Chimera-class autocannon
From FABT
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| Production information | |
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Manufacturer: |
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Type: |
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Cost: |
18,000,000 credits |
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Introduced: |
11 September 2167 CE |
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Discontinued: |
5 July 2216 CE |
| Technical information | |
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Size: |
14.8m |
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Damage per hit: |
Powerful |
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Magazine size: |
160 |
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Maximum ammunition: |
Unlimited |
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Fire mode: |
Automatic |
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Operation: |
Electrically powered |
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Rate of fire: |
49RPM |
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Accuracy: |
Very high |
| Usage | |
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Era(s): |
Asari Cycle |
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Affiliation: |
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The Chimera-class autocannon, also known as simply the Chimera, was a fully automatic ship-mounted autocannon that fired high-velocity armor-piercing shells and was manufactured by Lionhead Armoury. Designed for use on corvettes and frigates, the Chimera-class autocannon was utilized for fast, surgical strikes during combat, peppering an enemy's defenses with helo-velocity shells before darting back out. These shells were accelerated to hundreds of thousands of kilometers per second, impacting with extremely high force and shredding through light armor and shielding, making it especially deadly against hostile interceptors and ships of frigate-weight. Mostly designed as an offensive weapon, the Chimera autocannon was lethal in close quarters, allowing even a frigate with enough mobility and maneuvering skill to overwhelm multiple enemy combatants very quickly, as well as pick off pursuers/attacking fighter pickets. The Normandy-class and Warsaw-class frigates made particularly good use of the weapon, their mobility affording them to pull off tight maneuvers in combat that a cruiser couldn't, allowing for lethal, rapid strikes with the autocannon. Whilst mostly used as a forward-facing cannon, the Alliance would sometimes implement the Chimera-class as a ground-based support weapon, placing it on a fortified barbette mount and using it as a traditional auto-turret.
The Chimera was highly successful, with its successor, the Wildfire-class, taking on many of its design aspects when it was introduced in 2216 CE, replacing the Chimera fleet-wide across both the Systems Coalition and Republic of Rannoch, the latter of which had made use of the Chimera-class system during its nascent days.