Missile Analyser

Overview

This oxp adds the equipment: Missile Analyser. This analyser reacts on an incoming missile alert. On such an alert it analyses the spectrum of the exhaust fumes, speed manoeuvrability etc. On comparing these data with its database it can predict quite accurate what type of missile it is.

All this information is displayed at the player console. It is up to the player how to react on this information.

Minimum requirement Oolite 1.72

Why this equipment

In the old days there were only "missiles" and "ECM hardened missiles". When you fired your Electric Counter Measurements and the missile was still coming, you knew what type of missile you were facing. With the introduction of many new missile types, (e.g. from Missiles & Bombs OXP) it is often not clear how to react on an incoming missile. Some have a q-bomb mounted and others don't react on chaff. You can wait till the missile is close enough to visually inspect the shape. When you are lucky you recognise it before impact takes place. Better use this analyser for early recognition.

The analyser is connected to the default Missile Launch Detector that almost every ship has on board. The MLD activates the Missiles Analyser and the MA than determines what type of missile is heading for the ship. When it is a plain missile it does nothing to avoid to much cluttering on the screen. When it is a special missile, a warning is displayed on screen, giving the missile type and the ships name that fired it.

Usage

In normal use the pilot hears the alarm of an incoming missile. A well trained pilot will activate his EMC in a reflex. Only as a second reaction he should look at the screen. When the MA shows no message it is very likely a plain missile that will explode on ECM activation. When the MA does give a message the pilot should read it and act accordingly. When the pilot also has a Target System Memory Expansion installed, the MA is connected with it on installation and with an incoming, not standard missile, it will transfer the missile location to the first position in the target memory. When the pilot has anti ballistic missiles on board he just has to press T (to target his ABM) followed by M (to fire the ABM). Sometimes even a normal missile, fired as ABM, is able to destroy an incoming missile.

Availability

This equipment can be purchased in all high-technical systems (10+) for a sum of 17500 Cr.

Technical specifications

Missiles have no transponder for easy recognition like many ships have. The key for recognition of a missile is the exhaust flame of the projectile. Depending on the manufacturer of the fuel there are small composition changes that result in an slightly different flame spectrum. Besides this spectrum every burner gives a slightly different flicker of the flame. This analyser detects these differences in spectrum and flickering and compares this with an on-board database of known missiles. This database has to be updated regularly when new manufacturers appear or a manufacturer switches fuel composition. Therefor the purchase costs of the MA includes a "live-time" update of the database. For this update it automated connects to a computer network during a maintenance. The pilot has nothing to do for this.

This very sensitive scanner makes the equipment expensive. What also is expensive is the pure information in the database. This information is very well protected. To make sure this information never comes for free on the market, every analyser is booby-trapped. When not opened with the right tools it will destroy itself without any right on warranty.

Disclamer

The manufacture of the MA will never guarantee the MA always gives the right result. Because some pilot could have made modifications to the missile or manufacturers could have changed missile specifications that are not yet in the database, analyses by the MA can result in wrong conclusions.

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Download Link

Missile Analyser 1.1.1 For Oolite 1.72
Missile Analyser 1.2 For Oolite 1.73+

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Update Notes

The version posted on the Wiki is the latest version of this OXP. (Updated 25/5/10).
Version 1.0: First release for Oolite 1.71
Version 1.1: For Oolite 1.72 & 1.73
Version 1.2: For Oolite 1.73+

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Installing and Playing

To play the OXP, unzip the download file. This will create a folder named "Missile Analyser". Open this folder and you will see a folder named "Missile Analyser.oxp" and a readme. Move the Missile Analyser.oxp folder to AddOns. As with all OXPs, its the folder ending .oxp that you need to put in Oolite's AddOns folder, otherwise Oolite will not read it.