The Grey
"These weapons can be used on colonies where a wide-scale rebellion has seized control of the Local Government Apparatus and First Imperial Military Infastructure"
-Excerpt From the Warhead's Manual
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: Creating a weapon that will keep potentially rebellious colonies in-line from fear and providing an extremely potent ground-to-air, air-to-ground or ground-to-ground missile system capable of inflicting widespread damage to military or civil infrastructure and tactical targets.
- Image Source: Source
- Canon Link: N/A
- Restricted Missions: N/A
- Primary Source: Nuclear Bomb
- Manufacturer: First Order Corps of Imperial Engineers
- Model: UGM-51 Ewok I
- Cost: 2,500,000 Credits
- Value: 52,000,000 Credits (Black Market Value)
- Affiliation: First Imperial Navy, First Imperial Army, First Imperial Stormtrooper Corps, First Order Special Forces.
- Modularity: Yes (Warhead can be removed from delivery system and used as radio or manually detonated-bomb)
Production: Minor (First Imperial Navy, First Imperial Army, First Imperial Stormtrooper Corps, First Order Security Bureau)
- Material: Alusteel, Beryllium, Durasteel, Hydrogen, Lithium-6 Deuteride, Plutonium-239, Tritium, Turadium, Uranium-235, Uranium-238.
- Classification: Reentry-Capable Missile/Warhead Delivery System
- Size: Large
- Length: 18.0 Meters
- Diameter: 1.9 Meters
- Weight: 177 Metric Tons (Very Heavy)
- Ammunition Type: Plutonium-Uranium Fission Warhead
- Ammunition Capacity: 1x 150 Kiloton (0.15 Megaton) Plutonium-Uranium Nuclear Fission Warhead
Reload Speed: Silo Launched (None)
- Effective Range: 24,000 Kilometers (Very High)
- Rate of Fire: ~15 minute pre-launch fueling time (Very Slow)
- Detonation Height: 1,600 Meters (Air-Blast Optimal Effect)
- Fireball Radius: 450 Meters
- Air Blast Radius (5 psi/Heavy Damage): 3,740 Meters
- Air Blast Radius (1 psi/Light Damage): 10,500 Meters
- Thermal Radiation Radius (Burn-Injuries & EMP Effects): 5,260 Meters
- Stopping Power: Extreme
- Recoil: Extreme
- Programmable Detonation Mechanism (Radio/Proximity)
- Fin-stabilised delivery/missile system
- Air-Burst Detonation: When used to attack a terrestrial target the warheads according to manual and military policy must be set to proximity fuse; this is extremely important as detonating the warhead approximately 1.6 to 2.0 kilometers above ground-level reduces radiation contamination from the fissile material to minimal virtually eliminating the risk of widespread radioactive damage. The same cannot be said when the warhead is employed as a ground-based bomb, which can cause significant contamination in staggering amounts of area depending on local wind speed and direction, necessitating resource-intensive clean-up operations. Regardless they do not render the effected area permanently uninhabitable and this is one of the qualities that distinguishes them from a true superweapon.
- Annihilation: The fireball created by the Ewok has a four-hundred and fifty meter radius this fireball is designed to inflict the greatest amount of visible and immediate damage; the 150 kilotons of explosive power can destroy or inflict serious damage to most hardened military targets including shieldless large capital warships. Terrestrial effects within the context of a dense urban area can include widespread infrastructure damage and the thermal radiation created by the explosion's heat can be sufficient to inflict burns on unprotected flesh.
- Electro-Magnetic Pulse: The Thermal-Radiation of the weapon creates a massive electro-magnetic pulse which can disable equipment that isn't EMP hardened within an eleven kilometer radius of the detonation site. This makes it highly effective for disabling civil and military infrastructure within a terrestrial setting but also for disrupting warship systems and shield generators. However this effect is indiscriminate and due to the weapons' optimal range in Space often becomes a double-edged sword and impacts friendly aswell as hostile Warships so its use is generally considered a reckless gambit.
- Programmable Fuse: The warhead can be detonated either by a remotely received encrypted signal or have its' proximity fuse detonated where the first large object that comes into close proximity to the warhead causes it to detonate; this is the primary method of detonation due to the air-burst capability it provides when attacking ground-targets with the air-burst eliminating the risk of significant fallout, the proximity fuse also removes any risk of the Warhead being prematurely detonated or disabled by hostile EWAR systems.
