Missiles with sensors and fire controls

[Beaker (OP)]

I'm starting to experiment with sensors on missiles for the first time, and I'm wondering about some details of how they work.  Does the launching ship need a missile fire control that can cover the full distance to the target, or could it fire the missiles "blind" (presumably using the "launch missiles at" command) and then the missile's own sensors will take over for final guidance?

[sublight]

The "Launch Missiles at" command is used for mine laying. The ship flys to the target location and then drops missiles out the hatch.

Missiles can be fired blindly by targeting a waypoint. When the waypoint is then deleted the missile will continue flying toward the last known 'target' while using onboard sensor to search for a new target.

[Beaker (OP)]

Missiles can be fired blindly by targeting a waypoint. When the waypoint is then deleted the missile will continue flying toward the last known 'target' while using onboard sensor to search for a new target.

Cool.  Is a missile fire control needed to launch toward a waypoint? Or can I make a fighter that is just an engine and a box launcher so long as the missiles have onboard sensors?

[Erik L]

Cool.  Is a missile fire control needed to launch toward a waypoint? Or can I make a fighter that is just an engine and a box launcher so long as the missiles have onboard sensors?

Missiles (or any weapon) needs the appropriate fire control to work.

Now, missile sensors can be quite myopic compared to ship sensors. It is entirely possible for the missile to pass a target completely while never picking it up on sensors.

For example. A missile moves 1500km in one 5 second pulse. A target sits at 2000km from the missile's current position. The missile has a sensor range of 400km. So at start it is 2000km from the target. Next pulse it is 500km from the target. Third pulse it is 1000km past the target. All the while never getting the target in it's range.

I know. You say, "But Erik! It was in range when it passed!"
Yes, yes it was. But how the checks are completed, The target never existed in the missile's sensor envelope during a sensor check.

From my experience, the best place for missiles with sensors are mines. Mine triggers, releases 20 missiles. Missiles say "Ooh! Juicy target!" And boom. Ex-target.

[Herodotus4]

Missiles (or any weapon) needs the appropriate fire control to work.

Now, missile sensors can be quite myopic compared to ship sensors. It is entirely possible for the missile to pass a target completely while never picking it up on sensors.

For example. A missile moves 1500km in one 5 second pulse. A target sits at 2000km from the missile's current position. The missile has a sensor range of 400km. So at start it is 2000km from the target. Next pulse it is 500km from the target. Third pulse it is 1000km past the target. All the while never getting the target in it's range.

I know. You say, "But Erik! It was in range when it passed!"
Yes, yes it was. But how the checks are completed, The target never existed in the missile's sensor envelope during a sensor check.

From my experience, the best place for missiles with sensors are mines. Mine triggers, releases 20 missiles. Missiles say "Ooh! Juicy target!" And boom. Ex-target.

If you put the sensor on the main mine body will the missiles still target even if you have no sensors on the individual missiles?

[MarcAFK]

You need to add some zeros to that, I wouldn't use a missile that slow or with sensors that small, but I realise what you mean.
Missile sensors need to be a minimum range of 5 times a missiles speed plus the expected speed of your target or in order to actively track a target. However a shorter range than this may still allow a missile to stumble across a target and hit it the next increment. After that you probably lose the target.

[iceball3]

Short range missile sensors (say, 20,000 km) do have their uses, though. For instance, if you fire ten salvos of five missiles each simoultaneously, each with their own sensors on the missiles, at a task group, all targeting a single ship in that task group; if the ship is destroyed and several salvos are orphaned as a result, the orphaned salvos will immediately retarget another ship in the task group and hit it. Super useful against extremely large task groups of huge quantities of fighters or FAC.