Fighter and attack Craft weapons

[Graham Kennedy]

I posted a few of these on another thread... I'm gonna put more detailed versions here and add more stuff as we go. So to begin with, drift bombs.

A drift bomb is the simplest form of weapon. The first ones were basically a tank of matter and antimatter with a detonation chamber at the front. The weapon is technically guided, but only barely. Drift bombs are released by the launch craft, preferably at high speed, on a ballistic trajectory in the direction of the target. They are able to sense the target ahead and use the pop out guidance fins to steer, somewhat, towards it. But this is very much an elementary form of guidance. It's needed purely because the ranges over which these weapons are used are big enough that to hit a ship they would have to be launched with an impossible degree of accuracy - millionths of a degree. The homing ability lets them be launched within a degree or two instead. But there is no target recognition, no ability to turn more than a degree or two.

The Type 9 is a typical early Coalition drift bomb. Designed to be launched at a speed of about 250,000 x c, the weapon will decelerate over about five seconds, covering a distance of 170 light hours in that time. On launch a small mass extends aft, moving the center of mass aft and improving stability.



A simplified interior view :



On impact the matter and antimatter chambers vent their contents into the detonation chamber. The energy release is evenly omnidirectional - the casing and mechanisms of the weapon provide very little resistance to it. The Type 9's M/AM chambers measure 34.5 cm in diameter each, and each contain 325 kilos of exotic material. Total energy release is 5x10^19 Joules.

[Graham Kennedy]

The Type 13 is a later and more capable drift bomb model. Compared to the Type 9 it is a squat, bulky weapon - necessitated by the grouping of four tanks in a cruciform arrangement rather than a tandem pair. The Type 13 also features pop out homing fins, allowing it significantly better off-axis capability than the type 9. Launched at speeds of 250,000 x c, the weapon took 8 seconds to decelerate, giving a range of 275 light hours. The four 29.4 cm diameter M/Am chambers hold 200 kg of reaction material each, for a total yield of 6.3x10^19 Joules.

[Aaron]

Do these fins have thrusters on them?

[Graham Kennedy]

The Type 14 is a modification of the Type 13. Aside from a few detail changes to the casing and control fins, it featured a redesigned nosecone which allowed it to survive an uncontrolled exit from midspace. The Type 14 could thus be used by vessels in midspace against targets in normal space. It's primary role was in the bombardment of large fixed targets such as large artificial habitats and planets.

The range and yield of the Type 14 were identical to the Type 13.

[Graham Kennedy]

Do these fins have thrusters on them?

Nope. The idea is that they pick up a charge from the drive field of the craft that launches them, and adjust much like a laser guided bomb's fins do. They don't boost the range in any way - in fact they would act to slow the bomb down faster if anything.

[Aaron]

Nope. The idea is that they pick up a charge from the drive field of the craft that launches them, and adjust much like a laser guided bomb's fins do. They don't boost the range in any way - in fact they would act to slow the bomb down faster if anything.

Ahh, I was wondering how they manuvered (for lack of a better word) the bomb.

[Graham Kennedy]

The Type 20 was a heavy drift bomb employed by the Coalition. An enlarged and improved version of the Type 13/14, the Type 20 was lengthened to allow no less than 12 of the 29.4 cm M/AM chambers, giving a yield of 1.9x10^20 Joules. The bomb could be launched at speeds of up to 300,000 x c, but decelerated rapidly - 7 seconds, giving a range of 290 light hours.

[Graham Kennedy]

The Type 24 is an excellent weapon which introduced several significant improvements over previous designs. The M/AM chambers are tubular, capped with hemispheres on each end, rather than simple spheres; this allows a larger reactant volume to be accommodated in a given casing. The Type 24 was the first multipurpose bomb, with a midspace penetrator nose as standard, eliminating the need for specialist weapons for planetary attack. Perhaps most importantly the Type 24 introduced a focal mechanism for the detonation chamber, which focused some 85% of the detonation energy in the forward hemisphere, greatly increasing the effect of the weapon.

