Missiles

Overview

Missiles are self-propelled projectiles. Torpedoes, mines, guided bombs, and depth charges also fall under this category.

They come in 4 sizes: Small (S), Medium (M), Large (L) and Huge (H). S-launchers hold 4 missiles per launcher and 4 modules per gantry, of which one is integrated into the launcher itself. M holds one missile per launcher, and 2 modules per gantry. L-launchers are 2x2x1, and their gantries contain a single module each. H-launchers are 3x4x1, and their gantries take up 2m of space per module. Most missile stats are multiplied by 10 for each size up, except for huge missiles, which have 8 times the stats of a similar large missile.

Some key parameters of missiles

• Versatile due to large selection of modules. Can be used both offensively as weapons and defensively as decoys or missile interceptors.
• Expensive, but compact.
• Can be guided.
• High ammo consumption.

Minimal Missile

A minimal missile consists of:

• a Missile Launcher, which defines in which direction the missile will be launched.
  • For M-, and L-class normal launchers, you need an additional gantry-block.
• a Missile Controller, which allows the player or AI to fire the missile.

Missile Modules

Looking at a Gantry and pressing Q allows you to select the missile modules. S-class gantries contain 4 modules, M-gantries contain 2, and L and H-gantries contain just one. The rear of the missile is at the top of the list and the tip of the missile at the bottom.

