Superlasers represented a class of superweapons that utilized laser technology. Famously, the Death Star battle stations were equipped with this primary armament, capable of obliterating entire planets with a single discharge.
A superlaser was a type of advanced weaponry, specifically a superweapon that used laser technology.
Millennia prior to the establishment of the Jedi Order, the culture known as the Ancients of Skara Nal engineered a colossal walker and superweapon: a massive, four-legged vehicle equipped with a potent energy weapon mounted on its head, capable of dealing immense destruction.
The walker's integrated superweapon possessed the ability to emit a continuous blue laser beam, boasting an exceptionally rapid recharge rate, classifying it as a superlaser.
Even with the development of other superweapon programs, the Galactic Empire invested a disproportionate amount of their resources into the Death Star superlaser projects.
The first and second Death Star battle stations constructed by the Empire incorporated a formidable superlaser weapon, powered by enormous kyber crystals.
The initial superlaser, installed on the original Death Star, was conceived over a long period beginning before the Clone Wars, and was eventually brought online through the efforts of Orson Krennic and Galen Erso. Fueled by eight kyber crystals, laser beams generated from these crystals were focused and combined into a single blast. It had the capacity to destroy a planet, but could also be fired at a reduced power level by using the energy of only one of its many power reactors. This lower-power setting could devastate an area covering approximately one-eighth of a planet's surface.
The weapon's inaugural use occurred on Jedha City, a city situated on the moon of Jedha. This served as a demonstration by Krennic to Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin to prove the system's functionality. Krennic initially desired to employ the weapon at full capacity, but Tarkin instructed him to use the lower setting, as he was not yet ready to reveal the system's full destructive potential to the galaxy. The superlaser was subsequently deployed against the high-security data bank on the planet Scarif, again on a regional scale, in a failed attempt to prevent the theft of the Death Star plans by Rogue One. Finally, the superlaser was used at its maximum power to destroy the planet Alderaan. Although the intention was to unleash its full power upon the moon Yavin 4 to obliterate the rebellion, the station was destroyed before another shot could be fired.
A next-generation superlaser was integrated into the second Death Star. This iteration boasted improvements across all aspects compared to the original. The targeting mechanisms were significantly enhanced, enabling the system to target individual capital ships. Power regulation was also revamped, allowing it to fire with sufficient force to eliminate any capital ship in a single shot, while recharging for another shot of similar strength in a mere 3 minutes. The full-power recharge time was also reduced, decreasing the interval between shots from nearly a day to just 5 hours.
The rebellion was lured into a trap through the dissemination of false information, claiming that the superlaser was non-operational. However, the fully functional weapon was then used against several rebel capital ships during the Battle of Endor. The Second Death Star was destroyed before its completion during that battle, its superlaser was never fired at full power.
Roughly thirty years following the destruction of the second Death Star, the primary base of the First Order, Starkiller Base, housed a superweapon embedded within the planet's crust. This weapon had the capacity to annihilate entire star systems, as evidenced during the Hosnian Cataclysm. The weapon derived its power by siphoning energy from a nearby star, which ultimately led to the planet's destabilization during an attack by the Resistance on Starkiller's thermal oscillator.
In 34 ABY, the First Order deployed a miniaturized version to breach a Resistance hideout located on the planet Crait. Measuring only 200 meters in length, this siege cannon could be accommodated within larger warship or transported beneath a planetary shield via AT-HHs.
Approximately one year later, the fallen Emperor made his return to the galaxy with overwhelming force, unleashing the military forces of his Sith Eternal. These forces consisted of hundreds of Xyston-class Star Destroyers, each equipped with potent axial superlasers capable of obliterating a planet with a single sustained burst.