The ultimate weapon

I am working on my own book (not HH but Robotech) but I was thinking of weapon systems and then started thinking in terms of HH Tech and this flashed into my head:

The W gun.

This is a modified Grazer. Instead of firing a regular projectile at a fraction of c it fires a modified version of the single stage destroyer missile and warhead. The gun is designed such that it's gravitational impulse isn't just used to push (or rather pull) the projectile out the end of the barrel, it forms a focal point, much like a mini Warshawski sail advancing the projectile through the Alpha wall, into Hyper Space.
Once fired, an onboard computer takes over, and after a preset time (a few seconds, or less) activates the drive section. Instead of a conventional wedge type drive section, it carries a very short burst Warshawski drive that drags the projectile out of the alpha band and back into N space. Thus, the guns average muzzle velocity is >c (depending on how high into the Alpha band the weapon can push the projectile - and it's onboard drive can pull it back again).
The warhead could be either a time delay Nuke (early models) that detonate just after exiting back into N-space, or a proximity fuse warhead (maybe with penaides, later developments)
A ship would use its eral-time gravity detectors to locate the location, course, and acceleration of a target (using their wedge) and fire the projectiles on a calculated intercept course. The enemy may detect a number of high yield gravity pulses from the ship but would detect no weapon discharge. Suddenly (a few seconds later) a series of nearby gravity pulses would be followed closely by warhead detonations (or even impacts). just think what would happen on a direct hit - where one of the warheads drops back to N-space in the same space as the target - Nuke going off right inside the ship !!!!
Weapons fire would be very similar to WWI or early WWII Naval fire...
spot target, calculate expected future location (in 3D), Fire guns to intercept targets expected position, a few seconds flight time, then observe results/impacts/misses.
a projectile fired at the N-space equivalent of 10c would require 3 seconds to a target 30 light-seconds away. One fired at the equivalent of 100c would travel 300LS or 5 light minutes in the same time! The more advanced the weapon got, the more effective (and longer ranged – limited by available onboard power supply) it could be.

MAD-4A wrote:I am working on my own book (not HH but Robotech) but I was thinking of weapon systems and then started thinking in terms of HH Tech and this flashed into my head:

The W gun.

This is a modified Grazer. Instead of firing a regular projectile at a fraction of c it fires a modified version of the single stage destroyer missile and warhead. The gun is designed such that it's gravitational impulse isn't just used to push (or rather pull) the projectile out the end of the barrel, it forms a focal point, much like a mini Warshawski sail advancing the projectile through the Alpha wall, into Hyper Space.
Once fired, an onboard computer takes over, and after a preset time (a few seconds, or less) activates the drive section. Instead of a conventional wedge type drive section, it carries a very short burst Warshawski drive that drags the projectile out of the alpha band and back into N space. Thus, the guns average muzzle velocity is >c (depending on how high into the Alpha band the weapon can push the projectile - and it's onboard drive can pull it back again).
The warhead could be either a time delay Nuke (early models) that detonate just after exiting back into N-space, or a proximity fuse warhead (maybe with penaides, later developments)
A ship would use its eral-time gravity detectors to locate the location, course, and acceleration of a target (using their wedge) and fire the projectiles on a calculated intercept course. The enemy may detect a number of high yield gravity pulses from the ship but would detect no weapon discharge. Suddenly (a few seconds later) a series of nearby gravity pulses would be followed closely by warhead detonations (or even impacts). just think what would happen on a direct hit - where one of the warheads drops back to N-space in the same space as the target - Nuke going off right inside the ship !!!!
Weapons fire would be very similar to WWI or early WWII Naval fire...
spot target, calculate expected future location (in 3D), Fire guns to intercept targets expected position, a few seconds flight time, then observe results/impacts/misses.
a projectile fired at the N-space equivalent of 10c would require 3 seconds to a target 30 light-seconds away. One fired at the equivalent of 100c would travel 300LS or 5 light minutes in the same time! The more advanced the weapon got, the more effective (and longer ranged – limited by available onboard power supply) it could be.