Module	Category	Health	Drag	Details
Short Range Thruster	Thruster & Nose	20%	100%	Placed on the rear. Adjustable start delay, and max duration. Provides 450/4,500/45,000/360,000 thrust at 1 thrust/fuel, costing 450/4,500/45,000/360,000 fuel/s. 2.8s thrust duration per fuel tank, max duration cannot be set above 5s (using a maximum of 2 fuel tanks). Halves lifetime if placed (to 10s/20s/40s).
Torpedo Propeller	Thruster & Nose	140%	100%	Placed on the rear. Provides thrust when below water. Adjustable ramp time, start delay, and thrust. Thrust can be set between 20/200/2,000/16,000 and 200/2,000/20,000/160,000, efficiency is 2.5 thrust/fuel costing between 8/80/800/6,400 and 80/800/8,000/64,000 fuel/s. Thrust duration per fuel tank is 156.2s to 15.62s. Keeps full lifetime if placed (20/40/80 seconds).
Variable Thruster	Thruster & Nose	20%	100%	Placed on the rear. Adjustable ramp time, start delay, and thrust. Thrust can be set between 30/300/3,000/24,000 and 300/3,000/30,000/240,000, efficiency is 1 thrust/fuel. Thrust duration per fuel tank is 41.7s to 4.17s. Halves lifetime if placed (to 10s/20s/40s/80s).
Secondary Torpedo Propeller	Thruster & Nose	140%	500%	Placed on the 2nd rear-most slot, in front of a Short Range Thruster or Variable Thruster. Allows for missile/torpedo hybrids. Same propulsion and settings as a normal Torpedo Propeller, but high drag, reducing the hybrid's speed. Restores full lifetime if placed (back to 20/40/80 seconds, like a normal torpedo).
Active Radar Seeker	Thruster & Nose	20%	60%	Placed on the nose. Seeks targets depending on their radar-signature, potentially decoyed by Radar Buoys. Has a strong tendency to target the biggest vehicle (potentially doing a 180° turn to reach it), making it poorly suited for use against small vessels.
Infra-red Seeker	Thruster & Nose	20%	60%	Placed on the nose. Targets heat sources (such as engines or jets) in a 120 degree field of view.
Laser Designator Receiver	Thruster & Nose	20%	20%	Placed on the nose. Targets the vessel designated by a Missile Laser Emitter once positive lock (green beam) is acquired. Can be used to target specific places on the target. Smoke adds inaccuracy to the guidance. Can be set up to use only the own Missile Controller's emitter, any emitter on the launching vehicle, or any emitter of the same team.
Missile Interceptor	Thruster & Nose	40%	40%	Placed on the nose. Targets enemy missiles, see below. Can only be placed on S-, or M-missiles.
Shaped Charge Head	Thruster & Nose	40%	20%	Placed on the nose. Creates a HEAT jet on impact which bypasses armor until it reaches an airgap or runs out of penetration metric, like the shaped charge head of APS.
Single Pixel IR Seeker	Thruster & Nose	50%	20%	Placed on the nose. Smaller IR seeker with a 70 degree field of view and a blind spot direct in front of itself, leading to a wobbly flight pattern.
Thumper Head	Thruster & Nose	160%	20%	Placed on the nose. Increases thump damage dealt on impact, just like Bodies.
Torpedo Sonar	Thruster & Nose	140%	40%	Placed on the nose. Targets underwater vessels with a 120 degree field of view.
APN Guidance	Fuel & Control	40%	100%	Maintains the target at constant bearing. Short for Augmented Proportional Navigation. Wikipedia: Proportional navigation Provides free internal space: 1/2 a module for S-class, 15/16 for M, 127/128 for L. The actual health-modifier will be the weighted average of the APN's health-modifier, and the filler's.
Fins	Fuel & Control	40%	200%	Allows the missile to turn. Placing fins further from the centre of the missile increases turning force – for maximum turn-rate, you will need to place part of the fins near the nose of the missile, although that decreases speed.
Fuel Tank	Fuel & Control	40%	100%	Provides 1,000/10,000/100,000 fuel to the missile.
Laser Beam Rider Receiver	Fuel & Control	40%	100%	Follows the beam of a Missile Laser as long as it is within 30 degrees.
LUA Receiver	Fuel & Control	10%	100%	Receives commands from a LUA Box via the LUA Transceiver. This can include targeting, guidance, and detonation. Note that it should be spelled "Lua", as it's a name and not an acronym.
One Turn	Fuel & Control	40%	100%	Makes the missile fly parallel to a line from the launcher to the predicted target position when fired (or wherever the player is looking, if not using auto-aim). Note that vertical-launch missiles would pass above the target without guidance, due to gaining altitude while still turning. Provides free internal space: 1/2 a module for S-class, 15/16 for M, 127/128 for L. The actual health-modifier will be the weighted average of the One Turn's health-modifier, and the filler's.
Remote Guidance	Fuel & Control	10%	100%	Flies towards the target's assumed position. Will fly towards the player's view-direction/target if fired manually. Relies heavily on the AI's detection if AI-controlled. If fired by AI, it requires processing power – lack of sufficient processing will reduce accuracy.
Target Prediction Guidance	Fuel & Control	40%	100%	Aims the missile towards the predicted intercept point. Provides free internal space: 1/2 a module for S-class, 15/16 for M, 127/128 for L, 1023/1024 for H. The actual health-modifier will be the weighted average of the Target Prediction Guidance's health-modifier, and the filler's.
