MT Missile Variants

[Jetrock]

I recently found an old notebook with designs for MegaTraveller variants on the standard 50kg ship-to-ship missile, based on Striker descriptions of the statistics for missiles. I figure a missile turret is generally the best choice for a civilian vessel, not only because it has lower power requirements but also because the 50kg missile body is useful for other tasks besides warfare. The missiles below are designed at TL 15.

Missile hull: .10kl hull, configuration 3AF, armor 4G. Weight 1.4 kg, cost Cr1320.
Standard warhead: HEAP, 14mm, penetration 55, damage 14, mass 26kg, cost Cr440.
Guidance: Homing, Teleguidance & Target Memory, mass 3kg, cost Cr2300.
Thrust: 300 kg thrust grav plate, mass 15 kg, consumes .03kw/h, volume .006 kl, mass 4 kg, cost Cr600. 6G performance based on 50 Kg total missile weight.
Power: .105 kw/h battery, mass 15 kg, cost Cr 15,000. Endurance 3.5 hours, or 14 MegaTraveller ship combat turns of 6-G acceleration.

Total cost and mass: Cr20,000 per missile, 50 Kg.

Alternate Payloads (replace standard warhead cost with cost below):
Cluster warhead: 3x8cm HEAP warheads, penetration 42, damage 9 each. Cost Cr1440.
CBM warhead: Penetration 22, damage 6 contact, danger space=80 meters. Cost Cr920.
HE warhead: Penetration 25, damage 18, danger space 30, cost Cr312.
Cargo: No warhead, no cost, missile can carry 25 kg payload (unpressurized, no life support)
Active EMS Probe: Add Radio=System, EMS=Continental, battery supply for 3 hours. Cost Cr800,000.
Video probe/drone: Add holorecorder, Radio=Continental, battery supply for 40 hours (Grav thruster can operate for 21 hours at 1-G acceleration, 42 hours 0.5G)

The cluster warhead maximizes damage against non-military ships but cannot penetrate hardened military hulls. The CBM and HE warhead are primarily intended for orbital bombardment of soft targets or repelling soft-skinned boarding craft (ex: troops in vacc suits or powered armor, air/raft or Gcarriers conveying boarding parties.) The sensor-based missiles (Active EMS and video probe) are useful for military craft to extend sensor range and communications relays, but are of great utility to scout/survey craft, belters or other explorers.

The cargo missile is a quick way to move goods between craft (as long as they trust each other enough to let parties fire "friendly" missiles between them!" and also serves as a base package that can be upgraded with other sensors, communication devices and electronics. Passive EMS, radio and EMS jammers, laser or maser communicators, neural activity sensors, small neutrino sensors and densitometers, along with small batteries, can turn the standard 50 kg missile into a flexible probe. Add a holorecorder, radio and a couple of robotic arms (maybe even add a CT Book 8 robotic brain!) and you have a remote EVA vehicle that can complete small repairs outside the ship when it may be too dangerous to send a crew member outside in a vacc suit. Assume changing out packages is a Routine task (Electronics, Gunnery, Edu) that requires Mechanical and Electronics tool kits, and they become an even more important part of the Scout/Courier's arsenal.

 

[McPerth]

Nice job, but taking into account how MT ship-to-ship combat is played (with HG like rules), how do this translate to it?

 

[Jetrock]

Nice job, but taking into account how MT ship-to-ship combat is played (with HG like rules), how do this translate to it?

Pretty much the same in terms of ship-to-ship combat, except potentially the sensor drone variant or other ECM variant (extending friendly sensor range or limiting enemy sensor capabilities, in a cheap/disposable platform separate from the main vessel), at most the cluster missile variant would provide a bonus to damage to civilian/unarmored ships but can't harm any ship with an armor factor of 1 or higher. The intent in most of the variants is greater roleplaying options for the humble missile launcher, including its use against non-starship targets and as an all-purpose, semi-autonomous "small craft."

 

[McPerth]

I'm afraid it won't be too useful even against civilian/unarmores (so armor 40) targets, as it would be a low penetration hit, inflicting only half damage if using the personal/vehicle combat rules (MTM page70).

While I could not find the stats for a ship's missile in MT, this is quite tiny when compared with any other ship weapon (page 80). To see what would be the effect of those weapons in player/vehicle combat rules I'd suggest you to read this thread (short version: any hit will cripple or destroy most player's ships).

 

[Jetrock]

Taking a quick look at the MT ship combat rule, the cluster warhead (3x8cm HEAP warheads, penetration 72) I'd treat like a pulse laser for purposes of damage rolls (+2 DM on damage table) for any ship hull it can penetrate (armor factor 0 in High Guard UPP) but does not damage a ship with an armor factor of 1 or more (low-penetration hit.) The CBM and HE warheads would be basically useless for ship-to-ship combat.

Just for fun I whipped up a couple more:

Passive EMS probe: Laser Communicator+FarOrbit, Passive EMS=Interplanetary, EMM Masking, 1 hour battery, cost Cr184,000. The high power consumption of Passive EMS limits the potential utility of this device, but the EMM masking and line-of-sight communication system make it of potential utility for planned ambushes, or low-risk remote recon missions. Battery life could be extended if it is dropped off on-station and the main battery used to power the EMS (to maximum 2 hours.)

EMS Jammer: Replace the Active EMS above with an EMS Jammer, range V. Distant. Probably too short-ranged to affect ship to ship combat, and could be "burned through" by more powerful Active EMS, but could make a difference on a ground battlefield. Cost is the same as an Active EMS missile.

"Waldo" repair unit: Radio=Continental, Synthetic Vision, Headlight, Holorecorder, 2x Light Robotic Arms, Laser Carbine with 2 powerpacks, Radiation Sensor. Cr 62,000. This turns the missile into a multi-function remote unit. The laser carbine is retuned as a laser welder, a variety of sensors make it useful for light ship repair duties. It's too small to pack a mechanical repair kit but theoretically they could be carried by the missile in a robotic arm after launch. Beyond this point one could go crazy adding robotic brains and other sensory functions, this kit basically turns the missile into a handy drone for examining one's own ship, or a low-risk alternative for investigating asteroids, floating space hulks, and so on. The laser carbine/welder has its own power supply, since this variant probably won't be doing a whole lot of high-G burn it can run off the grav unit's battery.