NationStates Jolt Archive


Warlock Anti-Shipping Missile || Venom Defense

Intelligent Neighbors
24-10-2005, 22:16
With the success of the Hex-X missile proven, Venom Defense designers set about creating a much longer range version, with additional strike power. It was to be designed in such a way that it would be compatible with the new TKotM intelligence network and the Black Steel system.

The Warlock missile is surface or air launched using a rocket booster to propel it to just over mach 1 before it drops away, leaving the missile with enough speed for the ramjet engine to work. The missile can be programmed to take a variety of flight paths, including a high flight profile with a boosted final phase vertically down onto the target (larger targets, longer range) or a sea-skimming attack with a boosted terminal phase (shorter range, faster flight overall).

The Warlock is fully EMP hardened, and has titanium-alloy armour covering the nose and vital sectors capable of stopping Phalanx-like systems from destroying it. The missile can be set to automatically co-ordinate it's attacks with other missiles in the area, assigning missiles to targets based on their size and type (if identified and programmed in). It can also be fully controled via satellite or nearby aircraft.

The missile, like all Venom Defense anti-shipping missiles, is highly manoeuvrable and can turn to dodge incoming threats identified by the impressive systems, including LADAR and radar. Radar detection to allow it to choose the best path to the enemy vessel (in sea-skimming mode) and share it's intelligence with other missiles in the area, while the small radar jammer gives the missile a small bonus in evading enemy countermeasures.

When the Warlock gets to within 50m of it's target, the primary HEAT warhead is blasted toward the target slightly in front of the missile, striking and burning a hole in the first few layers of armour. The missile strikes this soft spot, the newly revealed uranium point penetrating further through any armour or into the middle of the ship. At this point the secondary warhead detonates, which is a neutron warhead. This warhead produces not only the deadly storm of neutrons and a very large explosion, but an EMP wave is evolved, knocking out electronics within a radius of 100m.

This newer, simpler, warhead causes huge casualties due to the neutron blast, as well as knocking out any electronics (such as hull breach protection mechanisms) and tearing a huge hole in the middle of the ship. Due to this, two or three of these missiles would be enough to put a super-dreadnaught out of action for a period, and one alone would cause so much carnage within a smaller ship (such as a carrier or cruiser) that it would probably be prevented from taking any further part in the battle.


Stats
Mass 2400 kg
Length 10 m
Diameter 0.6 m
Propulsion: Ramjet engine with hydrogen injection.
Steering: Aerodynamics control surfaces on small wings.
Guidance: fire and forget/remote guidance
Range: 600km (high flight path) 400km (surface skimming).
Speed: Mach 3.6 (sustained), Mach 5.4 (Terminal phase)
Flight: high flight/sea-skimming

Cost:
$3,200,000 (allies $2,600,000)