform underneath rock or earth as an additional layer of defense. With a power core generating enough energy to power a city, the w-165 planetary turbolaser had a power output that was almost four times that of the v-150 Planet Defender ion cannon. The reactor powering the weapon was over fifty meters in diameter, allowing the w-165 to fire a shot every ten seconds. The power that was processed by the turbolaser actuator was enough to energy to power a large city for a full day.
The turbolaser's barrel was almost twenty-five meters in diameter, and incorporated three kilometers of galven circuitry threaded through the barrel. The Emitter Tip produced one of the largest laser beams in the galaxy, with only superweapons such as the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station's superlaser being able to match the w-165 for range and power.
The turbolaser had over four dozen overload dispersal tubes around the barrel to absorb excess energy from the firing process which protected the weapon against accidental explosions that could occur during a malfunction. Targeting sensors and deflector shield generators were positioned around the weapon itself, and the turbolaser actuator, located at the bottom of the weapon and wrapped in armor plating, was ringed by a cooling sleeve designed to keep the weapon within safe operating temperatures. During operation, all of the weapon's components were carefully monitored.
The massive turbolaser was housed on a stable, permanent platform that included the crew stations and power core. The platform was protected by four meters of permacite armor and deflector shield generators strong enough to defend against ordnance including turbolaser blasts and proton bombs. The platform also housed the weapon's capacitor banks. The w-165 required a crew of nearly fifty personnel to operate, including gunners, technicians, engineers, and computer operators. They operated from gunner stations located within the platform, while soldiers patrolled the platform to guard against external infiltration and attack.
The targeting computers of the w-165 were constantly fed information from sensor arrays on the platform, or from dedicated sensor stations and orbiting satellites. The collected data was processed through a global network which fed targeting vectors to all of the turbolasers on the planet. Rotation gears slowly repositioned the turbolaser to fire on selected targets, and continuous adjustments were made to maintain accuracy. The platform could rotate the barrel three hundred and sixty degrees, and move the turret in a complete arc of one hundred and eighty degrees. Although this allowed the w-165 to switch targets methodically, an individual weapon still had a limited fire vector. To be effective, a planet needed more than a hundred individual turbolasers.
The w-165 had an optimum effective range of 1,100 kilometers, and a maximum effective range of 9,600 kilometers. Sustained volleys from the w-165 were capable of punching through the armor plating of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer and destroying the vessel by piercing the main reactor.
==History==
Networks of w-165s were constructed on over three hundred New Republic-allied planets. Despite the large cost per emplacement, the New Republic considered the expenditure a wise investment.
==Sources==
*The Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology
*Hideouts & Strongholds
*
*The New Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
*The Essential Guide to Warfare
==Notes and references==
Category:Ground-based turbolasers
Category:Kuat Drive Yards products