Missiles

Missiles are projectile weapons that can be launched from starfighters like the X-wing or TIE Inerceptor up to capitol ships like the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Mark II. These weapons are usually far more powerful than lasers in sense that they explode rather than simply shoot straight through something or absorb its energy into a craft that can't handle it. Rather, it detonates, usually upon meeting its target or finding itself in a position that will eliminate or atleast damage the target due to its 'blast radius.' Blast radius is the term used to describe how far the heat and other explosive materials will go and damage objects around it. Depending on the type of missile, the blast radius may be different in terms of heat, distance and overall power. There is more than a simple blast radius though- some missiles, or really most missiles, will let off at least a minor 'EMP' or 'Electro-Magnetic-Pulse.' This temperarilly knocks out electrical equipmen in the area and can cause problems within nearby fighters after a missile has been used- this normally only occurs if someone flies through the debris though. In the case of TIE Fighters, and most up to date fighters, the craft are protected to a certain degree from EMP pulses, so worry not! There are also radiation fallout and concussion pulses to think of, but most of those are controlled unless the missile or weapon is specifically made to destroy a target by use of either of those methods.

For missiles to work however, they need a mechanisms to propel and guide them to their targets. The first step is usually to attain a 'missile' lock. Missile locks are found by the fighter itself by finding a 'heat' signature or a specific material that the enemy target lets off. These materials determine the 'weapon envelope' for that target. In the case of heat signature locking, the pilot needs to get behind the fighter so they can read the engine exhaust temperature and lock on to it for their missile- this is called stern targetting. However, there are missiles that lock onto other emmisions or signals, perhaps onto a computer output- this changes their aspect, or the range and angle from the enemy that they can be fired. All-aspect missiles can be fired from pretty much any position around an enemy target, but usually lack the fuel cells to stay in the air for very long because of how much space is taken up by the computer brain.

Transferring that information to the missile, the projectile is then dropped or shot off a position on the fighter by use of rocket engines, several times more powerful then those on a pilots ship, but last for far less time because they have only a 'fuel cell' to run off of. These fuel cells can grant to the missile a certain amount of time and speed to reach their target, sometimes only about ten seconds, other times- minutes. These factors, as well as the materials used in the explosive core of the missile, designate their use and function.

The two types of missiles we are most likely to see are the concussion missile and proton torpedo. In the case of both, they are highly explosive and used for both capitol ships and starfighter combat. However, both have seperate functions and are sometimes assinged to different factions depending on who is allied with what company.

The Imperial TIE-class fighters that are equipped with missiles will carry concussion missiles, most times. These missiles are not to the same explosive degree as the proton torpedos, but they are faster, smarter and more maneuverable- thus, they are best used in starfighter combat where the roads are most tortuous to find their target, yet they can be used to target larger ships. A single concussion missile, if targetted directly, can knock out the full shielding of an X-wing and pretty much destroy a lighter shielded craft like an A-wing. Concussion missiles have a far greater armor-peircing ability than proton torpedos because of their longer, arrow-head shape that can plunge into shields and detonate themselves closer to the hull. Thus- they are very likely to do hull damage upon exploding.

Again, the paths are normally very winding though, so the missile will have to settle for detonating within the blast radius of enemy fighter sometimes, doing less damage but getting about the same effect. Concussion missiles are called concussion missiles for a reason though- they may not have the same explosive yield as proton torpedos, but they have an aftershock. After the weapon has been detonated, an tremor emits from the blast, sending shock waves that can disrupt other's abilities to fly and even further damage nearby objects, mainly wingmen of the target that'd just been hit. Thus, the concussion missile has a bit more than just its bite.

Proton torpedoes, on the other hand, are going to be assigned to fighters like X-wings, more of a multi-purpose missile that can be fired at other fighters and have a far more detrimental damage rate, or at capitol ships and still be fairly effective. Unlike the concussion missile, these missiles have a smaller brain, travel a little slower and are only going to be fired when a good shot has been aquired. These missiles are not to be messed with, in other words. Why? As has been stated throughout, the explosive yield of a proton torpedo is slightly different than that of a concussion missile. Proton torpedoes are self propelled nuclear or thermonuclear warheads. The yield of these weapons varies with the type of proton torpedo used; known yields range from single kiloton warheads by Luke Skywalker against the first Death Star to the 190 megaton warhead used by Jango Fett against Obi-wan Kenobi. The torpedo is usually guided by an astromech droid aboard the fighter or a guidance system in the torpedo itself. When an attack on a capital ship is intended pilots tend to turn off the guidance system seeing as it is possible for it to be scrambled by jammes or the intended target can be mistaken for another target such as a star fighter. This is known as target confusion. It is also possible for the intended target to use counter measures to throw the torpedo off course. When a pilot elects not to use a guidance system, this is called dumb firing and is all around more effective than using the system itself.

Alliance fighters, such as X-wings, that carry proton torpedoes onboard, use them to systematically destroy enemy fighters at long-range or short-range, and also to knock out the shields and critical systems of larger capital ships. Some enemy fighters have "target lock" ESW threat receivers that allow their pilots to know they have a torp on them, and can "juke" or "waltz" to throw off the targeting package. This makes long-range fighter-torpedoing rather ineffecient. However, at close range, enemy fighters just don't have the time to evade the torpedo, which makes it a handy weapon in intense dogfighting.

However, as stated above, an extraordinary use of proton torpedoes is the ability for snubfighters to attack far larger capital ships. Normally, a squadron will fly to maximum sensor lock range for their torpedoes (the furthest they can be to target an object), or just dumb-fire their torpedoes all at a single location on the shields. Twenty proton torps at one location can down that particular section of the shields on a Victory-class Star Destroyer, and less than eighty at one location can down a specific location on a Super Star Destroyer (for comparison, one fighter typically carries about five to ten torpedoes at best, but are usually loaded with less).

As you can see- the missile's function very according to their use, thus- when describing these in combat, it may be useful to tell the exact specifications of the missile because this will make its abilities and faults even more clear. In the end- they're a deadly option, but a commonly used one in the practice of fighter vs fighter combat, or even fighter vs capitol ship combat. In short- they make big esplosions...