User:Darkfire27983/SSAK-49 Medium Accelerator Cannon

The Ship to Ship Accelerator Kinetic 49 (SSAK-49) Medium Accelerator Cannon (MEAC) is an intermediary caliber response to the SSAK-77 MAC, developed to provide a direct fire weapon response between the massive firepower of the 77, and the point defense weaponry a ship normally carries. It operates by accelerating a 25 kilogram projectile (usually in the form of a tungsten carbide sleeve wrapped around a depleted uranium core) to c fractional velocities.

It, like the SSAK-77 it is based off is a coilgun. The weapon is turreted and draws power from the ship, as well as having an ammunition feed from the ship’s central magazine. In the event of emergency and near-catastrophic levels of damage on the ship it is mounted on, the gun has a reserve power supply in the form of fuel cells as well as a backup magazine contained in the turret itself. Thus the MEAC can continue to fire even as the ship underneath it dies. In addition, the MEAC has a backup, short ranged fire control radar in the event that the ship's primary fire control is unable to respond.

In addition to its obvious utility in a space engagement, the MEAC is also very useful in the role of ground support. While the SSAK-77 can be used for ground support as well, its massive round produces equally massive amounts of damage against planetary targets and can lead to accidental fratricide if the gun is off target by even the slightest bit. This combined with the fact that the SSAK-77 is mounted axially and requires the entire ship to move in order to track targets, leads to the SSAK-49 being preferred in the role of support of planetary operations.