Re: Missiles

> From: [email removed] (Derek Wildstar)
> Subject: Traveller: The New Era - First Impressions

> An impact with a nuke (even one of the "micro-nukes" that normally power
> the detonation lasers) should vaporize nearly any ship.

  Using the T2k2 demolitions rules on the yield sizes gives that the raw
explosive strength of equals a penetration and concussion from about 2000
to 6000. Halving this for untamped explosions gives that it should give
between 40 and 125 major hits worth of damage. A seat of the pants guess is
that this will destroy all components within one location of the hit
as per the excess damage rule and also inflict at least one critical hit on
all sizes of ships.

  But based from the system (and the TDR discussions on space combat, agility,
ranges, weapons and hit chanses) IMHO it would be very hard to achieve a direct
hit with a missile. At least 2 levels of difficulty harder. And the defence
would have a much easier time hitting it.
  This is also a problem for missiles carrying large shape charges.

> And larger
> nukes (in the kiloton range) wouldn't be any larger than the nuke/laser
> assembly on a detonation laser, and would be deadly to some distance
> even if a direct hit wasn't made.

  Is there a nuclear scientist in the house? I only play one on the net:)

  Damage from nuclear explosions in space are mostly in the form of soft xrays
that cause structural damage and other radiation that cause biologic damage
and disturb electronics. None of these effects are even close to strong enough
to affect more than one range band.

  The soft xrays, which in 'normal' explosions cause the fireball by being
absorbed by the air and heating it to a plasma, are absorbed by any solid
structures in space and heat it, creating a shock wave inside them that cause
physical damage. In TTNE terms I'd inflict a Concussion to all inside the
ship, the damage of which is determined by how close they were. (I have
read somehwere that the concussion induced by soft xrays are aproximately of
the same strange at a certain range from a certain yield as the shockwave
in air from an airburst of the same yield at the same range, but I'm not
certain of this). I'd also inflict small scale damage (1h to 1H, say) all
over the ship but concentrated to the side facing the explosion.

> Perhaps a variety of "Normal" missile
> warheads and guidance systems could be made available in the Technical
> Architecture manual.  These impact missiles could be deadly at short
> ranges, and would be just the thing for arming a fast, highly
> maneuverable fighter craft, which can carry them into close proximity to
> the target before releasing them.

  My favourite types of (potential) conventional missiles are the cannister
round and the SFF round:
  The cannister round replaces the nuke/laser warhead with a lot of heavy metal
spheres and a bursting charge. At the range where a nuke/laser missile would
detonate, it spreads the spheres in a cloud which hit the target at high speed.
  The SFF round uses an explosive warhead that generate the 'cloud of buckshot'
from self forging fragments (a relative of the shape charge, used in the
experimental SADARM round).

> [email removed]

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