anti-infantry laser battery

• Appeared in:
  
  I
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  CW

• Affiliation:
  Rebel Alliance

• 

From the Movies

Lining the perimeter of Echo Base on Hoth were a series of cylindrical gun towers painted in the same stark white as the surrounding landscape. Manned by the brave Rebel troopers of the base, these cannons provided defensive fire during the Imperial assault on Hoth. The cannons, though powerful, had little effect on the heavily-armored AT-AT walkers.

From the Expanded Universe

Weapons manufacturer Golan Arms developed the anti-infantry laser battery for the Empire for the suppression of native populations on low-tech worlds. The cannon was originally designed in two primary models -- the SP .9 was a self-propelled twin-barreled model mounted atop a repulsorlift chassis, while the DF .9/B was a fixed emplacement mounted on an armored four-meter tall tower.

The fixed version, which found its way into Alliance arsenals, requires a crew of two to operate, both protected within the armored proton-shielded tower. The rotating turret has a full 360-degree firing arc and a rapid firing rate.

The DF.9/B's advanced targeting sensors can reach targets up to 16 kilometers away, though its optimum target range is three kilometers. This serves it well in its role as anti-infantry emplacement, since it can cut through advancing troops long before their weapons enter effective range.

Behind the Scenes

Some production sketches by illustrator Joe Johnston had the laser cannon turret supplemented by a lookout tower very similar to the ones found on the Yavin base in A New Hope. Some of the outlying turret laser cannons seen in The Empire Strikes Back were realized as miniatures.