Orbital weapon platform

Orbital weapon platforms are a type of powerful, automated planetary defense system developed by the Cardassian military during the Dominion War. They were protected by regenerative shields and equipped with three heavy disruptors and 1,000 plasma torpedoes.

These platforms were first encounted during the First Battle of Chin'toka. The Chin'toka system had been reinforced with hundreds of these weapons to strengthen the systems defences, which was only five squadrons of Jem'Hadar attack ships. When the platforms were brought online they proved extremely effective. Their heavy duty shields meant that it took the bombardment of numerous ships to destroy them. Meanwhile their heavy firepower meant they could engage the most powerful ships in the allied fleet.

However, the network of platforms possessed a crucial design flaw that the Cardassians had not expected the allies to be able to exploit. In order to decrease the mass (and complexity) of the platforms as much as possible, and still supply them with enough energy, the individual platforms were not equipped with their own power source but instead received energy from a large central generator. This generator was placed on an asteroid moon orbiting one of the planets in the system. (, : "Into the Fire")

Not all of the platforms were destroyed. A number of them were kept intact for study by allied scientists. (: "Into the Fire")

A network of these platforms were deployed in orbit of Cardassia Prime. Starfleet was tasked with destroying these platforms as the allied fleet encircled the planet. The Dominion's surrender just before the allies pressed their assault meant that Starfleet did not have to engage these weapons.