Torpedo

Term for shield-penetrating missiles typically carried by capital ships and heavy fighter-bombers. First used with devastating effect by the Kilrathi Empire during the McAuliffe Ambush of 2634.

Early shield-burster missile prototypes were developed prior to the outbreak of the Terran-Kilrathi conflict in 2634 by both the Confederation and Kilrathi subject races. The primary obstacle lay in the polarity shift frequency of phase shields, which could simply be increased at time of impact to prematurely detonate the torpedo before it penetrated the shield. Although speculative exercises were conducted by ConFleet in 2622 to experiment with the feasibility of such a weapon, the concept caught little interest and Fleet doctrine continued to stress massed heavy weapon barrages at the start of the war.

Kilrathi leaders were more receptive. Searching for a technological advantage to trump the Confederation's material superiority, they discovered records of the Panama war games from a captured human colony on Fawcett's World and set their subject races to work on developing a practical model. Development was slow, despite urgent pressure from the Crown Prince, but by mid-2634 working prototypes had been completed, which were quickly rushed into production to see action at McAuliffe later that year.

One of the main deficiencies of these early torpedo models was the need for the firing ship to remain stationary during the acquisition process. The other was the inability of capital ships to launch torpedoes without shutting off their own shields, the heavy shielding interfering with the necessary acquisition and lock process. Though the former would eventually be corrected, torpedo runs would still require pilots to fly straight and steady during a lock period of up to thirty seconds. Records showed that the latter remained an issue till late as 2654, with capital ships still powering down shields before launching torpedoes at that time.

A chart of recorded torpedo types in use during the Terran-Kilrathi War is shown below.

Name	Velocity	Active Time	Range	Max Yaw/Pitch	Acceleration	Lock Time	Damage	Refire Delay	Missile Length	Warhead Type
Lance Mark III	1000 kps	14 sec	14000 m	20/20 dps	200 k/s^2	12 seconds	800 cm	0 seconds	3.8 m	Antimatter
Lance Mark IV	1000 kps	16 sec	16000 m	20/20 dps	200 k/s^2	12 seconds	200 cm	0 seconds	10 m	Fusion
Lance Mark V	2600 kps	28 seconds	72800 m	0/0s dps		12 seconds	1800 cm	2 seconds		Antimatter
Valiant LT	1600 kps	18 sec	12000 m	20/20 dps	900 k/s^2	6 seconds	80 cm	2 seconds		Fusion
Firestorm T	1200 kps	18 seconds	18000 m	20/20 dps	600 k/s^2	12 seconds	160 cm	2 seconds		Fusion
Lancer LT	1800 kps	16 sec	18000 m	30/30 dps	900 k/s^2	5 seconds	100 cm	2 sec		Fusion
Pike T	1800 kps	20 seconds	22000 m	35/35 dps	700 k/s^2	10 seconds	200 cm	2 seconds		Fusion
Poseidon	1200 kps	18 seconds	18000 m	25/25 dps	700 k/s^2	8 seconds	230 cm	2 seconds		Fusion

It should be noted that the Proton Torpedo, a popular civilian weapon, is not a true torpedo in the sense defined by this article.

Not to be confused with much heavier ordnance such as CapShip or Skipper missiles.