Missiles

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The Vela Pulsar, very much resembling an exploding missile. Image by NASA/ESA

A Missile is a small self-propelled projectile that contains an explosive warhead and/or a sensor. Missile warheads explode on impact, creating a triangular damage pattern in armor.

Missiles must be designed and researched, built by ordnance factories on a planet, loaded onto ships' missile magazines and launched by missile launchers. They can use on board fire control or their own sensors for target acquisition.

Missiles require missile launchers of an appropriate size to launch them, however missile launchers can launch smaller missiles than they were designed to accommodate, i.e. a size 5 missile launcher can launch size 1-5 missiles. Each launcher can store one mounted missile. All reloads have to be carried in missile magazines. Missiles cannot be transported in Cargo Holds. Having dedicated ammo transports (colliers) can be quite useful, both in battle and to supply outposts with missiles and mines.

Your first missile designs

...will invariably suck, to put it bluntly. While players have different missile design philosophies, early-game technology doesn't allow you to build anything impressive. Just keep investing in engine technology (for that you have to research reactor tech first), engine power modifier, agility and warhead tech. Also make sure you understand missile damage - one strength-16 warhead hurts a lot more than two strength-8 ones.

• Probably the most common mistake of new players is to make their missiles and ships too slow. Keep in mind that even early-game tech (ion engines) can allow warship speeds of 4000-5000 km/s and hit chances depend heavily on missile speed, so use an engine with maximum power modifier. Your missile should be a lot faster than the target. Which means that anti-missile missiles should be even faster.
• The second most common mistake is to give them a much higher range than your active sensors or fire controls.
• Don't bother with sensors on missiles before you get an idea of the distances involved. A sensor with a range of 10,000km isn't going to do you any good.

Missiles and other systems

A successful missile system contains three components that need to work together:

1. a Missile
2. at least one Active Sensor that can see the target. The sensor doesn't have to be on the firing ship, not even in the same Task Group.
3. at least one Fire Control directing the missile to the target. This has to be on the firing ship.

Range and resolution of sensors and fire controls should be matched to the missile. There's no harm in Active Sensors with the best range possible, but if missile or FC are mismatched, you're wasting tonnage, time and money.

It follows that a ship armed with two different missile types (one anti-ship and one anti-missile) needs two different sets of sensors and fire controls, each having a different range and resolution.

ECM and ECCM

Enemy ships equipped with ECM degrade the range of your Fire Controls (but not Active Sensors) by 10% x ECM level. A Fire Control sensor with a range of 30m km trying to target a ship with ECM-2 would have only a range of 24m km. ECM is pretty common, so you might want to slightly overdesign your fire controls: If your missile has e.g. a range of 50m km, having a fire control with a range of 65m km means you can still target a ship with ECM-2 at maximum missile range.

An ECCM assigned to a fire control offsets the effects of ECM by 10% per level.

If you have researched ECM tech, you can also spend 1 MSP on ECM in your missile designs, making them more difficult to shoot down.

Missile Warheads and Damage

Damage templates for missiles (left) and laser (right) strikes.

Missiles create triangular holes in armor (also note the article on Armor). For example, a strength-4 warhead will apply the first three damage points to the first armor level before the fourth damages the second level (see diagram on the right). The most efficient warhead damage sizes for armor piercing are therefore square numbers: 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, etc., because that's the minimum amount you need to penetrate armor level 1,2,3,4,5 etc. Note the difference between strength-9 and strength-10 warheads in the diagram: the 9th point of damage will penetrate the deepest, the 10th point however will just scratch the first armor layer again.

Only damage that gets through armor will damage internal ship components. A strength-25 warhead will penetrate four levels of undamaged armor and cause one point of internal damage. If the target has only three levels of armor, the same warhead causes four points of internal damage.

Armor damage is permanent until repaired in a shipyard. Multiple weapon hits, even if non-penetrating, will slowly erode a ship's armor. Hit location (i.e. the armor column being hit) is randomly determined, though, so a large ship can potentially take a large number of non-penetrating hits before any damage gets through.

Missile Design

The Missile Design button is at the bottom of the Create Research Project window. Missile Engines are found in the normal Create Research Project dropdown, though.

In the Missile Design window, you will have to experiment with fractions of whole numbers, e.g. 2.667 warhead size may result in exactly 16 damage points, 0.01 points may be enough fuel for your purposes etc.

Missile Size

One Missile Size Point (MSP, not to be confused with Maintenance Supply Points, also called MSP) equals 1/20 HS (Hull Spaces), or 2.5 tons.

