The Hinterworlds Rambler
SOC-14 5K
Is it possible to construct Shipboard missiles with a TDX warhead? If so, Could they be made to explode in a Spearhead-like pattern, a shaped charge that could slice through decks and bulkheads?
Profiled TDX Starship Missiles?
- Thread starter The Hinterworlds Rambler
- Start date
This presumes that extant missiles actually are surface or subsurface detonators. This seems to me a lot harder to hit with than a bomb-pumped laser that only has to get close (within say 1000 km or even 10000 km or so) and then fire the laser. That would be much more likely to hit a moving, evading target.
But if you believe that extant missiles are contact or post-contact detonators using some form of explosive warhead, then yes, I don't see why you couldn't make a TDX warhead... there is some question about whether this would actually increase damage.... it might change the damage profile by cutting deeper in one axis, but it sacrifices damage in other axes. The really neat thing would be if it could cut some small ships right in half or lop off the bridge or whatever....
Still, I have no vague clue how to implement this in mechanics for the game. (any release of...)
But if you believe that extant missiles are contact or post-contact detonators using some form of explosive warhead, then yes, I don't see why you couldn't make a TDX warhead... there is some question about whether this would actually increase damage.... it might change the damage profile by cutting deeper in one axis, but it sacrifices damage in other axes. The really neat thing would be if it could cut some small ships right in half or lop off the bridge or whatever....
Still, I have no vague clue how to implement this in mechanics for the game. (any release of...)
we are already using something similar in todays missile warheads.
The AIM 7 warhead is what is called an expanding rod bundle. The general effect is very similar to a TDX explosive.
A description is, Take several dozen foot long square rods, line them up outside of a tube, slightly canted to the right. Take several dozen more rods, do the same, but cant them to the left. Line up the inner and outer layer so that the ends are in line. Tack weld the ends of the rods togather. Put a tube down the center. Fill with medium, nonbrisiant explosive so the rods will not shatter on detonation. Put your fuze at the ends of the center tube, wired to detonate simultaneously.
The warhead functions as follows.
Tjhe pilot locks on and fires. The motor burns at a high G for a very short time. The Arming device arms the warhead. The target detector sends out a radar signal, waiting for a bounce back. When the target detector gets it's reutrn signal, it sends a detonation cammand to the fuzes. The fuzes detonate simultaneously. The detonation wave travels through the explosive of the warhead from the ends, building up pressure inside the rod case. As theblast fronts met in the middle, the pressure wave travels directly out from the centerline of the warhead. The rod bundle is thrust outward, expanding at explosive speed in a circle. The end welds do not break unitl the rods are fully expanded. Before this happens, the rods should have hit the target, cutting it in half. Most of the explosive force of the warhead is sent out perpendicular to the warhead, with some spillage in other directions.
This means that a near miss is not a miss at all, but a hard kill. A direct hit may be more survivable than a near miss, depending on the area and angle of the hit.
The AIM 7 warhead is what is called an expanding rod bundle. The general effect is very similar to a TDX explosive.
A description is, Take several dozen foot long square rods, line them up outside of a tube, slightly canted to the right. Take several dozen more rods, do the same, but cant them to the left. Line up the inner and outer layer so that the ends are in line. Tack weld the ends of the rods togather. Put a tube down the center. Fill with medium, nonbrisiant explosive so the rods will not shatter on detonation. Put your fuze at the ends of the center tube, wired to detonate simultaneously.
The warhead functions as follows.
Tjhe pilot locks on and fires. The motor burns at a high G for a very short time. The Arming device arms the warhead. The target detector sends out a radar signal, waiting for a bounce back. When the target detector gets it's reutrn signal, it sends a detonation cammand to the fuzes. The fuzes detonate simultaneously. The detonation wave travels through the explosive of the warhead from the ends, building up pressure inside the rod case. As theblast fronts met in the middle, the pressure wave travels directly out from the centerline of the warhead. The rod bundle is thrust outward, expanding at explosive speed in a circle. The end welds do not break unitl the rods are fully expanded. Before this happens, the rods should have hit the target, cutting it in half. Most of the explosive force of the warhead is sent out perpendicular to the warhead, with some spillage in other directions.
