Particle cannon (Generals)

The Particle Cannon exemplified the United States's military doctrine of precision, concentrated firepower, and minimal collateral damage. It was a US building that fired a sustained particle beam up to an orbital mirror that reflected the beam back down onto enemy positions. The mirror could be remote-controlled by the commander to slowly move the beam hitting more than one target. The general can choose to speed up the turn rate of the orbital mirror, but doing so unfocuses the particle beam causing less damage to the target(s). But it will remain powerful enough to annihilate units and weak structures.

Due to the range and power of this weapon it was considered a 'superweapon'. Unlike its Chinese and GLA counterparts, the Particle Cannon had a small damage radius, allowing commanders to launch precision strikes in the thick of a battle. It also required less time to charge, only 4 minutes. A downside of the Particle Cannon was also that when the power was cut (because of an Saboteur or insufficient power plants) during firing, the beam stopped and needed another 4 minutes to recharge.

General Alexis Alexander was most famous for employing this weapon on a large scale as her versions came at only half it's usual cost. Laser General Townes has three in Fort Union and Chinese General Leang is rumored to use them as well.

Counters
The Particle Cannon building was a highly tempting target for enemy forces, and required high levels of protection. It also consumed lots of power and would cease to charge if sufficient base power levels were not maintained. Unlike the other superweapons, the Particle Cannon was only useful for precision strikes, and was not able of destroying an entire base, let alone a few buildings. While it was useful for destroying power plants or certain stretches of a defense line, it required several uses before it could destroy a base, that is if the opposing general did not rebuild. Against GLA forces, the Particle Cannon could destroy tunnel networks under buildings, but due to not having any power plants, GLA was capable of surviving many strikes from a Particle Cannon before becoming incapacitated.

Notable Events
Particle Cannons were constructed and used sparingly in the various US missions against the GLA, and also built at main US foreign bases. Earlier in the conflict, when a US scout team was surrounded by GLA forces, a particle cannon was fired to destroy the Scud Launchers and other enemies. A Particle Cannon was constructed close to the US fleet in the Mediterranean was captured by the GLA and used to destroy the USS Reagan. Three Particle Cannons were constructed at the US CENTCOM in Stuttgart-Vaihingen. Later, the German base would also be captured by the GLA.