LIGHTNOVELONLINE Great Archives (Missiles of Earth)
EFSN Missiles :
ASA-MMX-6 (Arcadia Spacecraft Armaments-Missile Model X-6) "Diablo" Missile:
The ASA-MMX-6, also simply called the X6, is a multipurpose missile built by the Arcadia Systems corporation, mainly for the European Federation, then for the Martian Republic.
It is built around a 3rd generation gravitational drive, which gave it a maximum acceleration of 12 000 Gs , albeit for a very short period of time. The 'multipurpose' part of the designation comes from the fact that the missile can be programmed with a highly variable acceleration, some very complex flight instructions, and had an entirely modular payload. This has let the missile outlast it's projected lifespan as a frontline missile by nearly 3 decades. Indeed, while the X12 and eventually the X16 took over eventually, it was still in use until the 2150s in EFSN taskforces, and was still deployed the day of Alexandra's disappearance in Mars' Orbital Defense Grid, as well as every nation the EFSN had starship weapons trading agreements with.
The main reason as to why the X6 was so popular is due that it did not follow the trend of capital ship missiles, which is just to stack penetration aids, bigger drives and bigger warheads every new generation. While there are legitimate arguments for both sides, it is clear that overall most missions undertaken by navies do not require to pummel enemy capital ships into scrap. Which is the reason of the missile's popularity and longevity, as payload space was reduced compared to other missiles, used up by extra computer cores, communication systems and sensors. It could be equipped with penetration aids (lures, EWAR emitters, chaff launchers and interceptor missiles interceptors), and thus be able to keep up surprisingly well with more 'normal' missiles, but it usually was equipped with navigation buoys, sensor drones, probes of various kinds, ect. It was an extremely practical and multi-use tool for ships patrolling the outer reaches of solar systems, and responding to emergencies, sightings of pirates, ect. Hence why it was primarily used by cruisers and smaller ships, with the odd battleship and battlecruiser from the IOC, until the agreement was revoked due to them siding with the UIS in Alpha Centauri.
ASA-MMX-16 (Arcadia Spacecraft Armaments-Missile Model X-16) "Trebuchet" Missile:
The ASA-MMX-16, also simply called the X-16 is an anti-capital ship missile built by the Arcadia Systems corporation, exclusively for the European Federation.
Originally created in response to the UIS' new ship building programs following the Winter Takeover, these cutting-edge missiles were quickly integrated into the New Horizons program, being adapted for fire support for the newly imagined Dawnstar-class super-battleships. To say that these missiles are massive is an understatement. At 60 meters in length, 6 in height and width, the missile clocks in at 2160 cubic meters, which is about the volume of an SF-15 Starlight UIS interceptor starfighter. In total, with 10% of it's volume dedicated to missile launchers and handling systems (which means that about 5% in total was pure missiles), the Dawnstar-class brought 125 000 of these missiles into action.
It's standard warhead (the proprietary ASA-TWMX-91/Arcadia Spacecraft Armaments-Thermonuclear Warhead Model X-91) has a yield of 300 Megatons of TNT, with large gravitational lenses and refractory aid to help direct the explosion. The most common variant (the ASA-FPLWMX-3/Arcadia Spacecraft Armaments-Fusion Pumped Laser Warhead Model X-3) however uses a 260 Mt warhead with laser rods, to convert the bomb into a massive, single use laser cannon, also called a 'fusion pumped laser warhead'. Some have pointed out that packing enough ordnance to level every major city on Earth 10 times over was unnecessary, but most of those comments were disproved and ridiculed after the Second Battle of Alpha Centauri, where despite a tactical and strategic victory, the EFSN was forced to pull back due to literally running out of missiles. UISN dreadnoughts have proven themselves so incredibly resilient, thanks in no small part to their vastly superior electronic warfare systems and counter missiles, not counting even their incredible structural toughness and armor plating, that it took over a thousand missiles to score a single solid hit, and over a dozen hits to severely damage a dreadnought.
Rumors abound that the latest generation incorporated an antimatter warhead, due to the opening of a massive antimatter production facility in the Arcadia Systems Radiance orbital industrial platform, but no one knows for sure, except for the highest circles of the European Federation Star Navy, and Arcadia herself.
