Directed Energy Weapon

A directed-energy weapon (DEW) is a weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy, including laser, microwaves and particle beams. Potential applications of this technology include weapons that target personnel, missiles, vehicles, and optical devices. Typically, energy weapons are highly effective at melting or subverting most forms of armor, though perform less effectively against shielding systems. Heat resistant coatings or aerosols can also be effective counters. Unlike large kinetic weapons however, they not need to worry about carrying large amounts of ammunition, many needing only a generator.

Types of Weapons

DEW's come in a wide variety of types, the below is just a general summary.

• Disruptor: A disruptor uses a high-energy beam of atomic or subatomic particles to damage the target by disrupting its atomic and/or molecular structure. Also known as a disintegrator, phaser, or particle accelerator, it directs energy in a particular and focused direction using particles with minuscule mass.
• Ion: An ion weapon is one that fires highly charged particles at its target. Because of their electrical charges, they can cause electronic devices, vehicles, and anything else that has an electrical or similar power source to stop working. Unlike most energy weapons, they are rather effective against many forms of shielding.
• Laser: The general idea of laser-beam weaponry is to hit a target with a train of brief pulses of light. The rapid evaporation and expansion of the surface causes shockwaves that damage the target. Lasers are known for having long effective ranges, especially in space where there is little dissipation of heat. While Hardlight weapons are considered a type of laser weapon, they are better classified as Kinetic weapons.
• Plasma: A weapon that fires a stream, bolt(s), pulse or toroid of plasma (i.e. very hot, very energetic excited matter). The primary damage mechanism of these weapons is usually thermal transfer; it typically causes serious burns, and often immediate death of living creatures, and melts or evaporates other materials. Powerful magnetic fields are used to channel and control the plasma, allowing some advanced systems to even bend the trajectories of their shots.