The SD (Strategic Defense) Platform, or Space Defense Platform, was a large satellite structure with a solar sail, which powered a rotary device that housed several high-power lasers. These lasers were capable of making pinpoint strikes on cities, but their main task was to defend the planet Vekta from invasion.
Overview[]
SD Orbital Defense Platform model
The SD Platform was only part of ISA Alpha Centauri's SD Defense Network that surrounded Vekta's orbit; this network was made up of several satellite facilities that linked up to one another via computer networks. By the time of the Second Extrasolar War, only a single SD Platform was functional while a second was being built.
History[]
The SD Platform was the primary target of the Helghan Empire's invasion of Vekta during the Second Extrasolar War. With laser defense systems capable of cutting right through the hull of a UCA cruiser, it could very much negate the UCN's military superiority. With this knowledge in mind, the Helghast planned to destroy UCA reinforcements sent to Vekta from the UCN by taking control of the SD Platform.
When the Helghast Third Army began their invasion of Vekta, the ISA was relying on the SD Platform against the invaders. However, due to the actions of Helghast collaborator Lieutenant-General Stuart Adams, the appointed military commander of the SD Defense Network, Vekta's defenses was shut down, and the Helghast were able to make successful landings on Vekta's surface. After taking control of much of the planet, Adams reactivated the SD Platform and turned its weapons on the ISA, obliterating any Vektan cities that still resisted the Helghast.
After the ISA had sent a distress call to the UCN, the Helghast have the SD Platform prepared to destroy the UCA fleet. This plan would have succeeded, if not for the actions of Captain Jan Templar, Sergeant Rico Velasquez, Colonel Gregor Hakha, and Shadow Marshal Luger. This small squad successfully infiltrated and shut down the defense platform, giving the UCA fleet the time they needed to destroy the SD Platform. The UCA fleet lost several cruisers in this assault, but would have surely lost more if not for the actions of Templar's squad.