Here's some of the background info I just put up on the
Return to Neo-Terra site. Thought you might be interested.
Continuous Beam WeaponsThe first charged particle and photonic beam weapons were tested shortly after the GTI rebellion, thanks to data gathered on the weapons systems onboard both the Lucifer and Hades. However, teething problems with the technology led to slow development, and it was only when the Colossus project was underway did the first truly effective continuous beam weapons see service. However, these first generation beam weapons suffered from high power consumption, massive heat spikes upon firing as well as very high maintenance requirements. Despite this, they were rapidly refitted on various allied warships, as well as the new Sobek class corvettes. Within a few years, the first second generation beam weapons were deployed on the newly designed Hecate and Hatsephut class destroyers, Deimos class corvettes and Aeolus class cruisers. These weapons were only slightly more power efficient than first gen beam cannons, however, they were much more stable and were less prone to overheating and overloads during sustained use. Upgrading from first gen weapons to second gen was deemed a high priority, and as of the NTF Rebellion, the only class with the bulk being unrefitted was the GVD Typhon class, leading to it's reputation for overloads. A few scattered ships of various other classes were unrefitted, mainly ones that were nearing the end of their design lifetime.
GTVA continuous beam weapons are of two main types; photonic beam weapons, designed for and used primarily with Vasudan ships and power cores, and charged particle beams, designed for maximum effectiveness when mounted on Terran ships. Thanks to wartime research into the fields of high energy laser optics and superconductors, new third generation photonic beam weapons are now seeing limited trial service. However, development of these advanced photonic beam weapons is continuing, and GTVARAD has not comitted itself to clearing the weapons for use by BuWeapons as of yet. Post war development of particle acceleration technology has been more fruitful, mainly due the new mining colonies providing sufficient quantities of rare earth elements for high capacity superconductor development and deployment. These led to the construction of the first combat-effective neutral particle beams. These weapons are similar to a standard charged particle beam, however, they use neutral atoms, Deuterium in the case of the GTVA weapons, instead of charged ions. The means that the beams do not have internal repulsion dispersing them, boosting their effective range. Their drawback is that the weapons themselves are bulkier, and only select vessels can easily be retrofitted with the new neutral beam weapons. These include the Deimos and Aeolus classes, with the Norn carrier having been hurridly redesigned to mount the weapons. The Alcyone class cruiser is the first class of ship designed from the outset to be armed solely with neutral particle beams.
All of the older Aten, Fenris and Leviathan class cruisers that were sold to private concerns at the end of what the GTVA considered their useful lifetime were stripped of their beam armament. However, those used for defense or exploration are often rearmed with obselete first generation beam weaponry. All ships owned and operated by private concerns armed with beam weapons are required by GTVA law to register not just their ship but each and every beam weapon onboard.