Little things like it couldn't generate Warshawski sails, which doesn't matter if it could because that doesn't get you into hyper, which doesn't mater because it wouldn't get you back out of hyper, which doesn't mater because entry or exit from hyper is impossible within the hyper limit (where virtually all combat happens), etc., etc.

Jonathan_S wrote:

Little things like it couldn't generate Warshawski sails, which doesn't matter if it could because that doesn't get you into hyper, which doesn't mater because it wouldn't get you back out of hyper, which doesn't mater because entry or exit from hyper is impossible within the hyper limit (where virtually all combat happens), etc., etc.

To be fair, he did say it was for a non-HH universe. Which means he can do whatever he likes, however unrealistic it would be within the Honorverse(or ours).

You forgot the loss of velocity during translations btw.

munroburton wrote:To be fair, he did say it was for a non-HH universe. Which means he can do whatever he likes, however unrealistic it would be within the Honorverse(or ours).

You forgot the loss of velocity during translations btw.

Actually, OP said that it originated from Robotech, but then started thinking in terms of the Honorverse. So yeah, the idea is completely off the walls in terms of Honorverse tech.

Duckk wrote:

munroburton wrote:To be fair, he did say it was for a non-HH universe. Which means he can do whatever he likes, however unrealistic it would be within the Honorverse(or ours).

You forgot the loss of velocity during translations btw.

Actually, OP said that it originated from Robotech, but then started thinking in terms of the Honorverse. So yeah, the idea is completely off the walls in terms of Honorverse tech.

Can't be Duckk. If it can't get into hyper then it can't be off the walls, Alpha or Beta. LOL

Meson guns from Traveller. http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Meson_Accelerator

The op's idea is similar to a weapon called a "Void Missile" used in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The missile launches, then translates into "the Void"- a hyperspace type rhelm, populated by Lovecraftian horrors,which would then automatically translate back into normal space, ideally on the far side of the target's shields and point defenses.

Lots could go wrong. If memory serves, the best case was the void generator was still working, and would take the target into the void. Worst, something horrible would come through one of the holes the missile made in the universe's.

Sounds a lot like the C+cannon used by Saberhagen in the Berserker Wars. Just goes to show how difficult it is to come up with something that hasn't been used before.

zuluwiz wrote:Sounds a lot like the C+cannon used by Saberhagen in the Berserker Wars. Just goes to show how difficult it is to come up with something that hasn't been used before.

Also not so dissimilar from the Achuultani hyper missile launchers in RFC's mutineer's moon books.

munroburton wrote:
To be fair, he did say it was for a non-HH universe. Which means he can do whatever he likes, however unrealistic it would be within the Honorverse(or ours).

You forgot the loss of velocity during translations btw.

Actually didn't. I calculated its effect and then left it out of my post because at the impossible velocities he's talking about and assuming 1/2 million km energy range popping through hyper is still faster. If we assume a 0.5c muzzle velocity when you lose 92% of that entering hyper you're down to 11,991 kps, but you've now got just 8,064 km to travel so you still arrive much sooner. (Virtually stationary; but with a well placed nuke that wouldn't matter)

MAD-4A wrote:I am working on my own book (not HH but Robotech) but I was thinking of weapon systems and then started thinking in terms of HH Tech and this flashed into my head:

The W gun.

This is a modified Grazer. Instead of firing a regular projectile at a fraction of c it fires a modified version of the single stage destroyer missile and warhead.

Since you specifically said that you were thinking in terms of HH weaponry, I have to comment on this (the bolded part). Everyone else has told you why that sort of thing doesn't work in the Honorverse, but aside from that, you've made a wrong assumption.

A GRASER (with an "s", not a "z") doesn't fire a projectile. It's an energy weapon, like an upjumped LASER. I've seen "graser" listed two ways: Gamma Ray lASER, or Gamma Ray Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Either way, it doesn't fire a projectile. Oh, and it operates at c, not a fraction of c.

Edit: Also, you need a hyper generator to get into and out of hyper, and if those and Warshawski Sails (which require Alpha nodes, which in most cases are bigger than the missiles) were small enough to fit in a missile, then they would also be on LACs, pinnaces, and other non-hyper-capable craft.