The bomb could also be launched at much higher speeds than any existing craft could fly at, a measure intended to make it somewhat future proof. And indeed the Type 24 remains today as the Coalition's standard drift bomb.

The bomb can be launched at 400,000 x c, with a drift time of 10 seconds for a range of 550 light hours. Each of the four M/AM chambers holds 44,260 cm^3 of reactants, for a total load of 2,680 kg

[Graham Kennedy]

The Type 26 is the single most powerful subship weapon employed by the Coalition. The huge weapon is over 5.7 metres long and contains four massive 522,280 cm^3 M/AM chambers which can hold 7,900 kg of reactants each. The total yield is thus 2.45x10^21 Joules.

[Graham Kennedy]

A variant of the Type 24, the Type 27 was designed purely for use within midspace. As a result it lacked the penetrator nose the 24 used for uncontrolled re-entry from midspace to normal space. The introduction of the Type 24 was somewhat baffling to most experts, given that one of the original selling points of the Type 24 was that a single multipurpose design would allow simplification of logistic supply and greater operational flexibility. The Type 27 was not widely issued, and is relatively rarely seen in use.

The Type 27 has the same flight and yield characteristics as the Type 24.

[Graham Kennedy]

Over time it became clear that the drift bomb was becoming an increasingly obsolete weapon. The range and effectiveness of defensive armament was increasing, making an approach to within hundreds of light hours of a target an increasingly difficult and dangerous proposition. As a result several initiatives were undertaken with the aim of increasing the range of Coalition weaponry.

The simplest and most widely adopted of these was the assisted drift bomb, or ADB. Essentially just a development of the existing technology, the ADB added further fins to the bomb casing which would pick up a charge on exiting the drive field of the launching craft. However, rather than expending that charge on guiding the weapon to the target, these would expend it to extend the range of the weapon. Such "sustainers" could keep a bomb flying significantly longer than it otherwise would be able to.

The Type 28 was one of two sustained weapons introduced. Essentially a modified Type 26, the casing was shortened and M/AM tankage reduced in order to allow room for the sustainer unit to be worked in. The overall length was almost identical to a Type 26, though reactant mass in the warhead was reduced from 31,600 to 23,320 kg, giving a total yield of 1.82x10^21 Joules, a 26% reduction.

The Type 26 is designed to be launched at speeds of up to 400,000 x c, and takes 12 seconds to decelerate to sublight speed. But with the sustainer in place, the Type 28 extends this to 25 seconds, increasing the range to 1,385 light hours, double the range.

[Sionnach Glic]

Pretty cool.

[Graham Kennedy]

A sustainer version of the Type 24, the Type 29 is modified in much the same way as the Type 26/28 pair. The casing and M/AM tanks were shortened to allow room for a sustainer whilst retaining almost identical overall length. Carrying capacity was reduced to 1,920 kg, with a yield of 1.5x10^20 Joules. Flight time was increased to 32 seconds, giving a range of 1,775 light hours.

[Graham Kennedy]

The Blue Scorpion is the Coalition's standard light anti ship torpedo (AST). 5.85 metres long, the weapon can be carried by attack craft such as the Samurai (1) or Massacre (2). It consists of a large diameter forebody which contains the homing head, M/AM tanks, fuel tank, and mass conversion core. The output of this is fed into the narrower aft section, which contains a zero point energy multiplies (ZPEX) and energy converter. This section is flanked by four Midspace drive shunts. At the very rear is a sublight propulsor unit.

The Blue Scorpion can hold a speed of 90 kc for 4 minutes, giving a range of 6,000 light hours. Significantly, this is beyond the range of most light AMP cannon, including the Coalition's own Mark 2. The weapon is able to track its target, making controlled turns in response to target maneuvers. It does not have shielding, defensive systems or penetration aids.

The warhead comprises four M/AM tanks, carrying 1,465 kg each; a total yield of 4.59x10^20 Joules.

[Graham Kennedy]

A Massacre class heavy attack craft with some different weapons in place. Each would be a maximum combat load of its type.

12 x Type 24 :



2 x Type 26 :



2 x Type 28 :



2 x Blue Scorpion :