Starship Weapon Systems

Weapons systems are highly varied and differ greatly by the groups that field them, but have a few marked similarities.

In general, most weapons fall in to one of two categories: projectile and non-projectile.

Projectile Systems

Any time a ship fires a solid, non-reusable object, it is considered a projectile. Projectiles themselves are generally differentiated by guided and unguided.

Unguided Projectiles

Rail guns are the most common, where in a metal 'slug' or bullet is proppelled by passing a current between two rails. Magnetic guns are also common, and while less efficient, their do exist gravity guns(which use artificial gravity to propel a projectile. All of these weapons are typically small, turret mounted affairs and commonly used for point defense or close-in ordnance. Because they are relatively easy to build and maintain, this is also the most common armament fitted to civilian ships.

While much less common, there have also been many notable examples of "space guns" fielded by different powers. Good old fashioned nitro-cellulose(smokeless gunpowder) works perfectly well in outer space, and in a vacuum can propel a large projectile to very dangerous speeds.

While effective range is not a major issue(in space, an object in motion remains in motion), unguided projectiles are still considered only a short-range or close-in weapon. The primary problem with these weapons is aiming; since the projectiles travel much slower than the speed of light, it becomes nearly impossible to hit distant targets.

Guided Projectiles

Guided projectiles typically consist of missiles or torpedoes, and may or may not carry a warhead. A key difference between the two is size and payload: torpedoes are generally much larger than missiles.

The addition of a guidance system makes range considerably less of an issue. The deciding factor then becomes delta-V budget; how much can the projectile change it's relative velocity? Pure chemical-based motors have extremely low delta-V compared to their nuclear counterparts.

Missiles

The most common guided weapon is a kinetic missile, which consists of a rocket motor, guidance system, attitude control system, and an inert "impactor" usually made of some dense, heavy metal. These missiles kill with pure kinetic energy, relying entirely on the speed of the missile and the speed of the ship launching them.

Kinetic missiles are popular because they are cheap, easy to build, an effective against most targets. Chemically-driven kinetic missiles can, at close range, inflict serious damage; and much like railguns are popular "civilian armaments" in the Merchant Marine.

In fact, kinetic missiles are so efficient that chemical explosive warheads are almost never used. The most powerful and sophisticated non-nuclear explosives simply don't add enough to be worthwhile. The exceptions are whenever the function of the payload is strictly destructive against another ship. Some small SIMs are equiped with a chemical explosive payload and designed to produce a cloud of shrapnel; these are seen most often on weapons fitted to stunt-fighters designed to take out other stunt fighters.

Larger missile payloads are often nuclear, with most space navies fielding some form of N1 missile. Interestingly, most N1 missiles are complete ineffective on anything other than a direct hit. An N1 warhead exploding only "near" a ship hardened for the kind of radiation encountered in deep space(E.G.: All ships) would be unaffected by the radiation, and there is almost no shockwave to speak of.

To counter-act this, N1s are usually surrounded by a "burner" or fuel layer made of some dense material, usually a heavy elemental metal. In the explosion, the burner is vaporized and turns into a shockwave of energetic plasma. This is an important feature as it turns a "near miss" into at least some damage.

• The Gudersnipe Foundation fields an N1 missile with a shaped tungsten or depleted uranium cone that functions much like the penetrator in a rocket-propelled grendade anti-tank weapon. When the warhead explodes, it creates a white-hot jet of plasma capable of penetrating most Starship Shield Systems and doing significant damage to an armored hull.

Less common as missile warheads are N1.5, or hydrogen fusion bombs. They are effective in that a powerful plasma shockwave is created, but finding a second-stage fissile material capable of fitting on a usually relatively small missile is extremely challenging and out of the capability for even most nuclear-armed forces.

Alliance combat ships rely heavily on very small N1s with burners and mostly use kinetic missiles. While the Foundation fields all of the above, its main-stay weapon is the N2 variable-yield warhead. Much like an N1.5, N2s produce a very powerful and devastating plasma shockwave, while also being relatively similar in side. The infamous Scion-Sending Missile fielded early in the Kamian Succession Wars combined an N2 warhead with the shaped burner shell from the armor-penetrating N1.

Torpedoes

Torpedoes are, of course, the main-stay of the ship-killer weapon; a single good hit from a torpedo can generally take out anything smaller than a cruiser.

The difference between a missile and a torpedo in space is largely academic. The Foundation classifies a torpedo as being "any weapon fired from a powered launcher with an engine capable of multiple re-starts". Propellant-system re-start is the main determining factor for most space navies, though many cultures simply do not differentiate between the two weapon types. The Foundation primarily keeps the two as separate categories due to a long naval tradition.

Launcher

The Foundation's torpedo system is too-stage: a compressed gas explosion coupled with a magnetic coil. The space in front of the torpedo is also exposed to the vacuum of space, and the combination of factors gives it a fractional speed of light acceleration. This allows the torpedo to be launched without engaging it's own motor, which makes the initial launch more difficult to detect.

Launchers are typically protected behind heavy armor plates which must be retracted in order to fire. Since the plates are a sizable fraction of the hull, this represents a detectable change in surface geometry. The same is usually true for missile bays. Opening of bay doors is usually considered a sign of aggression, since it signifies the intent to launch a torpedo.

In addition, the tube itself, since it contains sensitive equipment, is often pressurized while not in use(to allow for maintenance access), depressurizing the tube by venting into space is another detectable event. Some ships are equipped with vacuum pumps that can clear the tube without venting, but most prefer to simply go into battle with bay doors open and tubes emptied.

Engine

Foundation torpedoes typically use a Deuterium Drives, being small, compact, and very powerful. The Foundation's variant uses a small amount of anti-matter to spark the reaction, while many operators use laser fusion initiators. The anti-matter systems are actually more expensive to operate, but the Foundation uses them because the restart cycles are much faster.

Payload

Kinetic torpedoes are not a thing. If you are going to launch a torpedo at someone, you'd best strap a nuke on it. Most operators use the largest N1.5 warheads they can find, the Foundation uses N2 warheads "or better".

Foundation payloads typically consist of a large, variable-yield N2. The "workhorse" torpedo of the Crimson Blade is a variable forty to one hundred and twenty megaton N2 in a thick, hardened tungsten casing. While the casing ads very little to the yield when vaporized, it does protect the torpedo from counter measures, and can allow it it to better penetrate into a hull.

The torpedo is also the standard delivery system for the Nova Bomb. Though they have been fitted to missiles, torpedoes are preferable for their improved capabilities.

The foundation also fielded the "Scion Torpedo", which borrowed from the shaped-charge design of the Scion-Sending Missile. This weapon eventually evolved into the modern Skipper Missile, a long-range hunter-killer torpedo.