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Approved Tech "Slingshot" Missile Guidance Module

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300px-Gravity_Assist.svg.png


Image Source: http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/images/thumb/f/f8/Gravity_Assist.svg/300px-Gravity_Assist.svg.png

Intent: To enhance missiles with the capability to avoid gravity wells while in flight toward their target.

Development Thread: N/A

Manufacturer: Kiribian Systems Armory (Open to licensing with permission.)

Model: N/A

Affiliation: Kiribian Systems Union, and its allies.

Modularity: No

Production: Production: Mass Produced

Material: Software Package, Durasteel Capsule Protective Housing (Optional), Full-Spectrum Transceiver (Optional), Processor Unit (Optional), ECCM Sub-Module (Optional).

Description:

Since the outbreak of war with the One Sith, Republic forces again found themselves having to contend with the formidable defenses provided by the dovin basals deployed by the Sith's Yuuzhan Vong allies. Past tactics included the brute force method of causing the dovin basals to fail by overwhelming firepower. This tactic was viewed by the Kiribian military as being too inefficient, being an incredible waste of resources. They tapped KSA to come up with a much more efficient solution to circumvent the dovin basals' gravity wells altogether.

One solution that KSA came up with was the idea of having missiles simply bend around the gravity wells. They took inspiration from the method of ancient powered spacecraft of the pre-hyperspace age using large celestial bodies as gravitational slingshots as a means of acceleration (Oberth effect). Instead of projectiles being haplessly sucked into the gravity wells of dovin basals, they would be given enhancements to allow them to actively alter their trajectories to exploit the gravity well as a catapult toward its target(s), gaining even more destructive power in the process.

The full spectrum transceiver is used to track by the x-rays emitted by all singularites as they form. In the case The processor unit interprets the readings of the scanner to adjust the flight path of the missile accordingly. The processor is sophisticated enough to track multiple gravity wells (about 5 in total) and account for sudden fluctuations that alter the composition of the gravity well(s) in its calculations. The whole unit is highly resilient against jamming, based off the ECCM employed by modern proton torpedo designs.


Because of the reactive nature of dovin basals, they must be triggered by a well timed action that proceeds the flight of a slingshot missile for it to begin the tracking process with its transceiver. For instance, a staggered missile strike. In the case of preexisting gravity wells, this action is not required, though.

The sensor capsule can be used to replace the equivalent within a missile, or a missile can be upgraded with the software package if they already possess the electronic components required for the system to work. While designed as a countermeasure to dovin basals, Slingshot can be employed against interdictor vessels as well. Because of the mechanics of the system, it's fine working as a standard guidance system against general targets.


Primary Source: N/A
 

Rusty

Purveyor of Fine Weaponry
RESEARCH REVIEW
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Star Wars Canon:
Pending initial review
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Starwars Chaos:
Pending initial review
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WITHOUT DEV THREADS
Pending initial review
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WITH DEV THREADS
Pending Initial review
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SUGGESTIONS
Pending Inital review
 

Rusty

Purveyor of Fine Weaponry
Hi, my name is Rusty and I'll be your friendly neighborhood Factory Judge.

I like where your head is at with this submission. It's an out of the box solution to a problem that no one has come up with a foolproof way around for centuries. Problem is, it probably won't work, at least the way you intend.

The biggest impediment to a system like this is the fact that the gravity wells generated by dovin basals for point defense are not constant. They generally only appear moments before the missile or energy bolt impacts, and they stay in pretty close proximity to the target ship. By the time they appear, the missiles will already be right on top of them, which makes maneuvering out of the way in time next to impossible. Slingshot orbits require both knowledge of where the gravity well is and time to insert the projectile into the optimum flight path, neither of which would be available given the circumstances. As a one missile one kill weapon system, it would not be effective.

However, that doesn't mean it's totally useless. Though the submission states that the Kiribian military thought the practice of overwhelming the dovin basals to be too inefficient, this weapons system would actually be more useful when used in swarms.

[member="Suravi Teigra"]
 
[member="Rusty"] I've considered this when creating my submission. The software includes an algorithm based off observed patterns of dovin basils, so the missile will begin on a flight path based off of a profile. The rest of the system kicks in to make relatively minor course adjustments. Your standard missile or torpedo can turn on a dime, and this whole system is computer controlled to ensure rapid corrections. I made an edit so that there wouldn't be any ambiguity on that.

Of course, in practice, your mileage will vary when it comes to effectiveness, depending on the specific missile platform and its payload. Myself, I would use Slingshot equipped missiles in a staggered release.
 

Rusty

Purveyor of Fine Weaponry
That would be fine, except for the fact that dovin basals are almost entirely reactionary, and they can be moved to respond to threats. Vong ships also typically carried multiple ones for the purpose of shielding.

Turning on a dime is all fine and dandy, but doing so mere meters away from a portable black hole that can adjust to match your new trajectory is quite another. Using gravity wells for slingshot orbits is difficult enough without having to worry about the gravity well in question actively trying to eat you.

As things stand, this submission simply won't work. There are a couple of ways we can go from here.
  • Rework the submission to take this into account and try to find a solution for the issues pointed out.
  • If you believe my reasoning to be in error, you're free to request a Second Chance and try your luck with another judge.
I really do like where your head is at with this one, and I'd like to see it brought to fruition. It's going to take some work though.

[member="Suravi Teigra"]
 
[member="Rusty"] Okay, this is I can do. I can make an edit to mention that in the case of dovin basals, that the singularity needs to be triggered somehow for the tracking module to start working correctly. Would that work for you?
 

Rusty

Purveyor of Fine Weaponry
That's a start, but taking that into account, you'd basically have to rework the whole philosophy behind the thing. However, I'm willing to see what you can come up with before making a decision one way or another.

[member="Suravi Teigra"]
 
[member="Rusty"] The rewrite won't be a problem, I'll just make sure to stress the caveats that come with its use against dovin basals. I'll let you know when I complete the revisions. Thank you for your input so far.
 
[member="Suravi Teigra"]
If you don't have any changes made available tonight I'll have to archive this. I'll keep it unlocked, which should (I believe) allow for edits to continuously be made.

@Mention me with an update, please.
 
[member="Braith Achlys"] I added this section:

"Because of the reactive nature of dovin basals, they must be triggered by a well timed action that proceeds the flight of a slingshot missile for it to begin the tracking process with its transceiver. For instance, a staggered missile strike. In the case of preexisting gravity wells, this action is not required, though. "
 
[member="Suravi Teigra"]
In the instance that there are two singularities side by side, as dovin basals are generally numerous and close enough for such to be the case, would this be able to adjust further, or not?
 
[member="Suravi Teigra"]
Alright. I have no issue with an advanced targetting, computing, and so on sensor & computer for adjusting flight and speeding up/slowing down to time avoiding such things as dovin basals, but there's a question I need answered, first, and then I will see how development may come into play.
  • How far away from a given singularity must the missile be in order to re-adjust flight path & accelerate/decelerate? (This can be a bit vague, if need be, but clear enough to directly answer the question).
 
[member="Braith Achlys"] The missile is meant to get in close to the singularity to perform the slingshot maneuver, as shown in the visual reference. So I'd say a very short range, able to maneuver within a space of a few meters or less.
 
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