Directorate Officer
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To adapt the Starbolt-class Missile into a Cryoban-dispensing weapon system
- Image Source: Found here
- Canon Link: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Primary Source: Most of missile is based on Starbolt-class Missile
- Manufacturer: Lucerne Labs
- Affiliation: Directorate, Silver Jedi, Closed Market
- Model: Coldbolt-class Missile
- Modularity: No
- Production: Mass-Produced
- Material: Plasteel fuselage, Cryoban payload charge, chemical propellant, various avionics and concussion missile components
- Classification: Missile
- Size: Small
- Weight: Light
- Explosive Type: None (CryoBan)
- Delivery Method: Self-Propelled
- Effective Range: Average
- Area Of Effect: Personal (4.5 meter blast radius)
- Stopping Power: Low
- CryoBan Charge: Coldbolts contain a large amount of cryoBan in a pressurized container. Upon impact, this CryoBan spreads out in a small cloud before dissipating.
- Composite Gravity/EPR tracking: Coldbolt uses combined gravity and infrared photoreceptors signatures, like GAM missiles, to track targets. These sensor signatures are typically harder to spoof and/or jam, especially as joint criteria for targeting, which makes Starbolts not as easily fooled by conventional sensor jamming.
- Chemical Drive: Starbolts use a solid fuel slug, much like the Vulture Drone, to propel the warhead. Once the reaction has been started, it cannot be stopped. This means that it cannot be shut off by electronic countermeasures.
- Compact: Coldbolts are built based on the 3t3 chassis, making it a very light and small weapon compared to many concussion missiles. This also allows the weapon to be employed with LPD’s Shockwave missile launcher, Plumbata defensive missile batteries, and existing PLX-2M launchers. Most concussion missile warhead launchers can support the Coldbolt, and even carry larger numbers of the warhead than traditional concussion missiles due to their significantly smaller size - on Lucerne Lab’s own LLT-7 General Purpose Warhead Launcher, three Starbolts can be carried instead of a concussion missile.
- ECM Resistant: Coldbolt's primary advantage over conventional weapons for fighting the Bryn'adul is that it is largely resistant to tech-dampening fields used by that faction thanks to using chemical reaction-based technology for its drive and payload.
- Fast: Coldbolts use a chemical solid fuel motor that is optimized for speed rather than maneuverability, making it exceptionally fast for a missile. This can make the missile harder to react to by active defenses (since it has less flight time) and also ensures that the detonite charge will explode on impact.
- Compact: Coldbolts are small warheads, which easily allows personnel and droids to carry and use them in personal weapons or for large amounts to be carried by starships.
- Area of effect: The Coldbolt has a relatively small area of effect, but one still large enough that it could lead to friendly fire issues against troops engaging enemies in close quarters.
- Low Maneuverability: Coldbolt's high velocity also means that it is not as maneuverable in close-quarters dogfights.
- Low Damage: Coldbolts do not produce as much outright damage as many other missiles due to their small size.
DESCRIPTION
Lucerne Labs recently released an updated version of the aging 3t3 missile called the Starbolt. With the Byrn'adul threat continuing to roll out through the galaxy, the company made some minor design changes to the Starbolt to turn it into a CryoBan-based weapon simply by replacing the detonite charge with CryoBan. This allows small conventional forces to effectively deploy small clouds of cryoban from a longer range than traditional cryoban-based weapons while ensuring backwards compatibility with a series of older weapons already in common use.
The Coldbolt uses the basic 3t3 missile chassis, but now made out of plasteel, making it backwards compatible with existing 3t3 launch platforms. The rear of the plasteel fuselage houses a simple solid fuel chemical rocket optimized for speed rather than maneuverability. After being jettisoned from the launcher, a chemical reaction begins to slowly progress, causing a steady, controlled combustion process that propels the missile at high speed towards its target. The Coldbolt is guided towards its targets through a dual-seeker target acquisition based on gravitational signature and an uncooled imaging infrared sensor. By using a composite image criteria, the Coldbolt is not easily effected by conventional, brute force jamming, as it is difficult to disguise or jam a heat signature, and it is usually difficult to disguise a gravitational signature as well. This does not make Coldbolts impossible to defeat with electronic warfare however, as exceptional sensor decoys can replicate the signatures of the initial target. When the missile collides with the target or strikes a hard object, it produces an omnidirectional cloud of freezing CryoBan that expands to an effective radius of about roughly 4.5 meters, making it roughly comparable in blast radius to a larger grenade or handheld explosive charge. This cloud is typically large enough to several individuals or take out a closely packed squad. It can also be exceptionally dangerous to sensitive electronics found in vehicles or droids. Many users use several missiles to destroy such armored vehicles and harder targets. The relatively small blast radius and power of this missile also makes it ideal for precision ground strikes while leaving a minimum of collateral damage.
Like most military grade weaponry, Lucerne Labs has so far restricted their sales of this weapon to established governments with similar political views to those of the company's leadership. Most Starbolts have unsurprisingly been sold to Silver Jedi-aligned governments and the Directorate. Large numbers have also been supplied to other organizations and individuals facing down the Bryn'adul threat.
