AG-2G quad laser cannon/Legends

The Corellian Engineering Corporation AG-2G quad laser cannon was a powerful laser cannon, two of which were installed on the top and bottom of the Millennium Falcon by Lando Calrissian and modified by Han Solo, the latter of whom also added the ventral cannons. Imperial Lancer-class frigates mounted twenty of these quad laser cannons, for use against fast-moving starfighters.

Characteristics


The cannons drew power directly from the Falcon's Quadex power core. Enhanced power cyclers, high-volume gas feeds, and custom-modified laser actuators (with larger energization crystals) greatly increased the cannon's energy output, and the weapon could destroy a TIE fighter with a single shot. Enhanced cooling packs and compressors allowed for prolonged fire without the risk of overheating. The splitter coupling dispersed the energy beam, forcing the target's shields to deflect energy simultaneously from two hits and increasing the likelihood of overloading the shields and inflicting greater damage. The laser barrels fired one blast at a time, following a rotation by the gunner, and had a rate of fire of 1.32 seconds for each barrel.

The turret utilized pedals for the gunner to rotate the gun left or right, as well as vertical control sticks to move up or down. The turret itself can automatically rotate via the use of a ball-swivel rotation mounting and via the commands of the tactical targeting computer.

The cannon's main piloting area was accessible via ladders and access tubes. In front of the Gunner's seat were the main controls, which included twin firing grips with built-in triggers. The tactical targeting computer was slightly beyond the main controls. There were also several dials and buttons on the left wall, which acted as the system status indicators. There was also a maintenance access panel nearby. The viewports were made of transparisteel, and the directional control pedals were located near the viewport. Below the floor was the rotating platform base. For the cannon itself, it featured a horizontal support arm, four laser barrels, a tracking servos on top of the turret, a laser cooling unit near the top two barrels, and the swivel mount near the bottom half, which was connected to the horizontal support arms. The cannon's targeting computers were also designed to augment the gunner's skills, were accurate up to the longest range of the weapon, and could lock on to any target greater than 4 meters in length as well as staying within scanning range for more than 1.5 seconds. However, this is ineffective against most Imperial TIE models.

The position of the cannons on the Falcon, combined with her overall design, their line of fire converge into a wedge all the way around from the ship's mid section. It was largely because of this that Solo and Chewbacca often held standing wagers on who is the better shot with the quad-cannons, with kills scored in this area, dubbed the Money Lane, carrying a double payoff.

The cannons could also be activated by remote-control, as well as avoid hitting the pilot via a transponder. Initially, when Calrissian had the ship, this was accomplished via auxillary foot pedals in the cockpit. Solo removed these pedals in favor of trackball controllers, due to their awkward design as well as Chewbacca needing leg room.