ASA-MMX-18 (Arcadia Spacecraft Armaments-Missile Model X-18) "Jericho" Missile :
The X-18, code named 'Jericho' missile, is an experimental missile design based on the observations and recommendations of EFSN admiral [REDACTED] after the second battle of Alpha Centauri, and has become the EFSN's answer to the UISN coming back from its ashes, and the strategic defeat at the third battle of Alpha Centauri.
The Jericho missile is a radical departure from all previous missile design. In effect, it is an entirely new branch. It is 80 meters long and 30 tall, and looks like a giant slug of metal, requiring a dedicated launcher to fire. It is approximately thirty times more massive than the X-16 'Trebuchet', and four times as massive as the VVM-96 'Eradicator'
What makes it so different from other missiles is its payload and power source. The Jericho does not rely on thermonuclear fusion as a power source or warhead. It uses antimatter. Antimatter, has, ton for ton, an energy density a hundred times higher than the most efficient fusion reaction theoretically possible. In effect, each gram of antimatter is worth a kilogram of the EFSN's best fusion fuel in its most efficient reactors and warheads.
The antimatter fueling the warhead, combined with the missile's sheer size means that the Jericho does not pack a megaton, or gigaton range warhead. Instead the Jericho carries 420 tons of antimatter, with an energy release equivalent to 9 teratons of TNT, thirty thousand times more powerful than the biggest warhead the X-16 can carry. With a warhead this powerful, the accompanying laser rods are superfluous, ANYTHING within the core of its area of effect, even the mightiest of capital ships, would be instantly reduced to atoms. As an added bonus, the missile is simply not as vulnerable as most missile during the terminal acquisition phase. As long as the missile gets in range, even destroying it will cause the missile to destroy its target, as antimatter breaches containment and meets the plasma or debris cloud of the missile itself and annihilates in an immense release of energy, effectively detonating the warhead.
UISN Missiles :
VVM-96 (Void to Void Missile, Type 96) "Eradicator" Missile.
The VVM-96 is the most advanced missile ever deployed by any nation in terms of onboard computer systems and electronic warfare. Built by the United Space Conglomerate Consortium (a merger between Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Blue Origin's space divisions) for the United Interstellar States Navy, the Eradicator was designed to counter the EFSN's main strengths, namely greater missile range, and long range energy point defence capabilities. While its complicated design meant it was only deployed in the 2150s, it was available in sufficient quantities for the 3rd battle of Alpha Centauri, resulting in a draw, and overall a strategic defeat for the EFSN, which while it managed to maintain its presence in Alpha Centauri suffered much larger losses than the UISN.
The Eradicator has two versions, called A and B respectively.
A is a complex electronic warfare platform. Made purely of ejectable jammers, decoys, and powerful electronic warfare tools, it was tailor made to confuse, scramble and otherwise hamper defence systems trying to shoot it or its brethren down. While relatively harmless on its own, it has proven devastating when paired with other missiles, demultiplying their effectiveness and chances to hit. There are persistent rumors that the missile is so effective because a self aware AI program is loaded onboard, in violation of interstellar law, but that has never been confirmed, and the UIS denies it, putting the rumors down as EuroFed propaganda.
B is the missile to end all missiles, at least in the eyes of the UIS. The UISN knew that ton for ton, they would never be able to equal the EFSN's missiles capabilities in terms of onboard fuel and warhead power, due to the EFSN's extremely advanced thermonuclear fusion technology. So, they built a larger missile. Nearly a hundred and twenty meters in length, and twelve in width, the B variant is eight times as massive as the EFSN's own mainline capital ship missile, the X-16 "Trebuchet". This extra tonnage enable the Eradicator B to match the X-16's range...and pack a 1.2 gigaton fusion pumped-laser warhead. It is also outfitted with some of the most advanced flight electronics and targeting systems in the galaxy, allowing it to pierce the powerful defenses of EFSN capital ship unassisted, and that of entire screens of dedicated escort vessels when paired with the A variant.