Turning Thruster	Fuel & Control	20%	100%	Provides 2.5 times as much turning-force as a fin, and without increased drag. Uses fuel (200/2,000/20,000/160,000 per second, i.e. one tank in 6.25 seconds). Only engages when the angle to the target is above 10°, has a 5° inaccuracy. Not affected by air-density.
Reinforced Body	Warhead	160%	100%	High health, and increases thump damage of the missile as much as 20 additional components.
EMP Warhead	Warhead	10%	100%	Adds an EMP-charge. EMP deals damage to electronics (like AI-components or Ion Thrusters) and Heavy Armour. Charge-strength is 112/1,125/11,250/90,000. Will jump up to 6m if the impacted block is destroyed by the missile's thump damage.
Explosive Warhead	Warhead	10%	100%	Creates an explosion on detonation.
Fragmentation Warhead	Warhead	10%	100%	Creates fragments. It is possible to set an elevation offset to spray the fragments up or down.
Incendiary Warhead	Warhead	10%	100%	Ignites a fire on impact. Will jump a short distance if the impacted block is destroyed by the missile's thump damage, but can still be unusable if the missile deals too much thump damage.
Ballast Tanks	Utility	40%	100%	Allows float depth to be set from 0m to 500m or buoyancy from -0.5 to +0.5. A float depth will adjust buoyancy to keep the missile at a certain depth. A buoyancy value will accelerate the missile upwards at that value times the magnitude of gravitational acceleration at the surface. Missiles without ballast tanks will default to a buoyancy of 0.1 and will bob in and out of the water. Provides free internal space: 1/2 a module for S-class, 15/16 for M, 127/128 for L, 1023/1024 for H. The actual health-modifier will be the weighted average of the Ballast Tank's health-modifier, and the filler's.
Cable Drum	Utility	100%	100%	An extra 300m/600m/1200m/2400m of cable for a Harpoon.
Cluster Controller	Utility	150%	100%	Holds smaller missiles and allows them to be ejected mid flight.
Cluster Extension	Utility	140%	100%	Increases the length of cluster missiles the missile can hold.
Cluster Ejector	Utility	150%	100%	Allows the missile to be carried in and ejected from a larger missile mid-flight. Provides free internal space: 3/4 for all sizes. The actual health-modifier will be the weighted average of the Cluster Ejector's health-modifier, and the filler's.
Harpoon	Utility	100%	100%	Attaches to hostile vehicles with cable and can be winched in. Does not connect to friendly vehicles. Comes with a base cable length of 150m/300m/600m/1200m, and pulls the target with a force of 375/1500/6000/24000, requiring the same amount of engine power to provide the pulling force. When a harpoon is mounted on a missile, it requires a unused winch block attached to the Missile Launcher in order to fire. Half of the force from a harpoon is applied at the target's centre of mass, and the other half at the attachment point. It is possible to pull the missile (and the launching vessel) while still in the air, if the winch is set up correctly.
Magnet	Utility	40%	100%	Attracted to the centre of mass of nearby vessels – including friendly vehicles, even if an FFI-block is placed. Range can be set from 5m to 141.4m/200m/282.8m/400m. Start delay can be set from 3s to 30s. They can turn the missile, allowing for simple guidance if placed at the nose.
Altitude Fuse	Utility	40%	100%	Detonates the missile when it descends below the set altitude. Only takes effect if the missile was ever above the set altitude. Provides free internal space: 0 for S-class, 7/8 for M, 63/64 for L. The actual health-modifier will be the weighted average of the Altitude Fuse's health-modifier, and the filler's.
Radar Buoy	Utility	40%	500%	Uses the buoy of one Missile Radar Buoy Holder. Potentially lures missiles with an active radar seeker to it. Provides detection if the holder is connected to an AI and the missile is in the air. Cannot fire without a free radar buoy holder.
Regulator	Utility	40%	100%	Increases the lifetime of the missile by the base lifetime (i.e. 10/20/40/80 seconds if a Short Range or Variable Thruster is the only propulsion, 20/40/80/160 seconds otherwise). Stacks additively (e.g. an S-torpedo with 2 regulators has 60s lifetime).
Safety Fuse	Utility	40%	100%	Prevents the missile from triggering if touching the vehicle it was launched from. Provides free internal space: 1/2 a module for S-class, 15/16 for M, 127/128 for L, 1023/1024 for H. The actual health-modifier will be the weighted average of the Safety Fuse's health-modifier, and the filler's.
Sonar Buoy	Utility	40%	500%	Uses the buoy of one Missile Sonar Buoy Holder. Potentially lures missiles with an active sonar seeker to it. Provides detection if the holder is connected to an AI and the missile is in the water. Cannot fire without a free sonar buoy holder.
Sticky Flare	Utility	40%	100%	Attracts infra-red seekers. Sticks on impact. Ignition delay can be set from 0 to 20 s and post-ignite drop delay from 0 to 20 s. Burn time is 5s. Strength (shown in detection-view, equivalent to metres of IR signature) is 400/1,600/6,400/25,600 and increases when close to other flares (notably if placing several on one missile). Scales with the surface area of the missile, so a longer, skinnier missile is more efficient.

