Manufactured by Kuat Drive Yards, the v-150 Planet Defender was a massive, independently powered, surface-based ion cannon designed to target and neutralize starships in orbit of a planet. The v-150 was usually mounted on a rotating base, and the weapon itself was covered by a semi-spherical shell of reinforced permacite. The weapon was designed to be modular, with an installation time of only a few hours. Each weapon was sold with its own reactor, which was intended to be buried forty meters below the weapon emplacement. Three levels of crew quarters and storage space were located between the reactor and the weapon, and the emplacement could store enough supplies to last the crew of twenty-seven for three months. When activated, it took several minutes for the v-150 to maneuver into position on its rotating base. The v-150 was completely immobile, and was vulnerable to attack from ground forces and aerial bombardment. A retractable blast shield protected the weapon, and the cover had to be retracted to fire the weapon. The v-150 took targeting data from electrotelescopes and long-range sensors, and could also be linked to orbital sensor stations for more accurate targeting. The weapon had an optimum range of 4,000 kilometers, and a maximum range of 180,000 kilometers. The v-150's fire-control computers allowed the v-150 to target orbital ships at will, and a single ion bolt could disrupt Imperial-class Star Destroyers. The weapon had a fire rate of one shot every six seconds.
The v-150 was commonly employed in conjunction with planetary shields; as planetary shields were expensive to maintain, planets only powered them up when they were needed. Even then, the shields could take several minutes to reach full power. It was during these minutes that the v-150 was vital to planetary defense, targeting enemy vessels in orbit before the shield could reach full power. The v-150 was expensive, costing between 500,000 and 1.5 million credits, which was a quarter of the price of a full planetary shield. Planetary ion cannons were synchronized with planetary shields to allow the weapon to fire through the shields by lowering them for a split second. Even with the rotational base, each ion cannon had a limited fire vector of a few hundred square kilometers, so they were placed to protect vital bases, shield generators, spaceports and cities.