Missile size can be a fraction of whole numbers (e.g. a 1.25-size missile), but they can only be fired from a launcher with a size of the next whole number (e.g. a 1.25-size missile needs a size-2 launcher).

The smallest size permitted in Aurora is 1. There appears to be no maximum size, but the largest launcher size is 100 and you can't launch without a launcher.

Anti-missile missiles tend to be size 1 because they need to be fast and you need lots of them, while most anti-ship missiles tend to be between size 5 and 15.

Missile Engines

Missile Engines have to be designed separately and researched before you can use them, and a single missile can have multiple engines (of the same type). The four elements of missile engine design are described below.

Engine Technology: Exactly as ship-based engines. For example, the Magneto-plasma Drive has a rating of 16 power per hull space, so a Magneto-plasma missile engine of 1 MSP would provide 16/20 = 0.8 power.

Fuel Consumption: The base fuel consumption of a missile engine is five litres per Engine Power Hour (which is one point of engine power for one hour) and can be improved through research. So a max size missile engine (5 MSP) with 4 power and a racial fuel consumption technology of 0.6 litres per engine power hour would use 12 litres per hour. This is higher than shipboard engines as missile engines are designed for single use and therefore long-term fuel efficiency is a low priority in their design. They are also solid-fuelled for easy storage, which is less fuel efficient than liquid-fuelled ship-based engines.

Engine Size: Missile engines can range in size from 0.1 MSP to 5 MSP in 0.1 MSP increments. It is hard to create very small fuel efficient engines, so smaller missile engines suffer a further penalty to fuel consumption. The formula is: Fuel Modifier = Int ((Engine Size in MSP / 5) ^ (-0.683)). There is no need to remember this formula as the % change to fuel consumption is shown for each size option in missile engine design. For example, the following sizes of missile engine have the listed fuel consumption penalties

5 MSP x1.00 4 MSP x1.16 3 MSP x1.42 2 MSP x1.87 1 MSP x3.00 0.5 MSP x4.82 0.3 MSP x6.83 0.1 MSP x14.47

Power / Efficiency Modifiers: Missile engines use the same principle as ship engines and use the same tech lines (Max Engine Power Modifier and Min Engine Power Modifier). However, the upper end of the range is doubled for missile engines. So if the Max Engine Power tech is x1.75, missile engines can use up to x3.50. The rationale is that these are designed for single use, unmanned craft and therefore have significantly different engineering requirements, such as no radiation shielding or maintenance access requirements. As with ship-based engines, increasing power has a significant effect on fuel efficiency and decreasing power can provide huge savings in fuel efficiency. As the missile modifier is double that of ships, power can be increased by up to six times normal and decreased to 10% of normal if you have the prerequisite techs. The dropdown on the missile engine design window has options from the minimum possible to the maximum possible in 0.05 increments. So 0.40, 0.45, 0.50, 0.55 ...... 1.80, 1.85, etc. Each engine power modifier percentage is accompanied by a fuel consumption modifier, based on the formula Fuel Efficiency Modifier = Engine Power Modifier ^ 2.5

For example, a 1 MSP missile engine with a x3.00 engine power modifier would have a x15.59 fuel consumption modifier for the engine power modifier and a x3.00 fuel consumption modifier (x3) for the size of the engine, which gives a total modifier of x46.77.

A 0.5 MSP missile engine with a x5.00 engine power modifier would have a x55.90 fuel consumption modifier for the power modifier and a x4.82 fuel consumption modifier for the engine size.

Here are the three examples of 1 MSP magneto-plasma drive missile engines, using x1 power, x3 power and x6 power, with a racial base fuel consumption of 0.6 Litres per Engine Power Hour

0.8 EP Magneto-plasma Drive

Engine Power: 0.8      Fuel Use Per Hour: 7.2 Litres
Fuel Consumption per Engine Power Hour: 9.006 Litres
Engine Size: 1 MSP      Cost: 0.2
Development Cost for Project: 40RP

2.4 EP Magneto-plasma Drive

Engine Power: 2.4      Fuel Use Per Hour: 336.92 Litres
Fuel Consumption per Engine Power Hour: 140.385 Litres
Engine Size: 1 MSP      Cost: 0.6
Development Cost for Project: 120RP

4.8 EP Magneto-plasma Drive

Engine Power: 4.8      Fuel Use Per Hour: 3811.86 Litres
Fuel Consumption per Engine Power Hour: 794.137 Litres
Engine Size: 1 MSP      Cost: 1.2
Development Cost for Project: 240RP

Missile Agility

How maneuverable the missile is. Agility and speed determine hit chances. Agility Points per MSP can be increased through research.

