[GEN 2] AIM-1A Fire Arrow

Credits!

Missile made by Alpha Space Technologies, using code inspired by Triton Aerospace's own missiles. The blue propeller sea aircraft is an upcoming variant of the Sea Eric by Souper (BoCo Metrovick on JCS Discord).

Description:

The AIM-1A is the answer to a pretty unorthodox problem. Modern fights aren't always fought en masse or at long distances. Sometimes, the biggest threat standing on the battlefields of today are not even farther than 10 kilometers. Sometimes the last thing you will hear is the whizzing and buzzing of what sounds like a drone, before you are completely blown to smithereens.

Guerilla warfare, especially when strategically planned properly, can be a real mess to traditional battle strategies, by setting up quick outposts and positions and launching cheap, effective, hidden strikes that ultimately break the core of a movement. Using large, expensive jets and weapons can be risky, as the cost v.s reward can be quite low. And losing a ten million dollar jet to a thousand dollar MANPAD or hundred thousand dollar combat drone is a economic catastrophe that Ali Base Commanders wanted to prevent.

As such, Alpha Space Technologies has also invested into short range, low cost warfare options. Such development and research has culminated in numerous new projects, one of them being the new AIM-1A.

The AIM-1A Fire Arrow is the heed to the call of modern, low cost, close range guerilla warfare. At an extremely small size of only 1.8 meters long, and a weight of only 24kg, it is Alpha Space Technologies lightest air to air missile product on the market. Despite its tiny size, however, you should NOT underestimate its capabilities.

This missile beats out Triton Aerospace's AAM-10 (its direct competitor) missile in nearly all aspects. It is lighter, less expensive, turns harder, has the same rangeband, and has the same useful lethality.

Although it does not feature a proxy fuse, its accuracy is high enough that, for a cheap and light system, it does not even need a proxy fuse to be effective. It can easily take down targets with a target hit, which is nearly impossible to dodge when used in its rangeband. It is also superb in close range dogfights, as this missile can literally turn around 180° and hit the target still, so even if it does miss, it can go back for another pass and STILL destroy the enemy. It is a very advanced missile for its size and cost, making it a truly revolutionary product of Alpha Space Technologies!

Anything within 15 kilometers is fresh meat for this missile: bombers, jet fighters, subsonic planes, guerilla/CAS perfected planes, it can even be mounted on drones to shoot down other drones! Helicopters, tilt rotor wings, and low flying vtols are no match for this beast of the missile.

One direct hit from this missile is all it takes for the enemy to come burning down in a fiery crash. Hence, we decided to give it the name Fire Arrow.

Specifications:

Missile Top speed: ~1000 m/s, when launched at Mach 1, at 1000m. Can be increased with a faster/higher launch.

Mach 1 Rangeband: 1-15km, can do a 180° to hit targets even closer!

Max reliable altitude: 15-20km
Max recommended altitude: 15000m

Turn rate: can max out at 170°

Hit rate: 98% under ideal conditions

Kill rate: 60%, has only a small 40mm HE impact fuse shell as a warhead, with no proxy or failsafe fuse. May be insufficient for very large aircraft.

Insta-kill blast radius: 0m (direct impact)
Effective blast radius: 2m or less (assumption)

Recommended Launch Speeds: Any speed works.

Purpose: As a small, short range missile that likes to zoom, its great for small CAS planes, where fighting takes place up close. Not recommended for traditional jet fighter combat though as its too small.

Valid use: subsonic aircraft, helicopters, drone warfare, counterinsurgency, guerilla warfare, close air support