From:	Peter Bailey <pbailey@*****.IPSWICHCITY.QLD.GOV.AU>
Subject:	Re: How to handle missiles?
Date:	Mon, 4 Sep 1995 14:22:13 +0200

Hi Duke,

> -Bryan wrote:
>
> >Average rocket speed, say about 400 mph.
> >Average missile speed, say about 2500 mph (ATA/SAM), 250-400 mph
> > (Smart infantry cruise missile, the ones that weave around
> buildings)

Your garden variety Short Range Air to Air Missile adds about 600-1400
knots to it's launch speed before it runs out of fuel about 3-5 seconds
after that launch. Then it coasts the rest of the way to it's target.

> I think your rocket speeds are a bit low. A rocket travels faster than a
> missile since there is nothing to a rocket but fuel, explosive, and casing,
> whereas a missile also has to have guidance equipment and control surfaces.

Nope, by 205x I would expect missiles to be flying about that fast in the
lower atmosphere. As for the other stuff, the trade off from missile to
rocket is usually made by making the rocket lighter and smaller.

> This brings up an interesting point...how do you dodge a missile?

With great difficulty. :-)

> You defeat a missile by forcing it to track beyond it's gimble limits. That
> is, you either move outside the seeker heads ability to see you or you force
> the missile to put on such a hard turn that it will overshot and fly right
> past you. Now missiles today can put on some amazing turns (sorry can't tell
> you the numbers) but suffice it to say that with the improvements in

Try about a 40g turn for the french made matra missile. Mind that's a huge
mutha AAM, but it was built in the late 70's. Today's Aim-9's don't have
the control surfaces to turn that hard yet.

> materials in 205X you can not maneuver a vehicle aggressively enough to
> defeat a missile and still have a living human inside that vehicle (the human
> body could not withstand the G-forces required). So I hope you have damn
> good ECM equipment onboard.

Hear-Hear. However, duck around behind a building at just the right moment,
or convince it that something else is you, and your home and hosed. :-)