Flak cannons, alternatively referred to as flak guns, represented a category of armaments installed on starships and vehicles. These weapons discharged a multitude of hazardous, diminutive projectiles, encompassing shrapnel, micro-explosive projectiles, or non-reactive durasteel flechettes. Upon detonation at a predetermined range post-launch, flak projectiles dispersed their payload as a concentrated swarm, capable of inflicting immediate and catastrophic damage upon compact, thinly armored airspeeders or even starfighters.
Similar to the majority of vehicle and starship-based armaments, flak cannons were manufactured in light, medium, and heavy configurations. Light flak cannons often found placement within land-based emplacements on anti-aircraft walkers, or as close-in weapon systems on gunboats or smaller capital ships. Conversely, medium and heavy variants were typically integrated into substantial ground fortifications or equipped aboard cruiser-sized starships or larger, exemplified by vessels like the Munificent-class star frigates, Recusant-class Light Destroyers, and the Providence-class Dreadnoughts utilized by the Confederacy of Independent Systems' navy.