The Empire has certainly shown a strong display of their weapons and technology in Star Wars, but now, it’s confirmed they would actually have no defense against Earth’s own weapons. From the Death Star itself to the blaster cannons mounted on massive Imperial Star Destroyers, the Empire has had no shortage of weaponry and power within the Star Wars galaxy, and they have never been afraid to show it. Despite this, the Rebellion was still able to attack and hurt small pieces of the Empire more and more over time leading up to the Galactic Civil War, which indicates there were some minute details being overlooked.
There have been a few weaknesses shown in the Empire’s technology over time, most notably the Death Star’s thermal exhaust port that Luke Skywalker fired a proton torpedo into back in A New Hope. Even that, however, was the intentional work of Galen Erso, which means the Empire’s only fault was refusing to see the sabotage Erso was building straight into their most ambitious weapon. Still, the Empire have no doubt proven themselves to be the most dominant in terms of technology during the height of their reign, and surely they had quite a few weapons more powerful than anything ever generated on Earth. This, however, may not be the case any longer, as new Star Wars information confirms the Empire would actually be vulnerable to attack from Earth’s weapons.
The Empire Has No Way Of Detecting “Chemical Propellant” Weapons
Luthen Rael’s Fondor Haulcraft, as featured in Andor, is revealed to have a chaff launcher in Pablo Hidalgo’s Dawn of Rebellion sourcebook. While describing this feature of the ship, the book also states the Empire cannot detect the chemical propellants with which the chaff launcher fires, as it instantly becomes “invisible to enemy sensors.” This means that any Star Wars weapon or tool utilizing chemical propellants would have no chance at being detected by the Empire, as their sensors have no way of picking them up. This doesn’t pose too much of a problem for the Empire within the Star Wars galaxy, but it does make one reality shockingly possible.
Most Earth Weapons Involve Chemical Propellants
Many of Earth’s own weapons involve chemical propellants similar to Luthen’s chaff launcher, mostly in their own various types of launchers. From guns to rocket launchers, Earth weapons hinge upon chemical propellants to pack their punches, which is something the Empire has apparently overlooked. This not only gives Earth’s weapons a one-up in comparison to the Star Wars galaxy’s most powerful force, but it also proves a huge weakness and flaw in the Empire’s weaponry and design, speaking to their arrogance in terms of undermining the little details in favor of advancing themselves and their own power.
The Empire’s Advanced Technology Makes It Vulnerable To Earth Weapons
The Empire’s focus on advanced technology isn’t just a matter of pride and weakness, though. It actually leaves them quite vulnerable to attack by any weapon with these specific chemical propellants and other similar properties, as they wouldn’t be able to trace the weapon on their sensors. Theoretically, then, anyone in the Star Wars galaxy could use Earth weapons, or at least similar properties to these weapons, in a viable defense against the Empire, and they would likely be quite successful in their endeavor. The Empire’s emphasis on advanced technology makes it, in turn, vulnerable to simpler attacks – with the Ewoks’ sticks and stones as evidence in Return of the Jedi.
This remains the main difference between the weaponry of Star Wars and that of Earth itself, as the former heavily favors advancement over practicality. They utilize plasma bolts and blades that make clean-cut wounds, but in doing so, they sacrifice some of the more effective and useful properties of the weapons used on Earth. These vulnerabilities become glaringly obvious with the chaff launcher on Luthen’s Fonder Haulcraft, and it makes sense the Empire would overlook something as seemingly simple as propellants when programming their sensors. This makes anyone with Earth weapons a little more powerful in the Star Wars galaxy, proving that sometimes blasters and laser swords aren’t always best.
