Smart Missile
Type	Tracking Missile
Available From	Everyone
Fitted To	Tracking Launchers
Role	Anti-Fighter, Anti-Medium
Required Licence	None

In-game Description

Light Smart

The Light Smart missile was an ATF project looking into advanced seeker technologies, intended to enable the use of missiles against swarms of Xenon craft, even in protracted battles with friendlies in close proximity. This necessitated highly advanced friend-foe identification capabilities, as well as a tightly restrained explosive effector, in order to avoid accidentally inflicting damage on friendly ships near the intended target. ATF stopped development in favour of more promising weapon systems and the technology remained dormant for many decades before research was continued by an intrepid Argon scientist, who obtained the schematics from an undercover agent.

The Light Smart missile relies on a special chemical mixture for its burn that gives a markedly reduced thermal signature. This, combined with the smokeless launch of the magnetic induction system, means that its launch can be very difficult to detect by the intended target, especially if the pilot is clever enough to conceal the launch with an appropriate manoeuvre. The Light Smart missile has a very small warhead; however, once released, its long, narrow dart is capable of penetrating through the forms of most Xenon ships dealing massive damage to their internals.

Heavy Smart

The Heavy Smart missile was an ATF project intended to complement the smaller and slightly more agile Light Smart system. Where the Light Smart missile would be used against the agile fighters and heavy fighters of the Xenon, the Heavy Smart missile was meant for heavy fighters and light to medium corvette-sized ships. Like its smaller counterpart, the Heavy Smart missile also required the same focus on friend-foe discrimination capability, but its warhead would be scaled up in order to more effectively handle the larger types of targets it was intended for use against. Unfortunately, the weapon system suffered the same fate as the Light Smart missile; the ATF stopped development in favour of more promising weapon systems and the technology remained dormant for many decades before research was continued by an intrepid Argon scientist, who obtained the schematics from an undercover agent.

Tactical Overview

Smart Missiles do not require a Lock-On which allows them to be fired freely. They are also completely immune to flares and are the most likely missile to hit a target. But that makes them slightly more expensive as well as resulting in lower damage and maneuverability.

Light Smart Missile
The Light Heatseeker Missile, much like other light tracking missiles, is a rather hard sell. Its damage output is relatively low, often requiring around 7 hits to destroy a single Xenon M Fighter, with even more missiles sometimes needed when accounting for misses. Needing so many missiles to destroy a single target it rather impractical, especially when engaging the better fighters of other factions. When arming capital ships with them, its effectiveness doesn't significantly improve, with their missile capacity barely lasting for five minutes, and rarely destroying more than a dozen targets.

Technically it is THE best anti-fighter weapon in the game. But the large amount of missiles needed to destroy a target makes them only really effective when arming stations with them and using their vast storage capacities. Then the Light Smart missile will create a deadly hail of explosives against light targets indeed.

Heavy Smart Missiles
Similar to other Heavy Tracking missiles, the Heavy Smart Missile struggles to be effective. Its slow speed means most targets can easily outrun it, even a number of destroyers are faster than it. Even some XL ships. Pilots often find themselves only able to launch the missile during head-on attack runs, hoping the target has exhausted its flares or is too close for dodging it. While it can deal impressive damage to fighters, larger targets just don't care that much.
At most one could blow up the turrets of a capital ship. Though there are better options for this.

Specifications

Construction Cost

Universal Build Method

Closed Loop Build Method

Terran Build Method