The Ke-S3-W3020 is an aether shock array designed by Ketsurui Fleet Yards in YE 30 for use on the Plumeria-class Medium Gunship. It replaces its predecessor, the Ke-S3-W2920 Main Weapon Array, and is designed with a higher rate of fire in mind.
An aether shock array works by releasing an incredibly intense scalar interference pulse that causes a tear in the fabric of space-time. When this occurs, all energy potentials in the target area are released into real space simultaneously, causing catastrophic destruction. The array is designed for anti-starship or anti-fleet use.
| Firing Mode | New DR | Old DR | Rate of Fire | Area of Effect | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapid Pulse | 4 | 9 | Once every 2 seconds | Single Target | 300 million km |
| Beam | 5 | 10 | Once every 15 seconds | Single Target | 300 million km |
| Spread | 5 | 10 | Once every 45 seconds | 30° Cone Area Effect | 20 million km |
300,000,000 km is about 2 AU or 186,000,000 miles.
The array consists of a center firing node, a large upper assembly (which resembles a dagger blade), and a smaller lower assembly. The beam can be steered up to 75 degrees right or left, and up to 45 degrees down, but cannot fire higher than straight-forward due to the weapon's arrangement.
Systems that make up this weapon were built in a modular fashion so that the sections composing the ship's main gun could be easily switched with other modules at a later time, if desired. Exchanging the main gun's systems in this fashion requires about 6 hours.