Flight Characteristics

Most of the important info will be displayed when editing a missile. The notes below are helpful for optimisation:

• Total missile drag is the sum of component drag, weighted by the reciprocal of the position (i.e. first component contributes full drag, second contributes half, etc.).
  • Fins (x5), secondary torpedo propellers (x5), and radar/sonar buoys (x5) generate more drag.
  • All heads have reduced drag (20-60%).
• Fins generate more torque when far from the centre of mass. Place at the ends of the missile – rear for maximum speed, even mix of rear and front for compromise between turning and speed.
  • Turning thrusters also apply more torque far from the CoM, but generate no additional drag. They have 2.5 times the force of a fin, are unaffected by air-density, and use 1 fuel tank in 5 seconds. Only engages when the angle to the target is above 10°, has a 5° inaccuracy.
• Short range thrusters produce 1 thrust per fuel. They are fixed at 450/4,500/45,000/360,000 thrust for S/M/L/H missiles and cannot burn longer than 5s.
• Variable thrusters generate 1 thrust per fuel. They're limited to a max thrust of 300/3,000/30,000/240,000.
• Torpedo propellers generate 2.5 thrust per fuel. They're limited to a max thrust of 200/2,000/20,000/160,000, or 80/800/8,000/64,000 fuel per second.
  • Secondary torpedo propellers operate like normal torpedo propellers, but their significant drag reduces total speed.
• Each fuel tank (or 1 unit of internal space used for fuel) holds 1,250/12,500/125,000/1,000,000 fuel.
• Lifetime is 10/20/40/80s for missiles, 20/40/80/160s for torpedoes and bombs. A regulator increases that by 100% of the base value (so an S-class torpedo with 2 regulators has 3 * 20s = 60s lifetime).

Other Notes

• Missiles are unaffected by gravity while powered by a Short-Range Thruster or Variable Thruster.
• Missiles deal thump damage on impact detonation even without a warhead. The damage depends on the reinforcement of the missile (thumper head, bodies, internal space used for reinforcement), the size (both length and class), and the speed. AP is 15.
• Required accuracy only works on turreted missile systems unless you check the box to "Use required accuracy on hull."

Warhead Characteristics

Fragmentation

All fragments have an AP-value of 6. Each warhead spawns its fragments at its own location, so keeping the warheads near the nose can slightly increase the number of fragments that hit.

Class	Fragments per warhead	Damage per fragment at 180° cone angle	Damage per fragment at 1° cone angle	Total damage at 180° cone angle
S	15	400	107	6,000
M	30	2,000	536	60,000
L	60	10,000	2,681	600,000

Explosive

For general information on explosive damage, see Damage.

Class	Damage per warhead	Radius for a single warhead
S	400	7.7m
M	4,000	16.8m
L	40,000	36.7m

Damage increases linearly with number of warheads. Radius increases less than linearly.

Internal space (due to APN guidance, target prediction guidance, or one turns) can be converted into HE. 1/2 of a warhead for S, 15/16 of a warhead for M, 127/128 of a warhead for L. Proximity fuses also provide internal space, but only 4/5 of a module for M, and 39/40 for L (cannot be placed on S-missiles).

The explosion is centered on the average position of all explosive warheads in the missile. Therefore it is advantageous to have the warheads near the front of the missile for a head-on hit.

Underwater missiles have greater explosive damage, to a maximum of 1.5x damage at 5m depth. Explosive radius is also increased to up to ?x, but not exceeding the cap of 30m (information on underwater radius may be obsolete, explosion-algorithm and missiles changed since).

If the missile has a proximity fuse, the explosion instead originates 90% of the way towards the triggering object from the fuse position. This does not affect the underwater damage bonus.

EMP

EMP-warheads add an EMP-charge. Charge-strength is 200/2,000/20,000. Will jump up to 6m if the impacted block is destroyed by the missile's thump damage.

It is possible to use missiles as shield-killer, using EMP. Unlike APS-, and CRAM-shells they pass through shields, delivering a large EMP-payload that can destroy Shield Projectors. It is also possible to use Particle Cannons for that.

Thump Damage

All missiles deal thump damage if impacting on a block. The damage dealt depends on impact-speed and modules. AP is 20. One body-module is worth 20 additional normal modules. While the patch notes claim that a thumper head increases damage as much as 1.5 bodies, the UI shows it is counted as one body – Nonetheless, a dedicated thumper-missile will do better with a thumper head, due to the head's lower drag. Bodies and thumper heads have the additional advantage of increasing the missile's health.

Internal space used for reinforcement will also increase thump-damage.

Class	Damage per module per m/s	Additional damage per body per m/s
S	0.05	1
M	0.5	10
L	5	100

Missile Interceptor

Interceptors target hostile missiles. They will distribute all available interceptors to comfortably kill as many missiles as possible, and prioritise missiles larger than themselves. Interceptors trigger when very close to their target, or in range but moving away, and are destroyed when triggering, damaging up to 3 missiles within 15/30m. Should they miss, or should the target be destroyed, the interceptor will acquire a new target.

Missile interceptors are not available for large missiles.

HE warheads do not damage hostile missiles, even if placed on an interceptor, though they did in the past.

