List of Star Wars weapons

Ship-mounted weapons

Ship-mounted weaponry in the Star Wars universe is often found on combat craft, though some merchant vessels and other non-combat spacecraft may have armaments to deter pirates. Ship-mounted combat weapons such as laser cannons and turbolasers are used for offensive and defensive purposes, roughly analguous to thear modern equivalents.

Small ships, like the Rebel Alliance X-wing and Y-wing space-fighters are often armed with proton torpedoes, which deliver a devastatingly powerful blast; the they were used to attack the main reactor of theDeath Star.

Personal ranged weapons

Main article: List of Star Wars ranged weapons

The ray gun, the standard weapon of classic science fiction, is also the most common weapon in the Star Wars universe under the name "blaster". There are many variations of blasters: pistols, carbines, cannons, assault rifles and even machine guns.^[1] For example, Princess Leia Organa wielded a sporting blaster when her ship was boarded by Darth Vader's forces,^[1][2] while Han Solo prefers his heavily modified blaster pistol (a BlasTech DL-44).^[1] One of the most common and well-known blasters is the E-11 blaster rifle, the standard weapon of Imperial stormtroopers. Several of the Star Wars films' fictional weapons are modified from real-life blank-firing prop guns: Han Solo's pistol is a customized Mauser C96, while the stormtroopers carry Sterling submachine guns or the World War II-era German MG34 general purpose machine gun, most easily seen in the detention center break-in in Episode IV.

The bowcaster is a crossbow-like weapon carried by Chewbacca. Canonically, bowcasters were developed by the Wookiees and were a favorite weapon of theirs; other races were generally not strong enough to operate the cocking mechanism. They purportedly fired an explosive magnetically energized metal bolt called a quarrell.

Heavy ranged weapons

The Star Wars universe makes use of fictional weapons that correspond in class to those of real-world armaments, those include mortars, grenades, land mines, missile launchers, shotguns, sniper rifles, and remote explosives.^[1]

In Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, a disguised Princess Leia used a thermal detonator to help free Han Solo from his carbonite prison inside Jabba the Hutt's palace, by threatening to release the fail-deadly trigger if her demands were not met, impressing Jabba. The weapon has also been used in various Star Wars computer games, where it functions as a grenade. (i.e., Lego Star Wars II and Star Wars Battlefront II). Another weapon featured is the E-WEB heavy turret, a large, tripod mounted blaster seen in Hoth Battle, resembling a large machine gun.

Melee weapons

The Star Wars universe also makes extensive use of melee weapons, such as staffs, swords, batons and whips. The most notable of those is the Lightsaber. The presence of those types of weapons allows for dramatic combat sequences such as lightsaber combat.

A Gaffii Stick or Gaderiffi is a durable bladed metal staff with a heavy end which appears similar to the medieval flanged mace. It is used as the primary weapon of the Tusken Raiders, and is known to non-Raiders as a "Gaffii stick".

An electrostaff is a melee weapon which looks like a staff, but conducts energy fields at its ends which can cause severe damage to living tissue and inanimate objects alike. It is often utilized by General Grievous's bodyguards, the IG-100 MagnaGuards. They are impenetrable to most weapons, including lightsabers, because they are supposedly made of the rare Phrik alloy. The appearance of this weapon in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith marked the first time a non-lightsaber weapon that could withstand the cutting power of a lightsaber in a Star Wars film was used.

Other Star Wars media has extended the types of those weapons known to be used. The amphistaff is the primary anti-personnel living weapon of the Yuuzhan Vong. Amphistaff scales can produce an edge harder than a diamond's that can stop a lightsaber. In addition to its default staff/spear configuration, an amphistaff can be wielded as a whip or flail by selectively hardening parts of its body.^[3]

Vibroweapons are a highly lethal class of melee weapon that utilize a generator, usually located on the weapon's hilt, to create supersonic vibrations.^[4] Many variations of vibroweapon exist; due to the adaptable nature of vibroweapon generators, vibroweapons can be made out of axes, pikes, knives, and swords. Vibroweapons have been used by characters in various media, such as Lando Calrissian^[5] from the Star Wars movies and Mission Vao from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

Lightsabers

Main article: Lightsaber

See also

• Physics and Star Wars
• Science fiction weapon

References

• Sansweet, Stephen J. (1998). Star Wars Encyclopedia. The Ballantine Publishing Group. ISBN 0-345-40227-8. 
• Slavicsek, Bill, Collins, Andy, and Wiker, JD (2002). Revised Core Rulebook (Star Wars Roleplaying Game). Lucas Books. ISBN 0-7869-2876-X. 
• Grubb, Jeff and Stephens, Owen K.C. (2002). Arms and Equipment Guide (Star Wars Roleplaying Game). Lucas Books. ISBN 0-7869-2782-8. 
• Stephens, Owen K. C. (2001). Starships of the Galaxy (Star Wars Roleplaying Game). Lucas Books. ISBN 0-7869-1859-4. 
• Star Wars.com (2008). "Databank: Lightsaber". http://www.starwars.com/databank/technology/lightsaber/. 
• Sansweet, Stephen J. (1998). Star Wars Encyclopedia. The Ballantine Publishing Group. ISBN 0-345-40227-8. 
• Slavicsek, Bill, Collins, Andy, and Wiker, JD (2002). Revised Core Rulebook (Star Wars Roleplaying Game). Lucas Books. ISBN 0-7869-2876-X. 
• Grubb, Jeff and Stephens, Owen K.C. (2002). Arms and Equipment Guide (Star Wars Roleplaying Game). Lucas Books. ISBN 0-7869-2782-8. 
• Stephens, Owen K. C. (2001). Starships of the Galaxy (Star Wars Roleplaying Game). Lucas Books. ISBN 0-7869-1859-4. 
• Grubb, Jeff and Stephens, Owen K.C. (2002). Arms and Equipment Guide (Star Wars Roleplaying Game). Lucas Books. ISBN 978-0-7869-2782-1. 
• Stephens, Owen K. C. (2001). Starships of the Galaxy (Star Wars Roleplaying Game). Lucas Books. ISBN 978-0-7869-1859-1. 

Footnotes

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Star Wars Battlefront II
2. ^ Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, 1977
3. ^ Sansweet, Stephen J. (1998). Star Wars Encyclopedia. The Ballantine Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-345-40227-1. 
4. ^ "Vibro-ax at the Star Wars databank". http://www.starwars.com/databank/technology/vibroax/index.html. Retrieved 2008-01-11. 
5. ^ "Vibro-ax at the Star Wars databank: Expanded Universe". http://www.starwars.com/databank/technology/vibroax/?id=eu. 

External links

• The Parts of Star Wars - a detailed website on the weapons of the Star Wars saga