The Space Intercept Missile 14, or Hyde Dynamics “One-Shot Definite Kill” Missile

Appendix: The Space Intercept Missile 14, or Hyde Dynamics “One-Shot Definite Kill” Missile

This started as part of a backengineering project on the Kennedy that has gone to some really interesting places, and has spun off an interesting backstory in naval design which I haven’t yet put up. The SIM-14 in NAM is a bastardisation of a some pre-NAM rules with NAM compliant rules. Here is a NAM compliant missile.

The design

The engineering of the missile is set as a 0.07 MW NM fuel cell and stutterwarp. Together they displace 7 m2, mass 8 tons and cost MLv8. There is 0.189 tons of fuel added.

To these we need to add:

·         Warhead

·         Guidance system

·         Sensors

·         Casing?

None of these is really defined in NAM. I’ll use the old Anatomy as a guide.

The 10x2 warhead is 2 m3/tons. The cost is MLv0.2.

The guidance avionics are 0.1 m3/tons and costs MLv0.1.

The sensor is a forward looking (only front arc) passive-8. Its’ job is basically to detect the reflections from the illuminating active radar. It is 1/10^th of a normal passive, and I’ll interpolate a passive-8 as costing MLv1. Hence 1 m3, 0.1 tons and MLv0.1

There is no pressure (the missile is not pressurised), and so the missile has a thin casing, not a 2+ cm thick hull (i.e. a civilian spec hull). The missile is broader than 1 m, and a 1.5 m diameter, 7 m long missile fits both the stats and the picture:

Figure 1: The SIM-14 missile (2300 Directors Guide pg 78)

Looking at the picture, the 1.5:7 ratio is about right. At the front we have some panels that split open. Since even at 1/10^th of the SA of a normal array is 3 m2 the front is too small for a homer. Besides, who wants to have to shoot through your own sensors? The antennas I’d think are the avionics and comm-link to the mother ship, and the passive array. The nuclear device proper should be in the tail of the weapon, as the rods need to be quite long to maximise the collimation. Hence the stutterwarp, fuel cell and fuel are in the central part of the missile. The rods will go round the engineering unit, excepting spaces where connections to the electronics and the “pif-paf” thrusters are.

As an aside, I like the idea that the big 2 ton warheads require a larger diameter.

Implications for existing ASF vessels

The Kennedy has an odd design feature – 10 large cylinders on the engineering section. I will now suggest that these are in fact 10 missile packs, each with 2 SIM-14’s contained one on front of the other. The image on the cover of Star Cruiser makes it clear they are pretty packed, and the image in the DG (87) is lacking a cylinder.

This isn’t the same pack as the standard one, which has them stacked next to each other.

The box volume of the missile is 15.75 m3, and a missile bay is double the box volume, or 31.5 m2. The Cayuga A and B have enough roughly volume each to carry a pair of missiles. The Cayuga C doubles this to 4 missiles. The Hampton carries a pair of single missile packs.

Essentially, the SIM-14 is a honking great missile, almost the size of a Ritage-2 (78% of the internal volume).

The Stats

AMERICAN SIM-14 MISSILE

Combat Performance Data:

Movement: 7,

Radiated Signature: 1,

Radial Reflected Signature: 2 (the sticking out sensor gives it significant RCS),

Lateral Reflected Signature: 2,

Radial Target Profile: -4,

Lateral Target Profile: -3,

Hull Hits: 1/1/1,

Power Plant Hits: 1/1,

Armament: one 10x2 detonation laser,

Active Sensors: none,

Passive Sensors: 8, forward facing only

Design Characteristics:

Warp Efficiency: 3.304,

Power Plant: 0.07 MW Fuel Cell,

Fuel:0.189 tons, sufficient for eight hours of operation,

Mass: 10.4 tons

Length: 7 meters,

Diameter: 1.5 meters,

Price: Lv8,400,000 (yes, exactly 10 times the listed)

Standard Missile Pack for the SIM-14:

Missiles per Pack: 1,

Mass of Pack: 8 tons,

Volume of Pack: 25 m3,

Surface Area Cost of Pack: 15 m2 (ca. 1.5 m x 10 m),

Reflective Signature Points: 15,

Price of Pack: Lv400,000

Large Missile Pack for the SIM-14:

Missiles per Pack: 2,

Mass of Pack: 8 tons,

Volume of Pack: 50 m3,

Surface Area Cost of Pack: 30 m2 (ca. 1.5 m x 20 m),

Reflective Signature Points: 30,

Price of Pack: Lv800,000

Bays for the SIM-14:

Mass per Missile: 31.5 tons,

Volume per Missile: 31.5 m3,

Exit Port for Missile: 4.5 m2

(NB: No costs for missile launchers were ever defined)

The Build Notes

SIM-14	Vol	Mass	MLv
.07 MW FC	1	1	1
.07 NM SW	6	7	7
Fuel	0.31185	0.189
Avionics	0.1	0.1	0.1
passive=8	1	0.1	0.1
10x2	2	2	0.2
hull-0	0	0	0
TOTAL	10.41185	10.389	8.4