Look buddy, I'm an engineer...
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create a thermal smoke missile capable of being used in the vacuum of space.
- Image Source: White phosphorus munitions Wikipedia page
- Canon Link: There is no direct canon equivalent, but other smoke producing munitions are in universe
- Permissions: N/A
- Primary Source: N/A
- Manufacturer: Graenge Armaments & Industries LLC. (Ezekiel Graenge's limited liability company)
- Affiliation: Ezekiel Graenge, The Support Corps, Galactic Alliance
- Market Status: Closed-Market, but may change. GA&I has no name recognition or business front. The only way to acquire these currently is through direct contact with 'Zeke.
- Model: GA-TSM(P)
- Modularity: No
- Production: Currently Semi-Unique, but may change to Minor after Zeke submits the munition to the Galactic Alliance Navy for trials. If they decide to adopt it, Zeke lacks the production facilities to produce the munition in any large number. It is likely that another company will bid on a manufacturing contract for large scale production.
- Material: Durasteel casing, 'Squash head' Copper jacketed warhead, Phosphorous and Chlorine triflouride payload
- Classification: Missile
- Size: Average
- Weight: Average
- Explosive Type: Chemical
- Delivery Method: Self-propelled
- Effective Range: Average
- Area Of Effect: Average
- Damage Output: High
- The Graenge Armaments Thermal Smoke Munition (Prototype) is a missile capable of being fired out of starship scale concussion missile batteries (This prototype is NOT scaled to be fired out of capital ship grade assault concussion missile delivery systems).
- Its payload results in a 'starburst' of white smoke, that due to the chemical reaction it is produced by is "hot smoke". Meaning that the gas' aggregate temperature is high enough to block thermographic sensors' ability to penetrate it.
- This may prove very useful in ship-to-ship combat to act as a 'dumb' alternative to ECM, allowing the operator to target turret batteries and other visual/infared spectrum sensors to blind them.
- The GA-TSM is designed to allow the elemental phosphorous in the warhead to achieve combustion in oxygen absent environments such as the vacuum of space. It does this by including chlorine trifluoride in the payload. Chlorine trifluoride is ironically a more powerful oxidization agent than oxygen itself, and thus the missile is effective in any environment - although the effects may not be as intended if the missile detonates in water.
- The payload of the GA-TSM is horribly toxic and volatile. Both chemicals on their own are a nightmare, as burning phosphorus submunitions (which can be seen in the photo above) have the capability of 'sticking' to things... People... Animals, and quickly causing deep layer penetration burns. If that were not enough, the elemental phosphorus absorbed by the wound can produce casualties from multiple organ failure due to its toxicity. If that were not enough, in the presence of moisture the chlorine triflouride burning will produce hydrochloric acid and hydrofluoric acid as gasses. Not only that, but in any environment, chlorine trifluoride is such a powerful oxidizing agent that things that are ordinarily not flammable will readily burst into flames upon its introduction. The creation of a metal fluorine fire is a truly terrifying prospect.
- In their intended use environment the more volatile aspects of the GA-TSM are completely moot. Applied to their intended use case, they are nothing more than thermal sensor obscuring smoke rounds. With no living targets in direct exposure, it is 'harmless'. Its damage output is rated as high because of its effects in atmosphere. Even with deflector shields down, the chlorine triflouride igniting a starship hull will likely do minimal structural damage considering the thicknesses of the materials in question.
- Extremely volatile. If a GA-TSM is damaged in such a manner that the warhead fails to contain the chlorine triflouride in the payload, it will result in immediate immolation of the missile delivery system from the inside, essentially bursting in the tube and setting fire to the launcher and most likely any connecting magazine. This is bad for obvious reasons.
- Dumbfire. This munition is unguided, as including room for the sensory package and chipset required to have it be a guided munition would lower its payload to unacceptable levels.
This is basically an auxiliary munition designed to help smaller ships punch above their weight class. It being an unguided munition means that it's only truly viable against large targets or stationary ones. Even if it were guided, most smaller craft are going to be moving at a rate of speed that they'd quickly clear the phosphate smoke anyways. On large targets however, it should be possible to 'smoke out' a number of batteries of a capital ship to reduce the amount of accurate fire it's able to give for a time. Its main drawback when used the way it's meant to be is obviously taking up missile tubes that could otherwise be used for munitions that would provide direct and immediate damage onto targets.
However, when designing this I also thought that hey, this needs an oxidizing agent in order for it to work in space. Why not give it an incredibly powerful oxidizer and have sort of an 'off-label' use for the munition as an incendiary/chemical agent weapon? Which is much the same how white phosphorous munitions have been treated in the past. As weapons of happen stance. "I have a willie pete bomb, and there is a bunker there. No one gives a toot about how nice I am to the enemy anyways."
Put two and two together, and you have an incredibly inhumane war crime. I 100% see this munition ending up being used in both its intended use case and its unintended use case, and I welcome either for the roleplay that it would bring. This is a potentially insidious chemical weapon that I could see the Galactic Alliance adopting for its intended utility, but at the same time fifty years from now after GA pilots have used and abused these things in various infamous incidents that the munition is absolutely vilified.
I love that kinda thing. For my character, this is great as well considering he's the inventorly, entrepreneurial type with a specific interest in the creation of military ordinance. He's also intensely patriotic, wishing to help the war effort in any way he can.
As for the Semi-Unique production, Zeke's able to make a handful of these with the current facilities he has. He'd distribute those as needed to the Support Corps, which is a sub-faction he heads up currently. If the Navy decides they want them, he'd sell them the design and they'd likely have a larger company take over manufacture, moving it to Minor production.
I understand you can only 'grade' these as one production value, so of course I'd ask that you grade it under minor production as that's probably the highest these will go out to. I couldn't imagine the GADF allowing mass production of these on the open market.
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