This means that a near miss is not a miss at all, but a hard kill. A direct hit may be more survivable than a near miss, depending on the area and angle of the hit.
The problem with using TDX warheads as described in the game, is that it explodes in a plane flat with the relative gravity. In space where there is 0-G, then it will have no way to determine which axes to explode along. You get a very expensive fire cracker.
Using TDX warheads on Air to Ground missiles would make for excellent antipersonnel or anti building munitions. Against armor, it would be much less effective.
Using TDX warheads on Air to Ground missiles would make for excellent antipersonnel or anti building munitions. Against armor, it would be much less effective.
The Hinterworlds Rambler
SOC-14 5K
So TDX needs an existing Grav field to work on? that seems a little off to me for some reason...
Richard Saunders
SOC-12
Hello Baroni.
not realy all you need is a short life grav generator in the missile (isn't that what the motor is).
Or you could put another grav generator in and then you have a programable shear plane (cuts in any direction).
I would assume that to hit with the missile you would have to do a ramming attack against the ship, difficult but not impossible.
Havn't you watched star trek every explosion in space is a tdx explosion (all explosions are on only two planes not three).
Sorry Bye.
not realy all you need is a short life grav generator in the missile (isn't that what the motor is).
Or you could put another grav generator in and then you have a programable shear plane (cuts in any direction).
I would assume that to hit with the missile you would have to do a ramming attack against the ship, difficult but not impossible.
Havn't you watched star trek every explosion in space is a tdx explosion (all explosions are on only two planes not three).
Sorry Bye.
Um, pardon? If it can concentrate the force that would normally be expended upward and downward in an explosion into a very fine plane, it would cut MBTs in *half* horizontally.
On the other front, note that most ships run with an artifical AG field which define the decks as down, and thus you would tend to cut the ship apart along the decks rather than across them (lengthwise most times), regardless of missile angle of incidence.
Besides, the enemy ship might survive, and if this is anti-spacecraft, you may as well dual-purpose your NDX warheads.
At long range, against a maneuvering, fighting target, you detonate the nuke and the Xray lasers do their work. The nuke makes a handy flash bomb too.
Against a target that can't shoot it down, you let the missile hit the ship, and then you call the scrapyard. I don't think there's too many ships that can survive a 500kt warhead detonating inside them or next to them.
I wouldn't do that on a planet, but in space, who cares? What are you going to do, irradiate space?
Send one of those things up the tailpipe of a dreadnought that doesn't even know it's being attacked (because we stealth the missile really good and launch that as the first round of a sneak attack) and your enemy's fleet is suddenly without its heavy guns.
At long range, against a maneuvering, fighting target, you detonate the nuke and the Xray lasers do their work. The nuke makes a handy flash bomb too.
Against a target that can't shoot it down, you let the missile hit the ship, and then you call the scrapyard. I don't think there's too many ships that can survive a 500kt warhead detonating inside them or next to them.
I wouldn't do that on a planet, but in space, who cares? What are you going to do, irradiate space?
justacaveman
SOC-12
In CT Striker, TDX explodes in a plane perpendicular to the "pull" of gravity. They made very good anti-personnel and anti-vehicular mines.
I would think that the explosion would have to be in a gravity well since TDX is a gravity polarized explosion. The area of effect is not much greater than a conventional explosive. I don't think TDX missles would be practical in space combat, because the missle would have to know the orientation and configuration of the target vessel (If you can overcome the gravity well limitation). If your target makes an evasive manuever that changes it's heading at the last momemt, TDX would be less effective than a conventional warhead. Bomb-pumped lasers on the other hand, would be much harder to evade (Lasers move at 300,000 KPS), and have a longer reach. Some sort of one-shot plasma beam missle would also be quite effective I think.
I would think that the explosion would have to be in a gravity well since TDX is a gravity polarized explosion. The area of effect is not much greater than a conventional explosive. I don't think TDX missles would be practical in space combat, because the missle would have to know the orientation and configuration of the target vessel (If you can overcome the gravity well limitation). If your target makes an evasive manuever that changes it's heading at the last momemt, TDX would be less effective than a conventional warhead. Bomb-pumped lasers on the other hand, would be much harder to evade (Lasers move at 300,000 KPS), and have a longer reach. Some sort of one-shot plasma beam missle would also be quite effective I think.
