planet-built superweapon
The First Order’s star-draining weapon, destroyed by Resistance pilots.
An entire planet - the former Ilum, once a site for mining Jedi lightsaber crystals - was converted into this superweapon.
It worked by draining the energy of an entire star, then firing it across hyperspace at distant targets.
At the end of The Force Awakens (Episode VII), it's used to destroy the Hosnian system, home to the New Republic's capital.
Resistance pilots, led by Poe Dameron, stopped it by destroying its reactor before the planet could fully collapse.
Given its enormous size, it had its own artificial gravity and breathable atmosphere, large enough to house an entire fleet and military base.
It's also where Kylo Ren and Han Solo have their fateful final meeting, in which Kylo kills his own father.
Firing the weapon required draining an entire nearby star's energy, which visibly darkened that system's sun.
Rey and Finn also encountered Kylo Ren here, before having to flee as the base began to collapse.
The base's destruction also destroyed its entire star system, as the drained star's energy was released uncontrollably.
It was of major strategic importance to the First Order, since a single shot could wipe out an entire star system.
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