With their advanced gravity manipulation technology, terons have extremely effective anti-fighter weaponry. The Ripper is a mobile, ground-based version of the gravity flak cannons used as point defense on teron warships. They are used to provide air defense for otherwise vulnerable personnel and installations.
The Ripper is armed with a turret-mounted flak cannon. This weapon fires a solid shell, which is equipped with a set of proximity sensors. Once a target is within the shell’s blast zone, its payload detonates, engulfing the target.
The flak cannon uses LIGs to fire gravity flak shells. These rounds utilize dark matter payloads which, when energized, create a small singularity that drags in anything in its radius and crushes it.
Like most Conglomerate heavy units, the Ripper is a hovertank, propelled by a series of impulse drives below the chassis. It is highly agile, making it a more difficult target for aircraft to counter attack.
To save weight, the Ripper lacks heavy armor, only covered in a thin layer of monocrystaline plating. It primarily relies on its gravity shields for defense, but even then, it can only withstand limited fire. They are generally escorted by dedicated ground combat units to defend them from hostile vehicles, and usually work together in groups of three or more to adequately protect themselves from air attack.
Rippers make for excellent combat support vehicles, shielding friendly forces from air attack during battle, and also act as security for both military facilities and civilian facilities that would make otherwise tempting targets for raiders and pirates to attack.