Grand Admiral, First Order Central Command
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: A little of that real world style with Star Wars spice. This time in SAM form.
- Image Source: James Cheong
- Canon Link: GAM [x]
- Restricted Missions: N/A
- Primary Source: S-400 Missile System, ECCM
- Manufacturer: FOCIE (First Order Corp of Imperial Engineers)
- Model: SA-900C 'Rapture' Missile System
- Affiliation: The First Order
- Modularity: No
- Production: Mass-Produced
- Material: Durasteel, Doonium
- Classification:: Repulsor-powered Mobile SAM System
- Role: Dedicated Anti-Air
- Size: 5.86m
- Weight: 12.9 tons
- Minimum Crew: 1
- Optimal Crew: 7
- Propulsion: Repulsorlift
- Speed: 75 km/h
- Maneuverability: Very Poor. This is not a 'fighting' vehicle.
- Armaments: 4 x 60D8H Extended Range Surface-to-Air Missiles (detailed below)
- Defenses: None
- Squadron Count: 8 launchers make up a single 'Battalion.'
- Passenger Capacity: N/A
- Cargo Capacity: N/A
- 60D8H Extended Range Surface-to-Air Missile
- 91N6E Multi-Sensor Array
- Advanced Tactical Interface Network
- Very Long Range Air Defense. The 60D8H missiles have a range of almost 250 miles and can easily reach out and shoot down aircraft.
- Very Effective. The 60D8H missiles have extremely high max velocity and pack a a lot of
basically real worldvery advanced tech into a single package. They are very good at their job. - While not designed as a mobile defense unit, the SAM envelope provided is quite large and the respectable speed of the launcher means one can effectively cover an advance by leapfrogging battalions.
- The SA-900C is designed to be deployed behind friendly lines and with substantial protection. It is basically defenseless assuming one gets within visual range.
- A single launcher has only four shots and cannot easily be reloaded in the field.
- Single role. These launchers are designed to shoot down aircraft, repulsors, missiles, and other things that fly. It is totally ineffective against non-repuslor ground vehicles and if used against capital ships have little more effect than an Advanced Concussion Missile.
Designed as a dedicated anti-air platform, the SA-900C (reporting name: Rapture) is a product of painful lessons from Mustafar, Rutan, and other battlefields. While First Order military doctrine calls for the Navy and Starfighter Corps to establish air superiority, such a goal is not always achievable, especially in the early phases of an invasion. Furthermore, trained personnel have always been a valuable resource for the First Order, and a successful pitch by the Planetary Army for a dedicated ground based missile defense system motivated the project.
The SA900C features cutting edge military technology. Each system consists of four reusable tubes loaded with 60D8H Extended Range Surface-to-Air Missiles. These missiles are large and fairly pricey, but are extremely effective. Powered by modern scramjets, they have a max velocity of Mach 12 (though at that speed most maneuvering is impossible), a max range of 450km, and with a directional, dual-stage 200kg Ionite-Detonite warhead, designed to disable shields and then project a massive detonite blast onto the target. In tests, the weapon achieved a .96 PK against most aircraft, .94 against slower repulsorcraft, .89 against other missiles, and .86 against smaller flying objects.
The 60D8H missiles also feature an advanced tracking package, with a basic semi-active and active seeker, in addition to a GAM (Gravity Activated Mode) which tracks specific gravity silhouettes to enable the missile to target even slow-moving low-altitude repulsorcraft. This system specifically tracks the gravitic fluctuations made by repulsors, and is otherwise unable to target conventional ground vehicles. The weapon system is also not stealthy in the least, targeted aircraft will know clear as day that they are being targeted, though it won't necessarily matter when there's a Mach 10 warhead streaking at you. Despite being designed as a high-speed long range weapon, the 60D8H still performs very well against short and medium range, low-speed targets.
The high speed of the 60D8H missiles is achieved by utilizing a super efficient scramjet engine, with the max achievable velocity being 50% of the theoretical limit for scramjets. However said engines require velocity to function properly, necessitating a dual-stage booster to achieve initial launch. Stage one is a rapid burn chemical motor which provides initial lift out of the missile tube, typically cutting off at a ceiling of around 4000m. The second stage is a short burn Ion drive, which fires and accelerates the missile to approximately Mach 3.6 in under two seconds. The scramjet kicks in after the second stage booster disengages, and takes the missile in the rest of the way. A number of single-burn maneuvering thrusters along the sides of the missile provide mid-course correction (along with flaps and panels) and a set of eight small thrusters in the nosecone allow for deceleration or hard braking (in the rare instances it is necessary).
The seeker system on the missiles also features a ARH (Active Radar Homing) mode to defeat jammers. This homes in on the jamming source, making standard electronic attack methods a rather hazardous method of trying to defeat this weapon. A robust ECCM suite including advanced decision making, advanced target discrimination, reserve power output, and Jittered Pulse Repetition make the weapon extremely resistant to ECM. FOCIE tests indicated that the 60D8H was significantly more vulnerable to hard kill techniques than soft kill.
The launcher itself is a rather basic repulsor design, capable of respectable speeds and very reliable, but otherwise not terribly remarkable. It does feature a built in sensor suite, the 91N6E Array, which gives excellent target discrimination out to 150km. At longer ranges the system is dependent on external sensor systems for initial target acquisition and tracking. The most common mechanism for this is the Hussar Command Speeder with typically one deployed per battalion. All SA-900C feature a tactical data link and are able to uplink with the Hussar (and any other interfaced units) and share target and track information nearly instantaneously. They are also freely able to interface with most First Order sensor systems (as is often the case when deployed in a fixed position on a base).
The SA-900C is not a strictly 'tactical' weapon system, but more of a strategic control or operational system, designed to influence a battlefield before combat. The platform is basically defenseless, and is almost always deployed in a battalion of eight with a dedicated guard unit and a Mobile Shield Generator for protection, termed a 'Mobile Battery'. Additionally, if enemy aircraft are able to close undetected to visual range the process to arm and fire a missile is not particular quick, and the system could be destroyed (if unprotected) by strafing runs.
Quickly pressed into production after passing certification trials with flying colors, the SA-900C was rapidly deployed across First Order garrisons and units.
