XRJ-87 Cruise Missile


Craft: Rylor Mechanics XRJ-87 Cruise Missile
Type: Droid manned cruise missile
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 23 meters
Skill: Astrogation 3D+1, Cruise Missile Piloting 4D,
Sensors: 2D.
Cost: 34,000 credits
Crew: Droid brain
Passengers: None (see below)
Cargo Capacity: None (800 kg if no warhead)
Consumables: None
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x10
Hyper Backup: None
Nav Computer: yes, limited to 2 jumps
Maneuverability: 1D
Space: 9
Atmosphere: 455; 1330
Hull: 2D
Shields: None
Sensors:
Passive: 2/0D
Scan: 5/1D
Search: 8/1D+1
Focus: 12/1D+2
Weapons:
1 60 megaton nuclear warhead
Scale: Capital
Fire Arc: All
Crew: Pilot
Skill: Starfighter Piloting; Cruise Missile
Fire Control: 0D
Space Blast Radius: 1/5/7
Atmosphere Blast Radius: 2/10/15 km
Damage: 9D/5D/3D

Before the invention of planetary shields, hyperdrive equipped nuclear missiles were the standard weapon of interstellar combat. Before the invention of astromech droids, many of these missiles were manned, with the crew suffering the gradual effects of radiation posioning before their fiery deaths. While manned missiles are no longer used, droid manned warheads are still an important facet of interstellar war, being used against targets too poor to afford planetary shields, in conjunction with specops strikes at shield generators, or against lightly defended worlds.

The XRJ-87 is near the low end of cruise missile technology, most commonly used in terrorist attacks, or as part of a larger strategic structure. As the missile's hyperspace distortion profile is not that much different than most light frieghters, the slow hyperdrive just delays the strike, but makes it no easier to prevent, and the two jump capacity of the droid brain prevents direct tracing of the missiles vector back to it's source. Once the missile comes out of hyperspace, it's heavy ion engines will push it toward it's target at high velocity, allowing it to outrun most pursuing craft if it survives the initial barrage. Many missiles are set to detonate if heavily damaged, so as to take out the ship that killed it, but as detonation is a rather complex process, it often fails due to that damage.
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