Missile Weapons Missile weapons launch large self-propelled projectiles equipped with explosive warheads at a target. Unlike ballistic weapon ordnance, most missiles are capable of some degree of autonomous self guidance after launch, which significantly increases the accuracy of these weapons at range. In addition, since missiles carry such a large explosive payload, a near miss will often be sufficient to damage the target. Much like cannon, however, missile weapons are significantly hampered by shields, which allow only a fraction of the normal damage to hit the target. SP Missile Launcher Missile weapons do not lose damage potential with distance and have superb accuracy making them exceptional long-range weapons. Since they are self-guided, they can be fired indirectly with a high degree of accuracy. A wide variety of weapon types are available, suitable for any tactical situation, and they can be found in weight classes suitable for any size Herc. Missile launchers often carry a small number of reloads, and this may cause problems in a protracted battle. Though the launchers themselves are tough, the missiles within are quite sensitive to incoming damage. Area effect missiles' submunitions are too small to carry redundant systems, causing many to fail if damaged reducing the damage potential of the missile as a whole. Single target missiles do carry backup systems to mitigate the effects of damage to the weapons system, but their sensitive targeting systems are often unforgiving of rough treatment. Damage to such missile systems reduces their accuracy. ______________________________________________________________________ Standard Missile Launchers (S series) SP The Self-Propelled missile is the standard guided rocket system used on Hercs. Like most Herc-based missile systems, it uses an articulated thrust nozzle and reaction jets for stability and steering to make it viable for use under vacuum and near-vacuum conditions. It has a very long range and does moderate damage. This is a cheap, dependable, low-tech option for long range and indirect firepower. SG The Self-Guided missile uses the standard missile chassis and launcher, but significantly improves the onboard guidance system allowing for almost perfect accuracy. Enhanced fusing of the warhead permits the SG to deliver 50% more of its payload strength to the target at no cost in range. SP2 The SP2 is the new version of the venerable SP line. The only improvements are a doubling of the weapon's yield and a slight increase in durability, but these come at the cost of a 20% reduction in reloads and a ridiculous 700% increase in the weapon's weight. The design team responsible for this "improvement" has been permanently reassigned to the Weapons Testing department. As targets. SPX Conceived as the "next generation" missile launcher, the SP-Experimental is the result of tremendous advances in weapons technology and miniaturization. The SPX preserves the long range for which the S-series is known, and combines it with a rapid-fire launcher to give the weapon quick damage potential at range. The missile body itself has been streamlined and lightened, allowing the whole system to weigh in at a mere 500% more than the SP with twice the reloads of the earlier system. The warhead of the SP has also been improved for the SPX by fitting it with a newly developed wave focused detonator. This causes the warhead's explosion to be directed forward from the point of detonation in a cone to insure damage to multiple systems within the target. Though reducing the damage done to any one system, this type of warhead doubles the chances of a critical hit with each shot. Area Effect Missile Launchers MY The Minimum Yield missile uses the standard arrangement for area-bombardment rockets. A single conveyer modules carries the weapons payload towards the chosen target. As the conveyer module nears the target's location, the weapons payload (composed of numerous tiny sub-munitions) is released, and these then spread to detonate in a large roughly circular area about the target. The large size of the conveyer module limits the total number of reloads for this weapons system, and the bulk of the weapons payload limits the missile's range somewhat. The dispersed nature of the sub-munitions on impact with the target means that numerous systems will suffer minor damage. K-Z The Katyusha-Z is an enhanced version of the MY. A more efficient motor has improved fuel efficiency and range. The weapons payload has been altered somewhat, and uses fewer sub-munitions with larger individual warheads. This results in the missile damaging fewer systems than the MY, but to a greater degree. SML The Saturation Missile Launcher is the third generation in area-effect missile technology. Utilizing a larger carriage