Laser cannon/Legends

"Target, maximum firepower."

- Maximilian Veers

A laser cannon was the standard weapon for use by most starships and other vehicles. It existed in a myriad of forms, from the huge versions used by starships, through medium-sized turret-mounted variants, to the much smaller personal cannons sometimes carried by infantry. Although they were capable of causing a considerable amount of damage, they were no match to some of the more advanced beam weapons such as electromagnetic plasma cannons, turbolasers and superlasers.

Physics
Though based on the same principles, with their beams having a nearly identical nature, laser cannons were more powerful than similarly-sized blasters. Laser cannons were originally used by starships to blast debris, such as asteroids, out of their way. These cannons were both incredibly destructive and very accurate.

History
Starships, such as the Executor-class Star Dreadnaught, Viscount-class Star Defender and the EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate, began using laser cannons as anti-starfighter defenses. These weapons were later engineered to fire beams with sufficient accuracy and power to intercept enemy missiles from long range: the point-defense laser cannon, mounted on Zann Consortium Crusader-class corvettes, was an example.

Eventually, laser cannon technology was so refined that ground-based vehicles such as the AT-AT could use them. Even some infantry, such as B-2 battle droids, could be equipped with laser cannons rather than personal blasters. D'harhan, a cyborg bounty hunter, sported a laser cannon that had been surgically attached to his body, replacing his head. Around 4 ABY, Holowan Laboratories created the IG-88 assassin droid series that featured a repeating laser cannon mounted along each arm.

Variants

 * Point-defense laser cannon

Non-canonical appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 film
 * LEGO Star Wars: Revenge of the Brick
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Kowakian Monkey-Lizard
 * Giant spiders are awesome