Play around with the Agility value and see how it affects hit chances. Begin with 0.2, then 0.4, 0.6, etc., until you see the numbers drop again. You'll find a maximum somewhere, after which additional agility makes the missile just heavier and lowers hit chances again. When you've found it, play with the second decimal, e.g. 0.42, 0.44, 0.46 etc., for optimization.

Range

As mentioned before, ranges of missile and fire controls should be in the same ballpark. You can try to plan ahead, though: If you know your next generation of grav sensors and therefore improved fire controls will be around in a few months and increase range by 50% for the same size, then you can give the missiles you design today that extra range.

Opening and closing shots

An opening missile shot is one where the target is moving away from your missile, opening the range. A closing shot is one where the target is closing the range instead.

Imagine a missile with a range of 50m km and a speed of 15,000km/s. You fire a salvo at a target 40m km away which is running away from you at a speed of 5,000km/s. Your missiles will take 2666 seconds to reach the point where the target was when you fired. Unfortunately, by then it is already 13.3m km further away; your salvo will run out of fuel and self-destruct. A fast missile moving at twice the speed would have reached the target instead.

Armor and ECM

These make it more difficult to destroy your missile. Only full armor points count (?). For ECM, see above.

Missiles and Sensors

The most simple missile designs have no sensors at all. They are guided to the target by the firing ships' fire control. If that fire control is destroyed or you lose the active sensor contact (usually because another salvo already destroyed the target), the missiles self-destruct.

If you spend points on sensors, a small reactor to power them is automatically added. Such a missile will not look for new targets until the original target contact is lost, in which case they will continue to fly toward the last known location while in search mode. They will engage any enemy contact they find. If they reach that location without finding a new target, they self-destruct.

A missile with active sensors will attack the largest target it can detect, one with thermal sensors will attack the strongest thermal signature and a missile with EM sensors will attack the strongest EM source, which tends to be ship with the strongest shields.
(this needs to be verified, though)

Since detection only happens every five seconds and most ships travel at least 20-30,000km in that time, low-tech or low-powered sensors will hardly ever detect anything.

Types of Missiles

Missiles can vary in size but can have the same job. Smaller is usually better - they are more difficult to spot and so more get through Point Defense Systems.

Your ships could carry different versions of missiles with the same size: one variant with long range and another with shorter range but more powerful warheads or some armor.

Long Range

Favoring fuel and speed, these are mostly for 'hit first at range' tactics, they also are important to mop up any remaining hostile forces that may run, as it can be a problem to chase every single ship down. They also work to weaken hostiles before shorter ranged higher damage missiles finish them off.

Long range Missile Designs

LR Missile	LR High Speed	LR High damage
1 Warhead	1 Warhead	2 Warhead
1.5 Engine	2 Engine	1 Engine
1.5 Fuel	1.5 Fuel	1.5 Fuel
1 Agility	.5 Agility	.5 Agility

Short Range

Balancing out speed and warhead size, these are for quickly destroying hostiles before any severe conflict can begin, a successful use of these missiles can severely weaken, if not destroy your opponent.

Short Range Missile Designs

Base Missile	High Speed	High damage
1.5 Warhead	1.5 Warhead	2 Warhead
1.5 Engine	2.5 Engine	1.5 Engine
.5 Fuel	.5 Fuel	.5 Fuel
1.5 Agility	1.5 Agility	1 Agility

PD Missile

A missile best designed with a 1 damage warhead, this missile should instead balance out speed and fuel, with a majority for agility, these missiles should also be at max size one, as any bigger is a waste of space and material unless an enemy is throwing size 50 missiles at you then situations may deem a change in tactics. PD Missiles need to be at least Strength 1 to destroy enemy missiles. Depending on your Warhead Strength Per MSP technology level, the warhead size in these example designs may need to be increased to ensure the missile is Strength 1 instead of Strength 0. You may need to sacrifice Engine, Fuel, or Agility to ensure the PD Missile is still size 1.

Point Defense Missile Designs

Mid range PD Missile	Short Range PD Missile	V. Short Range PD Missile
.2 Warhead	.2 Warhead	.2 Warhead
.4 Engine	.4 Engine	.44 Engine
.1 Fuel	.05 Fuel	.01 Fuel
.3 Agility	.35 Agility	.35 Agility

Two-staged Missiles, Drones & Buoys

(As of Aurora v6.00 there is no longer a separate category for drones in the missile design menu. A drone is now a general term for a missile with a less powerful but efficient engine.)

A drone is generally a type of missile with a fuel-efficient, but slow engine and no agility. It is designed for great range and can be used as sensor platform or as as very long-ranged missiles with terrible to-hit chances, or to carry submunitions (fast and small missiles for the final attack run).

