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Title Posted
Kinetic anti-ship attacks Oct 2002
Maneuver, combat and missiles Oct 2002
Marines aboard ship Oct 2002
MetalStorm missile tubes Oct 2002
Post-battle debris concerns Oct 2002
FTL LACs Oct 2002
LACs as parasites Oct 2002
<em>Shrikes </em>and <em>Ferrets </em>are not fighters Oct 2002
Q-ships Oct 2002
Q-ships as convoy escorts/raiders Oct 2002
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Pearls of Weber

A collection of posts by David Weber containing background information for his stories, collected and generously made available Joe Buckley.

Posted by David at 12:00am

Missile orientation during flight

  • Series: Honorverse
  • Date: October 22, 2002

Missiles in the Harrington universe are virtually all seeking weapons. Their sensor heads are required to maintain lock on their targets (at least once they are beyond effective, real-time telemetry control from the ship which launched them). This means that they keep the throats of their wedges oriented on their targets, which is why it is possible for point defense lasers to kill them at extended ranges. There is no sidewall or wedge protecting them from the fire or the ship they are attacking; their wedges do, however, protect them from the defensive fire of other ships which might attempt to engage them from "above" or "below."