Advanced Spacecraft Combat Systems
Long Range Weapon Systems¶
Long Range Weapon systems are utilised at ranges of 15000 to 35000 kilometers, with extreme ranges being up to 70000 kilometers.
Stand-Off Missile¶
The first Stand-Off missiles developed by any of the species in local space were originally developed as intermediate range or inter continental ballistic missiles and transposed into a space combat environment.
Over time they were developed further and modern Stand-Off Missiles are two or three stage missiles with long range capabilities and semiautonomous targeting systems.
The first stage is usually a booster stage, used by the missile to leave it's launcher, usually a solid motor with up to five seconds burn time and high power RCS system for the initial target acquisition. In some cases, the launch is supported by gas pressure or magnetic launch rails.
This is followed by a second long-range stage with a fusion thruster of up to five minutes burn time at initially 10g, which I creases as the missile burns through its propellant.
Some extreme range missiles follow up with a fusion cruise third stage that allows retargeting before terminal engagement.
Usually, Stand-Off Missiles are equipped with active ECM and ECM systems, with some even having active anti-missile systems to defend against counter-missiles.
The selection of warheads for this type of missile is varied and includes kinetic penetrators, high explosives with penetration aids and scatter shot warheads that fragment before impact. This is in addition to nuclear warheads in the low double digit kiloton range for hardened targets and low Megaton yield Cabasa nuclear warheads for use in extreme cases.
Usually however, nuclear warheads are peppered among the conventionally armed missiles and pulls slightly ahead of the pack of missiles. This is meant to allow the nuclear warheads to explode ahead of the main group of missiles, to blind the opponents sensors, any counter missile sensor and possibly destroy those counter missiles.
X-Ray Cabasa Warhead¶
The X-Ray Cabasa Warheads is a special warheads carried by extreme range Stand-Off Missiles.
As the possibility of interception increases at long and extreme ranges, the X-Ray Cabasa Warheads was developed to be able to hit a target, even as the missile is intercepted at medium range. It uses a modified Cabasa Warheads as used against hardened targets to direct as much of the nuclear explosion at the target. A filler material may be used to create an additional relativistic plasma wave. In front of the filler are a number of artificial ruby rod laser media with limited individual targeting.
The use of an X-Ray Cabasa Warheads is as follows:
Shortly before a counter missile hit, the missiles systems ignite the warhead. This dumps the majority of the resulting energy into the filler, which releases a large amount of X-Rays, as well as propelling the filler towards the target as low relativistic speeds as a plasma. At the same time the lasing media receive the X-Rays, converting them into a beam of coherent X-Rays directed at the target.
This will likely result in several of the X-Ray beams hitting the target, even if the plasma wave is intercepted by a mini-mag defence system.
Counter Missile¶
Counter Missiles are smaller versions of Stand-Off Missiles, with about one third to half the range of a conventional Stand-Off missiles. They have been specially designed to counter Stand-Off Missiles by targeting and destroying them, before they reach the terminal guidance phase of operations. They are given their target information by a vessel or installation and communicate with other counter missiles during flight, forming a simple network that allows to combine their ECCM system for better targeting during their terminal guidance phase.
Standard Warheads for Counter Missiles are nuclear warheads with up to ten kilotonnes or scatter shot fragmentation warheads. Usually they are employed in a mix of both warhead types.
Counter Missiles are about a third the size of a Stand-Off Missile and usually, they are designed in such a way that three Counter Missiles are places in a rack that can be stored in the launch tube of a Stand-Off missile. As such, a vessel can be easily loaded with Counter Missiles replacing part or all of its Stand-Off missile complement.
Sometimes, Counter Missiles are used against an enemy vessels before it enters intermediate ranges.
Intermediate Range¶
Intermediate Range Weapon systems are utilised at ranges of 1000 to 15000 kilometers
Laser Core System¶
The Laser Core System is a weapon system that was originally developed by the Quetzal around 1000 BCE.
In it's core principle it is a multi GW high powered Laser weapon utilizing a Free Electron Laser as it's laser source, located deep within the hull of a space craft, close to the main reactor, enabling short power and cooling lines, as well as increasing serviceability of the system. Through optical switches and evacuated Laser guides, the light from this Laser Core is then directed to the projection apertures on the hull and outside the space crafts armour.
Fast switching of the laser path, as well as splitting the laser from the core allows the same core to supply a number of apertures with laser pulses as short as several femto seconds. The use of apertures for final targeting allows to quickly redirect outgoing fire at a target as needed, faster then it would be for turret mounted laser systems.
Optical coatings and cooling of the optical systems put limits on the system as a whole, as the power levels of the Laser Core System precludes the use of lenses and making high quality mirrors necessary.
