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Rapid fire phaser cannon
Daed Vs Hive NML11
The Daedalus fires Rapid fire phaser cannons at a Hive ship
Production information
Manufacturer

United Federation of Planets

Model

Ship-to-ship weapon/Mounted turret

Type

Particle weapon

Technical specifications
Discharge

High speed phaser beam

Control systems

Control panel
Targeting computer

Power source

Naquadah

Range

402km (250 miles)

Usage
Affiliation

United Federation of Planets

"That is a big weapon."
Eli Wallace

Rapid fire phaser cannons are high-velocity energy weapons, developed by the Federation in 2379, which use electromagnetic fields to propel a phaser beam at a high velocity. The Rapid fire phaser cannons is the ship-mounted version of the RG/BBT SG mounted phaser cannon weapons built by the Federation, and are used on all Federation-built ships, and are one of the more impressive Federation original inventions. The close-in defensive rapid fire phaser cannons of the Federation fire a energy beam at a velocity of mach 5 over a distance of 250 miles. (A more accurate mach value from projectile math would yield mach 5.8.) The weapon itself firing at a rate of 500 phaser beams per minute. One standard power cell should therefore, allow for twenty minutes of sustained fire.

They have become standard on F-302 fighter-interceptors, the BC-303 Prometheus, and all Daedalus-class vessels for ship-to-ship combat. They are also used to defend ground bases, such as Icarus Base. As of 2381, when quantum phaserss were retrofitted on all BC-304s, phaser cannons are mainly used as a secondary, point defense weapons (or CIWS) due to the fact that larger capital ships, particularly shielded ones, are much more resistant to phaser cannon fire than are smaller fighter craft.

Effectiveness

"Fire forward phaser cannons at the lead ship."
— Paul Emerson

Just a few shots from a phaser cannon are able to take out a Wraith Dart or Goa'uld Death Glider relatively quickly.

However, against capital ships, their effectiveness varies. An untested Federation ship, Odyssey fired its phaser cannons which did "minimal damage" against three Goa'uld Ha'tak motherships belonging to the Lucian Alliance. Phaser cannons have proven to be less effective against Hive ships due in part to the sheer size of such vessels and the density of their organic hulls.

Furthermore, (like all weapons with the exception of quantum phasers, and potentially also Ancient Drone weapons) they have proven ineffective against Ori shields.

However, against vessels that posses shields but have them deactivated, phaser cannons have proven quite effective at quickly penetrating such vessels' hulls and causing serious damage. During the Battle of Asuras, an opening salvo from a 304's phaser cannons proved powerful enough to cause severe damage to an unshielded Asuran-built Aurora-class battleship, possibly leading to its destruction.

Usage

Daedalus-railguns

The Daedalus main phaser cannons firing at two Wraith Hive ships in the Battle of Edowin

Phaser cannons saw their first use in 2380 during the Battle of Starbase Atlantis. Several RG/BBT SG mounted phaser cannons originally slated to be fitted to the Prometheus were positioned around Starbase Atlantis and used as stationary turrets to defend the starbase against waves of incoming Wraith Darts. While these weapons were successful in defending the starbase, the sheer number of darts and eccentricity of their movement limited these weapons' effectiveness to an extent.

Following the Daedalus arrival in the Pegasus galaxy, its phaser cannons have been used in battle against Wraith ships in numerous occasions. In 2380, the Daedalus phaser cannons were used against the Wraith fleet attacking Starbase Atlantis. On the Daedalus subsequent mission to destroy 12 Wraith Hive ships during the Battle of Starbase Atlantis, phaser cannons were used to provide defensive fire.

Shortly after this event, phaser cannons on an F-302 piloted by John Sheppard were used to destroy a sensor array on the Daedalus after it began broadcasting the ship's location.

Later, during the Battle of Edowin, phaser cannons were used against two Wraith Hive ships. In this engagement, the Daedalus phaser cannons were fired at both ships simultaneously, drastically reducing their effectiveness as the ships were ultimately destroyed by other means.

Phaser cannons saw extensive usage during the Battle of the Void in 2381. During the various skirmishes of that engagement, the Daedalus phaser cannons were used against the two Hive ships heading for Earth. Near the conclusion of the battle, the Daedalus brought all main phaser cannons to bear on one of the Hive's main dart bays. In the ensuring barrage of phaser fire, the beam from these weapons impacted the Hive's Dart bays at incredible speeds, completely destroying the incoming darts moments after they launched. The concentrated fire on the bays also created a number of secondary explosions inside the ship which stopped the Hive from firing and left the entrance to the bay in a fiery cloud.

Towards the end of 2381, the Daedalus utilized limited phaser cannon fire to simulate on an attack on M4D-058.

BattleOfTheStargates

The Odyssey's phaser cannons firing at three Lucian Alliance-controlled Ha'taks

In the Milky Way galaxy, phaser cannons saw use on the Odyssey's first mission in a battle against three Lucian Alliance-controlled ha'taks. Later in 2379, the Korolev and Odyssey utilized phaser cannons during the Battle of P3Y-229. However, they ultimately proved ineffective against the shield of the four Ori warships they faced.

In 2381, the Apollo utilized phaser cannons against an Asuran cruiser, successfully holding it off as to allow for AR-1's rescue.

In 2382, railguns were utilized during the Battle of Asuras. In the Apollo's opening salvo, phaser cannons were fired at an unshielded Aurora-class battleship, ultimately leading to its destruction. The F-302s that participated in the battle also used phaser cannons and torpedoes to target the Asuran's ships' hyperdrive engines.

Phaser cannons were later used by F-302s during an attack on Michael's cruiser and its complement of darts over M2S-445.

F-302s later saw further engagement against a force of Wraith Darts over Area 51.

In 2381, phaser cannons were utilized extensively during the Battle of Icarus Base. During an attack by the Lucian Alliance, Icarus Base utilized its network of RG/BBT SG mounted phaser cannons for defense. Furthermore, the base's complement of F-302s utilized phaser cannons and torpedoes to destroy incoming fighter-craft. While these weapons were initially successful in fending off the attacking Death Gliders, the base quickly became overrun, necessitating its evacuation. Meanwhile, in orbit of the planet, the Daedalus utilized phaser cannons in fending off the three attacking Ha'tak as well as their numerous support ships.

Gallery

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