Deployed in large numbers across the 
Automaton territories, Orbital Cannons are terrestrial based ground-to-orbit artillery designed to challenge 
Super Earth's aerial and orbital superiority -- firing on both Pelican Dropships and even Super Destroyers in high orbit.
Fortunately, these cannons are highly inaccurate, with most orbital fire expected to be light and erratic. Even so, it is not unknown for a lucky shot to hit a Super Destroyer, in which case the vessel is usually obliterated in its entirety.
Operation Liberty Crush[]
Although the Automaton forces were still split in two from Operation Righteous Expunge, the socialist killing machines were also rapidly repairing their logistics and communications infrastructure, with their defenses similarly recovering. As such, the 
Super Earth Armed Forces needed to maintain their offensive momentum, however, the Automatons devised a new means by which to retain their stolen territory. Anti-Orbital cannons.
Now deployed in large numbers across the Automaton territories, firing on our fleet and seeking to challenge our aerial superiority. The Orbital Cannons targeted SEAF air forces, specifically, extending extraction times for 
Helldivers significantly. Fortunately, Super Earth intelligence was able to identify a key flaw in the cannon's targeting systems, as they were interconnected with other similar systems spread across multiple planets.
Liberating one Automaton planet would destabilize the entire system, allowing temporary return to normal extraction times as it re-calibrates. Furthermore, if two Automaton planets are liberated in short succession (within 12 hours of each other) the array would be severely destabilized, all but shutting it down and allowing for shorter extraction times for the remainder of the operation.
Unfortunately despite the liberation of every target planet bar one, the valiant sacrifice of millions of Super Earth's most well-trained and brave heroes was not enough to pry free the Automaton's collectivist death-grip on the Federation's stolen worlds. Although the final holdout of Wezen would be finally liberated on the 5th of August, by this point the Automaton's were able to deploy their Orbital Cannons across their entire domain.
As such the Orbital Cannons will likely be yet another metallic thorn in the side of Liberty going forward. Fortunately the pilot shortages created by the loss of so many ships have since been replenished, with additional training instilled into new recruits in order to limit further impacts to extraction times. Even so, Helldiver missions to destroy these cannons will remain critical to the war effort in perpetuity.
Trivia[]
- The Automaton Orbital Cannon somewhat resembles a WW2 era railway gun, such as the Schwerer Gustav. They are roughly two times the height and three times the length of an Automaton gunship.
- When firing, the Orbital Cannon will blow back with recoil and will lower itself to the horizontal position between shots, whereupon a mechanical reload sound can be heard. This indicates that the Orbital Cannon fires some sort of physical projectile (such as an artillery shell, railgun slug or ball of plasma) as opposed to being a laser weapon.
- Getting on top of the Orbital Cannon reveals the cannon's reloading process. After the cannon horizontal position, a spent shell casing is ejected from the cannon's breech, falling into a gap underneath where there is a pile of spent shells. Then a fresh shell is rotated into position from a pan-magazine located behind the main gun, which is then pushed into the breach before the cannon raises itself towards the sky.[1]
- When orbiting Automaton planets, ground-based laser fire will target surrounding Super Destroyers, occasionally destroying nearby Destroyers.
- Major Order - Orbital Cannon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ro2QbAAdTM
