Layarteb
22-03-2006, 04:42
The testing grounds of the Caribbean Sea were some of the most heavily guarded in all of the Empire. The largest portion of the sea, south of Cuba and down to the coast of South America and to the coast of Central America was under the control of the Empire and likewise, it was treated as the backyard of the Empire. Nothing moved in or out of the area without permission and without the Empire knowing it. Satellites, seismic sensors, acoustical sensors, and active/passive detection systems trained for infrared and radar watched the sea like it was nobody's business. One main factor was because most of the sea was an unmarked proving grounds, a major one at that, especially for missilery. The Dreamcatcher and Relic were first tested here as well as the Saber IRBM and several other classified missiles, the MIM-188 Crow being amongst them.
Careful tracking of the airspace above the sea up into the orbiting realms of the Earth kept a good line on everything that was floating around up there and allowed the Empire to know who was watching and when. This worked out to their advantage more than anything else, especially tonight.
The sky was clear and tasking showed no birds over the area for at least four hours, which was more than enough time for the test, since the only part left was the actual intercept. The intercept would be against a target with the cross-section of the F-22 Raptor and the agility of it as well. The test drone would fly in a manuevering orbit, at random, in a box area that kept it no closer than 300 miles from the southern coast of Jamaica and no further than 500 miles.
On the southern coast of Jamaica, the only operational Replicator ultra-longrange SAM site warmed its missiles up. The site was mobile and consisted of 12 launchers with the associated control equipment. Heavily camoflauged, the 12 launchers kept their missiles hidden inside of a container, which they would eject out of upon launch, making them look more like PATRIOT missiles than anything else, from the sky at least.
The missile was the MIM-213A Replicator, a new surface-to-air missile, of unparrelled and unprecedented range. It was massive too. Sitting 42 feet long, 3 feet wide, and having a 10 foot wingspan, the 18,000 pound missile was the newest creation of the LDC - Defensive Systems branch. It was a two-stage missile that had a boost and a terminal phase. The boost phase was assisted by four externally mounted rockets, including the main rocket of the missile. Cruise speed for the missile could be anywhere from Mach 4.5 to Mach 6.0, depending on the altitude and conditions, as well as range. The missile was guided by its own internal systems for much of its flight, using a datalink while approaching its terminal phase. The terminal phase could bring the missile moving as fast as Mach 8.0 and it brought with it a 300 pound warhead, assisting its hit-to-kill technology.
The guidance system of the Replicator was the most advanced yet, taking into the capability of both satellite and anti-stealth uplink, datalink, millimetric wave radar, imaging infrared, active radar, passive radar, and inertial. The seeker was a heavily upgraded Crow seeker. It enabled the missile to engage targets as low as 120 feet or as high as 150,000 feet at ranges between 10 and 500 miles, including stealth targets, though their ranges were less.
The missile, very agile and very promising, was about to undertake its first test against the drone. Already locked on and tracking using its satellite uplink, the missile sat stationary in its container as the seconds counted down from ten, each one more tense than the last.
Finally, at zero, the missile engines ignited, driving the missile from its container with both a roar and an earthquake. The force of the missile itself shook the launcher and the ground around it as the roar deafened everything for a half mile. The green flames of the GEL-based fuel lit up the night as the missile soared up to its target, which was moving at 600 miles per hour and 45,000 feet. The missile was on a direct path telemetry, meaning that the missile would go straight to the target, not diving from a loft, though capable.
Careful tracking of the airspace above the sea up into the orbiting realms of the Earth kept a good line on everything that was floating around up there and allowed the Empire to know who was watching and when. This worked out to their advantage more than anything else, especially tonight.
The sky was clear and tasking showed no birds over the area for at least four hours, which was more than enough time for the test, since the only part left was the actual intercept. The intercept would be against a target with the cross-section of the F-22 Raptor and the agility of it as well. The test drone would fly in a manuevering orbit, at random, in a box area that kept it no closer than 300 miles from the southern coast of Jamaica and no further than 500 miles.
On the southern coast of Jamaica, the only operational Replicator ultra-longrange SAM site warmed its missiles up. The site was mobile and consisted of 12 launchers with the associated control equipment. Heavily camoflauged, the 12 launchers kept their missiles hidden inside of a container, which they would eject out of upon launch, making them look more like PATRIOT missiles than anything else, from the sky at least.
The missile was the MIM-213A Replicator, a new surface-to-air missile, of unparrelled and unprecedented range. It was massive too. Sitting 42 feet long, 3 feet wide, and having a 10 foot wingspan, the 18,000 pound missile was the newest creation of the LDC - Defensive Systems branch. It was a two-stage missile that had a boost and a terminal phase. The boost phase was assisted by four externally mounted rockets, including the main rocket of the missile. Cruise speed for the missile could be anywhere from Mach 4.5 to Mach 6.0, depending on the altitude and conditions, as well as range. The missile was guided by its own internal systems for much of its flight, using a datalink while approaching its terminal phase. The terminal phase could bring the missile moving as fast as Mach 8.0 and it brought with it a 300 pound warhead, assisting its hit-to-kill technology.
The guidance system of the Replicator was the most advanced yet, taking into the capability of both satellite and anti-stealth uplink, datalink, millimetric wave radar, imaging infrared, active radar, passive radar, and inertial. The seeker was a heavily upgraded Crow seeker. It enabled the missile to engage targets as low as 120 feet or as high as 150,000 feet at ranges between 10 and 500 miles, including stealth targets, though their ranges were less.
The missile, very agile and very promising, was about to undertake its first test against the drone. Already locked on and tracking using its satellite uplink, the missile sat stationary in its container as the seconds counted down from ten, each one more tense than the last.
Finally, at zero, the missile engines ignited, driving the missile from its container with both a roar and an earthquake. The force of the missile itself shook the launcher and the ground around it as the roar deafened everything for a half mile. The green flames of the GEL-based fuel lit up the night as the missile soared up to its target, which was moving at 600 miles per hour and 45,000 feet. The missile was on a direct path telemetry, meaning that the missile would go straight to the target, not diving from a loft, though capable.