In this basic design, the laser core itself is mostly split into three separate FEL units providing a third of the full output, to reduce complexity of the overall system, while a fourth identical FEL unit provides some redundancy in case of repairs or the loss of one unit. Splitting the units also allows use of the entire system with reduced output, should two or three of the units be damaged in some way.
In the early 22nd century CE, several Spacer nations improved on the basic idea of the Laser Core System, as received through the documents made by the Imperial Dragon around 975 BCE in China. By reducing the power levels of the core FEL units and increasing their number to 12 to 16 units of 1/8th to 1/12th the total power level. Improved cooling solutions developed for solar smelting and other optical processing methods allowed to temporarily use all cores of a system to increase output.
Following direct contact with the Tiaunt and Ineryn allowed further improvements to the system, as the optical mastery of the Tiaunt allowed for better optical guides and optical coatings, thus improving the system efficiency.
In addition to this, the Tiaunt developed a method of beam splitting that allowed the optical switches from redirecting incoming light from the laser systems apertures, providing both protection again counter-aperture fire by enemy lasers, as well as allowing the use of the high quality optical systems of the lasers in optical sensor systems, improving fire control and guidance, as well as eliminating the previously used optical telescopes.
As an overall system, the laser light from the Laser Core System can be split between up to ten main laser apertures, capable of using the full power of the system, several dozen smaller secondary apertures able to use up to 50% of the systems output, and finally a variable number of small defensive apertures for close in counter missile and protective fire. Due to the function of the system, all apertures can be used at the same time thanks to the optical switching involved.
X-Ray Spinal Laser¶
The X-Ray Spinal Laser is a high energy Free Electron Laser tuned to X-Ray frequencies that is usually mounted as a spinal mount of lager space craft.
These weapons systems are by necessity at least 50 meter in length, while the output of X-Rays precludes the use of conventional mirrors. As such these at least 100GW weapons have to be aimed by aiming the entire vessel.
Phased Array Laser¶
The Phased Laser Array is a weapon system developed by the Tiaunt. While k own by humans and Quetzal for a long time, it was the Tiaunt that made them somewhat viable in a military role. However, as these systems make use of a large number of smaller semiconductor lasers, set in an array and driven with precisely controlled signals, they have to be placed on top of armour, which makes them vulnerable to enemy fire.
Depending on the frequency of the lasers, they can be covered up by a material that is transparent to this frequency, but that still leaves them vulnerable.
As such Phased Array Lasers are usually employed in a anti-missile and projectile role, where their ability to instantly switch targets makes them ideal.
Secondary use cases for the Phased Array Lasers are LIDAR and communication, where the defensive systems can be used as backups.
Mass Driver¶
Mass Drivers are a kinetic energy weapon, using a rail gun approach.
Usually, Mass Drivers use projectiles with a core of either depleted uranium or tungsten, encased in a superconductive shell. The smallest Mass Driver in use is 100 meter in length with a caliber of 180 mm, firing 200 kg shells, accelerated to 20 km/s, for a kinetic energy equivalent of 9.5 tonnes of TNT. They are designed for limited manoeuvrability, allowing for guided trajectories.
Mass Drivers are usually used as spinal weapons.
Short Range¶
Intermediate Range Weapon systems are utilised at ranges of up to 1000 kilometers.
Macron Caster¶
The Macron Caster is a short range kinetic weapon system that was developed as a practical weapon system by the ancient heptapods and shared with humanity during the mid 22nd century.
Macrons are dust like particles of micrometer size that are accelerated to hyper velocities by magnetic or electrostatic accelerators. Some types of Macron and accelerator combination can reach speeds up to several hundred or even thousands of kilometers per second.
While a single Macron does little damage and can be compared to space borne dust, Macron Casters accelerate a constant stream of many Macrons, akin to a sand blaster used to clean metals. With their speed and amount, Macron Casters can rapidly destroy armour of a target, with affected areas having a 'sand blasted' look, leading to the nickname of 'Sand Caster'.
While Macron Casters can be used as an Intermediate Range weapon system due to Macron Speeds, their common use is at short range, to quickly and efficiently strip away an enemies armour over a larger area and attack a vessels structure.
System Platforms¶
Containerised Weapon Platform¶
The practice of using Vertical Launch System like missile tubes on space craft lead to the development of larger standardised containers to carry missiles for rearmament by replacing an entire VLS section at a time, speeding up rearming of a military space craft, as well as simple mixing and matching of missile types.
This eventually lead to a further development of including a small propulsion unit, a targeting and a communication into these containers, allowing them to not only be carried as a VLS, but also be be carried along on the hull, before being released during combat, increasing the number of either Stand-Off Missiles or Counter Missiles a vessel has access to. This also allowed civilian space craft to carry along these Missile Platforms for defence, as well as to pre-position them for defensive action against an opponent.
This in turn lead to the development of similar smaller containerised weapon platforms, equipped with simple laser core systems or Macron Casters, or other kinetic and energy weapon systems.