than either earlier model, the SML can cause significant damage to targets spread over a wide area. This larger carriage does reduce the total number of missiles carried by one. This system uses the smaller "MY style" sub-munitions which trade punch for damage spread, but the SML's sub-munitions carry three times the warhead of the MY. This model is the first to introduce "smart" sub-munitions which home in on acceptable targets in the vicinity. Though each sub-munition is not as maneuverable as a fully self guided missile, detonation density in the area around the target can be significantly improved over the earlier models, giving you more hits against the target. HSML The Heavy Saturation Missile Launcher combines the best of the K-Z and the SML into one weapon. It uses the "smart" munitions of the SML, but increases the payload of each beyond that of the K-Z giving each a significant punch and insuring multiple hits on each target. The large size of each individual missile, however, reduces the number of weapon reloads to critical levels. RSML The Rapid Saturation Missile System is the top of the line in bombardment missile technology. It has the largest reload capacity of any such weapon, and can fire its missiles at twice the rate of earlier models. These improvements were accomplished by reducing the total size of each missile by using the smallest sub-munitions of any area effect missile. The incorporation of the "smart-bomb" technology utilized in the previous generation allows this weapon system to deliver a tremendous number of sub-munitions to each target in its effective radius. MicroMissile Launcher This is an inexpensive, rapid fire launcher which uses lightweight dead-fire (unguided) rockets. Though capable of a high rate of fire and moderate damage, this weapon doesn't have the accuracy of a guided weapon and must have line-of-sight to fire. Hunter-Killer Missile Launchers The H-K Missile uses a very advanced onboard computer to acquire and pursue its target. The designated target is identified and tracked by a number of signatures, including thermal profile, IFF frequency, and optical recognition. The standard H-K carries an explosive payload four times that of a SP missile, making the Hunter-Killer a deadly and accurate weapons system. The Rapid H-K Launcher uses a smaller version of the H-K missile with less than half the warhead strength, but can launch them at four times the rate. One-Shot Missile Launchers Designed as weapons of desperation, these missile types sacrifice everything to increase the missile's warhead. The Jihad carries a powerful conventional explosive warhead which detonates with enough force to damage targets surrounding the primary. The Hammer Of God missile carries a small tactical nuclear weapon as its payload, and is prohibited from use on human-inhabited worlds. It is important to note that because of the short range of these missiles, the unit launching the rocket is well within the warhead's effective radius ______________________________________________________________________ Missile Data Table v2.5 (to view the key for this table, click here.) Name Tech Ammo RoundsPT Range(Max/100%) Energy(TF/PT) DAMvS DAMvA PenDAM Hits/Shot % Carryover Ind Area Effect Cost Weight Vuln SP Missile Launcher 0 10 1 30/6 0 0 50 6 2 0 Y N 800-53 50 400 SG Missile Launcher 0 10 1 30/30 0 0 75 9 3 0 Y N 1,600-108 75 400 MY Missile Launcher 1 6 1 20/4 0 0 50/40/0/0 10 10 0 Y 3 3,000-204 90 400 Jihad Missile System 1 1 1 2/1 0 0 160/128/80/0 24 8 0 Y 5 2,000-136 50 100 Micro Missile Launcher 2 24 3 15/3 0 0 30 0 3 0 N N 4,000-342 220 250 SP2 Heavy Missile Launcher 3 8 1 30/6 0 0 100 10 2 0 Y N 3,000-320 400 300 Katyusha-Z Rocket System 4 6 1 30/6 0 0 50/40/40/0 6 2 0 Y 5 6,250-838 320 250 SPX Rapid Missile System 6 20 4 30/6 0 0 48 8 8 0 Y N 7,200-1,508 290 250 Saturation Missile Launcher 6 5 1 25/5 0 0 75/60/45/23 10 5 0 Y 7 6,000-1,257 150 300 H-K Missile Launcher 7 8 1 30/15 0 0 200 20 5 0 Y N 12,000-3,145 350 300 H-K Rapid Missile System 9 16 4 30/15 0 0 80 12 2 0 Y N 8,416-4,915 450 200 Heavy Saturation Rocket System 10 4 1 25/5 0 0 150/120/90/45 15 5 0 Y 7 15,895-8,192 500 200 HOG Missile Launcher (original) 11 1 1 2/1 0 0 1200/960/720/0 120 10 0 Y 5 7,829-5,120 1200 100 HOG Missile Launcher (ver 1.1a) 11 1 1 2/1 0 0 750/600/450/0 70 10 0 Y 5 7,829-5,120 1200 100 Rapid Saturation Rocket System 13 8 2 30/6 0 0 135/108/81/0 15 15 0 Y 5 15,000 650 150 Name Tech Ammo RoundsPT Range(Max/100%) Energy(TF/PT) DAMvS DAMvA PenDAM Hits/Shot % Carryover Ind Area Effect Cost Weight Vuln ______________________________________________________________________ Main Menu This page was last updated on December 25, 1996 [images on this page copyright 1996 J.S. 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