K23 "Picket" Point Defense Cannon

The K23 “Picket” Point Defense Cannon was a Close In Weapon System developed and manufactured by Dominance Industries. The K23 was specifically created as an anti-missile system to combat concussion missile and proton torpedo attacks against a starship.

Somewhat effective against projectile attack, the K23 was also utilized as a effective anti-stafighter weapon aboard larger vessels, preventing enemy starfighters from closing to point-blank range to avoid the ship’s larger, offensive weapons.

The K23 was automated by a limited droid brain which was fed sensor data from the ship’s main sensors, allowing it to track and plot incoming ordinances against it’s home vessel. On larger, capital-scale vessels, the K23 was often combined with two or three units that could cover a single fire arc. A cooldown period was nessecary for individual units due to the firing that occurred during operation. The K23 flooded an area roughly twenty meters by twenty meters with rapid-fire energy lances in an attempt to destroy incoming projectiles prior to impact with the “home” ship. Due to this, each unit needed to be reset and cooled after each firing cycle. The limitation of the droid brain also caused some owners to convert them to manned gunnery stations onboaard capital ships.

Some owners of these units found them to be useful against enemy starfighters also. A common tactic for starfighter pilots was to hiding under the slow rotation or limited azimuth swivel/pivot.

RPG D6 Stats
Model: K23 “Picket” Point Defense Cannon

Type: Anti-Missile Close In Weapon System

Scale: Starfighter

Skill: Starship Gunnery (See Game Notes)

Fire Control: 2D

Fire Rate: ½

Space Range: 0-0.5/0.75/1

Atmosphere Range: 3-50/75/100m

Cost: 2000 credits

Availability: 2, F

Mass/Weight: 2 metric tons

Damage: 2D

Game Notes: The K23 was generally an automated piece of hardware installed on a vessel to counter missile attacks. A simple droid brain contained within each unit allowed the K23 to operate independent from the gunnery crew of a vessel. The droid brain component was also connected to the sensors of the vessel, allowing it to detect incoming ordinances and counter them. The droid brain was very limited in its marksmanship, however. The standard unit had a Starship Gunnery skill of 2D, in addition to the onboard sensors providing fire control. Most users preferred to make the K23 a manned station, usually linking multiple units to one or two stations that were manned by individuals tasked with interdiction of projectile attacks against the ship.