- Security Systems: These weapons are resistant to being stolen or hijacked their access key and alphanumeric passcode is unique and known only to the battery commanders, ship captains and other high-ranking officers entrusted with them. These authorisation codes are scrambled and changed every twenty-four hours by Central Command who can also revoke an individual's access key and passcode to prevent rogue senior officers from unauthorised use of the weapons.
- Bunkers: Subterranean Defensive structures built within the crust of a planet are usually very resistant to the effects of the weapon, this also extends to natural formations such as caves and tunnels.
- Cost: Due to the cost of the weapons there is a hard-limit of how many can be stationed on any one Colony or Starship and that number is precisely four, for this reason mass-produced Warships cannot feature them as weapons due to their value and power.
- Indiscriminate: The Nuclear Warhead's detonation causes widespread and wanton destruction without distinction between friendly and hostile targets this makes them highly dangerous when deploying in a terrestrial or space engagement given its' large blast radius. In close-range encounters within space the weapon could very well inflict damage to friendly vessels.
- Pre-Launch Detonation: Damage to the missile's warhead prior to launch can cause a pre-launch detonation which has the potential to cause catastrophic damage, this risk is highest on warships where the missiles cannot be stored securely in underground Silos. In a terrestrial environment the missile batteries for this reason are located far from any densely populated areas to minimize accidental damage or casualties.
- Radioactive Signature: Modern military sensor equipment don't have a hard-time identifying these weapons once they've left their silos permitting other forces to calculate their flight-paths with a high amount of precision thus small craft can easily avoid them and point-defence systems can identify them as a high-threat and prioritise interdiction the missiles which isn't too difficult when you consider the missile system is unguided.
- Radio Detonation: Due to the nature of the radio signal received-detonation it's possible in theory for a foreign force to remotely detonate the missile after it has been launched and armed, making it possible albeit unlikely for hostile navies for example to detonate the missile mid-flight if it's operating off radio-activated detonation which is the primary method used in space combat in contrast to the proximity fuse utilized in the terrestrial setting.
- Recoil: The system's launch thrust is so violent the vessels that can launch it offensively as a weapon cannot be any smaller than large frigates under the Anaxes War College System, they cannot be launched from sub-capital craft such as fighters either. Ground-based missiles are stored in protected Silos due to their size and violent take-off thrust.
- Reload: Most Warships equipped with these missiles carry no more than a handful of them in part because of their volatility and extreme expense of construction and maintenance. Because of their sizes magazines filled with these missiles don't exist once one is fired their entire silos is empty so Captains should be careful and sparing in their use.
- Two-Stage Liquid Propellant: Their engine uses a two-stage liquid propellant this means that each missile must be fuelled shortly before firing , this fuelling process can take upto fifteen minutes at worst which makes the threat of unconventional or surprise attack on ground-based silos a distinct possibility. It also means their use has to be anticipated and Warship Captains must decide whether or not to fuel any missiles stored aboard their ship. Any damage to the missile system which creates a fuel-leak renders the missile unable to launch safely without crashing back down towards the silo within terrestrial setting if at all.
- Unguided: As a trade-off for protection against guidance jamming or deactivation suites the Missiles are "Dumb Guided" and have a pre-programmed flight path that they follow post-launch which can permit sub-capital craft such as freighters and fighters to easily avoid an anticipated or identified missile at range as their trajectory can usually be calculated quickly. The weapon is intended for use against stationary or large-slow moving capital ships such as cruisers and above. Optimal range for use in a Space-Combat setting is between the ranges of 1,500-3,000 meters because of this shortcoming which also can endanger the warship launching the missile which is a stark contrast to its' terrestrial useful range of 24,000 Kilometers
The UGM-51 Ewok I is a pre-flight path programmed or "Dumb Guided" fission missile delivery system with a potent one-hundred and fifty kiloton warhead that's designed to inflict large amounts of damage to its' target, the weapon's effects are best observed in a metropolis environment. Another secretive reason for its' development is the fear of a local planetary militia force becoming so powerful they seize their local colonies' government apparatus and First Imperial Army equipment; A scenario that become all too common within Sheev Palpatine's Empire and often cited as one of the reasons why the Galactic Empire collapsed instead of pooling their resources foolishly into a single weapon of fear the First Order has opted for a more practical and strategically sound option in the development of Nuclear Weapons which can be stationed discretely both on the inner and outer colonies for use in colonial defence or rebellion suppression.