Types of Drones

Long range Anti Ship Drone

Since drones usually have fuel-efficient engines, they can have ranges exceeding 1 billion kilometers while the average missile sits around 50-100 million. The downside to using them like this is that their hit chance is very low due to low speed and perhaps low agility. Also, it might be difficult detecting targets at that range.

Submunitions (MIRV) Drone

A drone that carries within it one or more smaller missiles that make up the second stage that, when near its target, will split off at much higher velocity and high damage to their final target. You select the distance from the target when the second stage (the submunitions) will separate when designing the first stage. The second stage inherits the first stage's target. Sensors are optional, as with normal missiles.

Example

A size-2 missile engine with low power but good fuel efficiency and 4 points of fuel. No warhead or agility are required. The second stage consists of six size-1 missiles with a range of 2.5m km, so that's what the Separation Range has been set to. The drone itself would be easy to shoot down, but the second stage missiles are (hopefully) released outside the enemy's missile defense range.
Missile Size: 12 MSP (0.6 HS) Warhead: 0 Armour: 0 Manoeuvre Rating: 10
Speed: 16000 km/s Engine Endurance: 190 minutes Range: 182.0m km
Second Stage: Dagger Mk4 x6
Second Stage Separation Range: 2,500,000 km
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 160% 3k km/s 50% 5k km/s 32% 10k km/s 16%

Buoy

(As of Aurora v6.00 there is no longer a separate category in the missile design window for buoys)

A Buoy has a reactor and can be used as a Mine, Sensor, or a geosurvey for bodies.

Mine

Mines are a very cost-effective two-stage weapon for jump point defense without dedication of ships. The first stage needs a sensor and releases its payload of one or more missiles when an enemy is detected within the separation range setting.

To deploy mines, create a waypoint (usually at a jump point) and move your ship there, then use the Fire Missiles button on the Task Group screen, or use the Combat interface.

Sensor buoy

Sensor buoys are good if you want a look at a system to see if there is any activity without risking a ship. Just drop one of these on a waypoint near the jump gate and go back home while this tells you everything that is occurring in the area.

Missile Sensors

(In Aurora v6.00, missile sensors were changed and buoys, which previously had long endurance sensors, were "removed". It is still possible to create a "buoy", see below.)

Missile sensors must be powered. The power requirement for any sensor is equal to its 20% of the sensor strength. So one missile size point (MSP = 1/20th of a HS) allocated to an EM Sensor using a base EM sensor strength of 8 would result in an EM sensor strength of 0.4 (8/20). This would require a reactor with a power output of 0.08 (0.4/5). The reactor space is allocated automatically but displayed as if it was added by the player. Ship-based sensors do not require reactors as their needs can be met from the general power generation of the ship. On a per HS basis, passive sensors are much less powerful than active sensors at the same tech level, which means missiles will require less reactor space per MSP of passive sensors compared to active sensors.

There is no longer a separate 'buoy' category but you can create the same effect by designing a missile with sensors and no engine. The necessary reactor space will be added automatically. Missile reactors have unlimited endurance so there is no longer a need to replace buoys every few years.

You can create a single stage missile with both an engine and a reactor, which means you can create a self-deploying 'buoy' without the need for a two-stage missile, although there are situations in which you might still use a two-stage missile anyway.

Loading missiles

You can either use the Load Ordnance command, which loads the standard loadout for the type, as defined in the ship design window (unlike other design parameters, this can be changed after the ship type as been built). Or you can use the Ordnance tab in the Individual Unit window.

Loading missiles during battle

Transferring missiles between ships or a ship and the planetary depot happens instantaneously. That might be unrealistic but feel free to exploit it by reloading your warship's magazines during battle from other ships or a dedicated ammo transport (collier). Adding a collier to a task group has the advantage of adding a lot of ammo depth while keeping your warship's size down.

Missile series

Missiles can be organized into missile series. This feature allows a ship rearming in a depot to load another missile similar in size and role if no stock of the required missile is available. For example, your standard loadout for a Broadsword destroyer is 25 Long Lance Mk4 missiles. If only 8 are available at the depot, the game will automatically try to load other missiles from the same series, so you might end up with 8x Long Lance Mk4, 13x Long Lance Mk3 and 2x Long Lance Mk5, because they all belong to the Long Lance series and perform a similar role.

Missile Design Spreadsheet

There are a couple of very useful on-line spreadsheets available for calculating optimal missile configurations.

As with any Internet source... Caveat Emptor 

• spreadsheet
• Missile design aid spreadsheet or App by Romalar1