Taipan

Microgravity-man-portable anti-ship missile launch platform

scifi cyberpunk missile launcher

1/8

The Taipan platform enables a single operator to deploy a class 2 anti-ship cruise missile from EVA. It consists of a custom man-portable frame, an off-the-shelf satellite comm module, a custom fire control module, and the biggest missile ever shouldered by a human.

FRAME - Steel tube construction with "chainsaw" style carrying handles and rubber missile straps.

COMM - Obsolete Nokia cellphone, chosen for its reliability and outdated frequency. Receives encrypted targeting telemetry or other signals from a spotter ship.

CONTROL - Central computer processes telemetry and uploads to missile guidance computer. Controls include main power, ignition delay setting, arming safety, and ignition. Also features atmosphere and gravity lockouts to prevent improper deployment.

MISSILE - SSACM-2120-V Moonbeam, manufactured and provided by Ashmoon Solutions, Inc. Vacuum-only space-standoff anti-ship cruise missile. Most specifications redacted.

AVAILABILITY : GOV-REQ ONLY

Item Type

Special Weapon

Classification

Anti-ship

Sub-Class

Explosive

Weight (kg) [w/ missile]

382

Length (cm) [w/ missile]

211

Width (cm)

Height (cm)

Explosive Type

Non-nuclear [sic]

Explosive Yield

Classified

Trigger Mechanism

Digital

Effective Range (km)

Unlimited

Signal Encryption

Classified

Guidance Type

Multisense Autonomous

Disarm Procedure

Timelocked Manual

Battery Voltage (Taipan)

9VDC

Operating System

Classified

EVA Performance

EVA only

DroneKiller Rating

10/10

Short Range Target Acquisition Module

LIDAR-based sensor package appropriated from Hexacom Mudskipper patrol craft.
Replaces spotter ship, allowing completely independent deployment.
For deployment flexibility, still transmits telemetry to Nokia comm.
Mounts to frame with M6 hardware (provided).

Remote Ignition Module

Encrypted remote control transmitter; bypasses delay timer and ignition switch.
Arming switch must be in the ON position.
Guidance telemetry must be uploaded in advance as usual.

Breakaway Tether

Two-meter tether with 100N breakaway latch.
Prevent loss of Taipan due to lost grip or other mishandling.
If missile is launched while operater is tethered, safety latch will separate to prevent serious injury or death (this is not a guarantee).

The Taipan project was a contract of questionable legality that Starside Armory accepted - perhaps foolishly - with the best of intentions. In the earlier years of Jormungandr Orbital Station, a pirate frigate squatting in the nearby Kuiper Belt was conducting brazen raids on mining and cargo drones, operating in plain sensor range. As no personnel had been harmed and all of the equipment belonged to Hexacom, the station was unwilling to initiate direct combat. Hexacom's inaction in the matter remains shrouded in corporate shatcom.

The pirate-controlled frigate was once a picket defense ship, uniquely suited to shooting down standoff attack missiles, which just happened to be the only first strike weapon JOS possesed (again, rather suspicious). However, these missiles are usually fired from ships no smaller than heavy bombers and guided over long distances. If those obvious tells could be avoided, a single hit from an unexpected vector would easily cripple the ship. It would only require striking from a position that left the pirates with little time and no options, the logistics of which would be executed by one of the local private security firms.

The plan was approved and funded, and soon a power loader dropped two very long crates from Ashmoon Solutions in my bay. I built the devices and briefed the brass. Starside Armory would surely have been praised for its contribution to station security... had the pirates not cracked open a giant alien spider nest on some asteroid, one day before the op. Giant alien spiders are no joke, but I'm sure the HXC miners watching from their bar stools had a great laugh.

The only thorn is that I ended up with two improvised capital ship killers which violate a dozen Interstellar Commerce Commission statutes. I think the emergency edict under which the project was approved has left a grey area that JOS and Ashmoon are wisely avoiding, as they have stopped answering my emails. What to do with these things...