Class	Damage vs S-missile	Damage vs M-missile	Damage vs L-missile
S	125	250	500
M	625	1,250	2,500

Countermeasures

Evasion

Very fast vessels (above around 100 m/s) may be able to outrun missiles, or at least require faster and therefore shorter-ranged missiles to catch. This depends heavily on the missile, range, and whether you're moving towards the missile – moving towards the missile may allow it to use APN or target prediction to intercept a faster vessel, while moving away from a faster missile can cause it to run out of fuel before reaching you.

Very manoeuvrable vessels may be able to dodge missiles, though this is less reliable than outrunning them.

Softkill Measures

IR seeking missiles can be decoyed with flares or diverted to unimportant places with Heat Decoys.

Sonar seeking missiles can be decoyed by sonar buoys, while radar seeking missiles can be decoyed by radar buoys. Note that both will likely still get a lock on large vehicles – Their tendency to target large craft can, however, be used to lure them to a large craft with active defences.

Smoke generated by Smoke Dispensers or smoke shells add inaccuracy to Laser Designated missiles. Laser Beam Riding missiles do not require a lock, only a direction, and hence have no such difficulty.

Hardkill Measures

Missile health is given by the UI when editing the missile. Larger missiles (both class and length) have more HP, and thumper heads, bodies, and using internal space for reinforcement further increase this. Their armour-class is 20, like every other projectile.

Missile Interceptors, Laser Munition Defences, and weapons controlled by Anti Missile Cannon Controllers besides PACs, flamers, and simple lasers can destroy hostile missiles, once they have been detected.

Detection Range

Detection range is listed by the UI. It depends on a missile's class, length, and thrust. As a rule of thumb, it can be assumed that S-missiles spend roughly one second within detection-range, M-missiles about 2-4s, and L-missiles upwards of 5s.

Do note that an active radar seeker is detectable from much further away by Passive Radars.

All ranges in metres. Only applies above water. If the powered detection range is smaller than the unpowered one, the unpowered range will be used.

Class	Base unpowered range	Unpowered range per metre length	Powered with min-thrust variable thruster	Powered with max-thrust variable thruster	Short-range thruster
S	100	10	116.9	293.7	345.5
M	200	20	293.7	737.9	867.8
L	400	40	737.9	1,853.4	2,179.7

E.g. a 1m S-bomb has a detection-range of 110m (100m base + 10m from length). Adding a thruster will increase this to at least 116.9m. However, at 2m length an S-missile with minimum thrust will have the unpowered range of 120m instead (as 116.9m is smaller than 120m).

Below-water, only Passive Sonars can be used to detect missiles. All ranges in metres. Only applies below water.

Class	Powered with min-thrust torpedo propeller	Powered with max-thrust torpedo propeller
S	99.4	249.8
M	249.8	627.4
L	627.4	1,575.9

Missile Launcher Components

• Missile Launcher: Determines where and in which direction the missile will be launched from. S-class launchers contain one built-in gantry.
  • Also available as Missile Rail Launcher. These contain modules on all size-classes, are lighter, and more vulnerable.
• Missile Controller: Core-block of any missile-system. Allows player or Local Weapon Controllers to fire the missiles.

• Gantry: The missile itself. Contains the missile's internal modules. 4/2/1 modules per gantry for S/M/L.
  • Also available as Missile Rail Gantry and[Missile Rail Gantry (invisible). These are lighter but less durable compared to normal gantries. The invisible variant is identical to the regular variant but is ,as the name implies, invisible.
• Missile Hatch: Special gantry variants that opens and closes depending on the presence of enemies.
• Missile 6 Way Connector: Connects other parts of the missile launcher together.
• Ejector Add On: Each Ejector gives the missile an initial speed-boost, depending on the size-class. Connects directly to the Missile Launch Pad. Up to four may be stacked on S or M launchers, up to 8 on L launchers.
• Missile Laser Emitter: Used for missiles with laser beam rider receivers or laser designator receivers.
• Identify Friend or Foe Add-On: Ensures that missiles only target enemies and not friends. Does not prevent triggering if hitting a vessel.
• Staggered Fire Add-On: Allows multiple launchers to be fired in sequence.
• Missile Winch: Used to reel targets in with a harpoon missile.
• LUA Transceiver: Used to communicate with a LUA receiver module on the missile.