The missiles are infamous within Central Command for their capability to inflict large amounts of infrastructure on dense urban areas and cities with the potential for widespread collateral damsage, the air-blast effect is most pronounced when applied to buildings in dense areas with the five-pounds per square inch overpressure having the potential to inflict significant or severe damage to buildings constructed from concrete or other derived materials. Under test conditions it wasn't unusual for buildings constructed from reinforced concrete to be so damaged they become uninhabitable without significant repair, the immense shockwave created by the explosion can inflict large numbers of intended or unintended casualties on exposed unarmoured and lightly armoured individuals caught within the over-pressure radius usually from internal injuries of various severity inflicted by contact with the shockwave itself or from debris.
Light damage to infastructure occurs out to an 10.5 kilometer radius under test conditions glass-based products such as windows broke or shattered and buildings generally received some form of light cosmetic or structural damage, injuries received in the one-pound overpressure area generally derive from close-proximity to a glass window which hasn't been tempered and as a result can break into large hazardous pieces. Thermal Radiation or 'heat' emitted by the explosion is an additional hazard and can inflict burn injuries of various intensity ranging from the 3rd degree to mild or superficial injuries on unarmored or lightly armoured individuals particularly if their skin is exposed to the atmosphere those wearing body armour with a hermetically sealed bodysuit tend to have varying resistance to the thermal energy emitted by the explosion as a result of their armour's qualities. Individuals who seek shelter in subterranean shelters natural or otherwise are also usually shielded from the thermal energy, risk of burn injury is generally inversely proportional to distance from missile detonation; the further away an individual is the less likely they should receive a burn injury and less likely it should be severe.
The Most dangerous place to be roughly within half a kilometer of detonation with the explosion's fireball having an approximate four-hundred and fifty meter radius which could cause serious to severe damage to anything caught within it, though generally it doesn't make contact with a planetoid's surface when detonated in a terrestrial environment as the warhead is programmed to detonated at an altitude of 1.6 kilometers to maximize the air-burst effects rather than consume the target itself in the fireball. The Ewok is an effective weapon when employed against even large warships such as Cruisers and to a lesser extent Star Destroyers or Battlecruisers. Despite their effectiveness in tests against large Warships deflector shields drastically reduce the warhead's destructive power so it is recommended they be used against warships exceeding the size of a Frigate only if the target's shields have already been disabled; leaving their thickly armoured hulls and the superstructure underneath exposed to the missile's effects.
An often overlooked feature of many Nuclear Weapons including the Ewok is its' ability to generate an electro-magnetic pulse; equipment that isn't EMP hardened can often be temporarily disabled or shut-down such as vehicles, powered exoskeletons and warships. The weapon's EMP radius is exactly the same as the radius where thermal radiation is present; that is to say approximately five kilometers from the detonation site. These EMP effects are indiscriminate and usually precede the landing of First Imperial Troops to significantly reduce hostile resistance whether it's on a rebellious First Imperial Colony or hostile world that has become a First Order target where the potential infrastructure destroyed isn't a concern.
While the Ewok missile is a devastating weapon they're expensive to manufacture and as a result are not mass-produced despite being affiliated with a large number of factions. Most terrestrial Army batteries are equipped with four missiles with the maximum of one battery per colony, batteries operated by other organisations are very far and few between mostly they're employed as Bombs by the Stormtrooper Corps and Special Forces as a scorched Earth tactic when authorized by Central Command, although they do see service with the Navy where no more than four missile are found on any Warship regardless of Size or class.
When I looked at the list of Superweapons on Wookieepedia as in the factory standardized rules Old-School Fission weapons like this don't appear on the list in-fact the source of the Nuclear Bomb doesn't appear at all, Baradium Fission Missiles appear and so does the Electro-Proton Bomb the latter of which creates a widespread EMP effect and the former can obliterate natural satellites which is something this Sub based on its explosive power cannot achieve.