Ground-based planetary defense missile site
An old maxim of naval warfare states that a shore battery always has the advantage over an attacking ship because the shore battery cannot be sunk. it follows that any weapon that can be placed aboard a ship becomes much more dangerous when built larger and placed on a planet.
All Frontier planets with a population rating of Moderate or Heavy, or those lightly populated planets with Industrial potential [1] have planetary defenses. These usually consist of laser cannons and missiles, but much larger ones than those carried by ships.[2] Planetary defense batteries can destroy a
Proton beam battery
ship at the fringe of the planet's atmosphere. If the ship tries to bombard the planet, incoming torpedoes and missiles will be neutralized easily by the planet's laser anti-missile defenses. Laser weapons fired from space cannot cause much damage on a planet's surface because the weapon's area of effect is so small.
Notes and References
- Star Frontiers: Knight Hawks Expansion Rulebook pp. 51-2
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