The Equalizer Shoulder-Launched Ion Cannon is designed as a man-portable solution to give the soldier in the field a means to immobilize armoured fighting vehicles, especially those that are shield equipped. This weapon sees widespread use throughout the Imperial Military, especially with garrison troops, who are generally more interested in repelling an assault than launching one. Although, the Equalizer was designed for anti-vehicle use, it has been highly successful against low-flying ground assault craft. It must be noted that a good number of Rebel fighters have crashed after having their flight controls shorted out by this weapon's highly charged ion bolt. Furthermore, Storm Commandos have been known to employ this weapon in ship-boarding actions; by firing it against bulkheads, the weapon is able to scramble blast door locks and interfere with ship communications.

    Each of the four ion bolts is stored in its own two-metre long tube, and are launched individually. Once all four bolts have been fired the empty casings are discarded. To employ the weapon, the trooper holds it on his shoulder, aligns the target via side mounted targeting device from which the targeting sensors compute the target's range, speed and deflection angle. This data is then fed into a microprocessor which accordingly adjusts each ion bolt's flight angle. The ion bolt causes the target vehicle to suffer from power shortages, particularly to its shield power converters, thereby leaving the vehicle vulnerable to blasters and other conventional weapons. It is known that smaller vehicles may have their entire electronic system fused after being struck by one Equalizer bolt.