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Jonathan_S wrote:The Mk31 was already a brand new breakthrough in CM performance, the highest acceleration of any missile the RMN has and the first extended drive CM. And then they stuck a single-rod laser-head onto its nose, which has to be at least a 15% increase in length, and it didn't lose even a single g of acceleration.

Wait, a CM with laser? Where was this?

I'm not doubting, I just don't remember it. CMs don't shoot, they ram.

ThinksMarkedly wrote:

Jonathan_S wrote:The Mk31 was already a brand new breakthrough in CM performance, the highest acceleration of any missile the RMN has and the first extended drive CM. And then they stuck a single-rod laser-head onto its nose, which has to be at least a 15% increase in length, and it didn't lose even a single g of acceleration.

Wait, a CM with laser? Where was this?

I'm not doubting, I just don't remember it. CMs don't shoot, they ram.

It's (technically) not a CM with a laser. The Viper is the Katanna's anti-LAC missile. (Though it can be used in a CM role; where, yes, it does ram. The laserhead is just for engaging enemy LACs)

Here's the relevant text

At All Costs wrote:Grayson-designed Viper anti-LAC missile.
The Viper was about two-thirds the size of a standard LAC missile, but it was quite different. It carried a much smaller warhead, without the multiple lasing rods of a conventional warhead, in order to incorporate significantly better seekers and an enhanced AI. And it also was designed for engagements at much shorter ranges. Engagements in which massive acceleration, agility, and the ability to reach targets quickly were vastly more important than endurance. Which was why the Viper used the same drive systems as the Mark 31 counter-missile.

Storm From The Shadows wrote:That was also the reason it had been such a challenge to squeeze a laser head capable of dealing even with LACs into the new Viper anti-LAC missile. The bay for the single lasing rod was almost two thirds the length of the entire missile body, and finding a place where it could be crammed in had presented all sorts of problems.

At All Costs wrote:Dillinger didn't really like to think about just how expensive each of his LACs' "counter-missiles" actually was. The systems built into the Viper for its anti-LAC role meant it cost twice as much as the standard extended-range Mark 31 CM on which it was based. But the Viper retained the Mark 31's basic drive system, and a counter-missile's impeller wedge was what it used to "sweep up" attack missiles. Which meant the Viper was still perfectly capable of being used defensively, and earmarking a percentage of them for missile defense, rather than using magazine space on dedicated Mark 31s which couldn't be used in the anti-shipping role, simplified their ammunition requirements and gave them a potentially useful cushion both offensively and defensively.

House of Steel wrote: Their multipurpose launchers fire the Viper missile, which can be used in either counter-LAC or counter-missile mode. Used in the second mode, the Viper remains an extremely capable counter-missile, matching the antimissile performance of the cheaper dedicated Mark 31 counter-missile from which it was derived.

penny wrote:
(SNIP by RAW of most of the original)

Which is why I suggested that separating a spent stage could be reserved until this moment. If the missile's acceleration suddenly changes due to dropping a spent stage, then the extra boost of acceleration might be enough to throw the PDLC computer off for a split second. A split second delay might as well be an hour delay in this threat environment.

The Cataphracts are probably staged; but the full up MDM used by RMN (and probably RHN) aren't designed to be staged (and why should they be?). The only surplus items at the end of the run are burnt out impeller nodes.

Robert_A_Woodward wrote:

penny wrote:
(SNIP by RAW of most of the original)

Which is why I suggested that separating a spent stage could be reserved until this moment. If the missile's acceleration suddenly changes due to dropping a spent stage, then the extra boost of acceleration might be enough to throw the PDLC computer off for a split second. A split second delay might as well be an hour delay in this threat environment.

The Cataphracts are probably staged; but the full up MDM used by RMN (and probably RHN) aren't designed to be staged (and why should they be?). The only surplus items at the end of the run are burnt out impeller nodes.

But as I said before, when SDMs grew up to become MDMs their size increased by more than just the size of the impeller node or drive rings.

Can we really call a jerry-rigged missile that happens to separate a true multistage missile? One stage (is it one stage?) might happen to separate, but I think the MA can do better. Much better.

Jonathan_S wrote:The Mk31 was already a brand new breakthrough in CM performance, the highest acceleration of any missile the RMN has and the first extended drive CM. And then they stuck a single-rod laser-head onto its nose, which has to be at least a 15% increase in length, and it didn't lose even a single g of acceleration.

Again, we do not know what the equation with compensation and volume look like. At the risk of sounding like I am pulling at straws, the equation might not be so neat and tidy. There might be varying ranges of compensation per volume (thresholds) for a given increase or decrease in performance. And it just might have happened to be that the size of that particular compensator could cover 15% more volume without any degradation in performance.

Like I said, the equation might not be so neat and pretty. But I do not think that we can argue with the notion that the equation is consistent with the promise that smaller objects will generally be faster than larger objects. As an example, 4th grade school kids might have the same speed as 5th grade school kids because their sizes are relatively close. But as the size differential gets much greater the acceleration drops off faster and vice versa. And the greatest windfall just might occur on the smaller end of the volume scale at a certain magical threshold.

Plus, without the complete technical specs in hand, we do not know if a 15% increase in the volume of the missile didn't pay dividends of a bigger compensator. Albeit, reading the text stating that they had problems finding places to stuff the single lasing rod, having a bigger compensator available might be questionable. But as you said, we do not know the magic of the missile's built-in compensator. But regardless of whatever voodoo the equation uses, it seems to be undeniably biased towards smaller objects.