Invid Missiles

(Version 1.01 - Last Modified: 08/12/2005)

• Introduction
• Missile Size
• Missile Drive
• Missile Type
• Missile Guidance Systems
• Missile Warhead
• Missile Design
• References

Introduction

Like everywhere in the Palladium Books megaverse, missiles used in Robotech have not been well defined. While the system used by Palladium Books is good enough for those that do not want to dwell on every little detail, especially with a weapon that is destroyed seconds or minutes after it is first launched, this document provides greater detail to the missiles used in the Robotech universe. This document uses the information in the Modern Missile Design document and tries not to duplicate too much information. Generally, this document will detail what can and cannot be used from the original document and adds new information that is unique to the Robotech universe, such as new guidance systems and missile designs.

Missiles were not normally used by the Invid and had never been part of their standard tactics. It was not until the Invid Regis began experimenting with missiles for the Gosu Royal Command Battloid was there ever a need for them. Fortunately for the Invid, there were many missiles and missile launchers around Earth for them to study in order to duplicate much of the technology. Unfortunately, after only a few years of experimentation, the missiles developed by the Invid are far from perfect, but their guidance systems are very powerful, as they borrow from Human sources.

Each missile is composed six components: size, drive, type, guidance systems, warhead, and design. The size of a missile determines its durability and how much internal space it has for a drive, guidance systems, and a warhead. The drive determines the missiles range, atmospheric speed, and its rate of acceleration in space. The missile type will determine what warheads are available, may require specific guidance systems, and can give special bonuses or penalties to the missile. A missile's design will often determine its size, type, and sometimes even its guidance systems and warhead. A missile's design could also provide modifications to a missile, such as to its speed and range. The number of guidance systems that a missile can hold also depends on its size. The most important component of a missile is its warhead. The warheads available for a missile vary widely in strength, but the larger the missile size, the stronger the warhead available.

Missile Size

The Invid only developed short range and medium range missiles, so only those sizes are available. The Invid never built nor used bombs of any type. Missiles uses by the Invid have the same statistics as missiles from Rifts Earth.

Missile Drive

The Invid use a chemical drive identical to the one used on Rifts Earth to propel their missiles.

Missile Type

The Invid only deployed multipurpose missiles and never experimented with other missile types.

Missile Guidance Systems

The Invid modified their very accurate Protoculture tracking devices into a small guidance system for their missiles, called the Passive Protoculture Homing guidance system. This guidance system was the only system used by the Invid on their missiles.

1. Passive Protoculture Homing (PPH):
   This guidance is a tiny protoculture sensor that allows the weapon to guide itself to a target that is using Protoculture energy. These weapons can easily be directed towards multiple targets if the launch system allows multiple targeting at the same time. These weapons are vulnerable to being tricked if the target shuts down their source of Protoculture, but usually this means that they will no longer be able to move, which allows the missile to hit the target anyway.
   • Type: Autonomous
   • Bonuses: +6 to strike
   • Penalties: Cannot be used to target objects that do not have an active source of Protoculture energy. If the target suddenly deactivates the source, then the missile will continue on its last course as an unguided missile.
   • Platform: SRM and MRM

Missile Warhead

The warheads used by the Invid are nowhere near as advanced as those from Rifts Earth or from the Three Galaxies. The selection of warheads available to the Invid is even more limited then for the REF. The Invid can only equip their missiles with High Explosive (Light) or Fragmentation (Light) warheads.

Missile Design

The Invid developed four missile designs by the time the Third Robotech War ended. The four missiles were broken up into two generations of technology, with a short range and a medium range missile in each generation. Given enough time, the Invid could have developed even more advanced missiles and could have posed an even greater danger to the REF and the forces of Earth. The actual name given to these missiles by the Invid, if any, is unknown, so the REF have assigned the missiles a code designation and a nickname, which is listed below.

1. MPI-1 Misfit:
   First observed on the Gosu mecha in 2037, the Misfit seems to be an attempt to duplicate the performance of the Maggot missiles used by the Zentraedi in a smaller body. Unfortunately, the Invid have not met with complete success; the Misfit missiles often are easily diverted by a target's ECM and if they do guide correctly, often fail to make deep impressions with their destructive power. However, they have a passable record when used to engage Cyclone Power Armor, although the number of expended missiles versus the number of kills is very modest. This missile was quickly replaced by the more successful MPI-2 Mixer.
   • Service History: Used by the Invid in 2037.
   • Platforms: Gosu Royal Command Battloid
   • Missile Size: Short Range Missile
   • Missile Drive: Chemical Drive only
   • Missile Type: Multipurpose only
   • Missile Guidance Systems: Passive Protoculture Homing only
   • Missile Warhead: Any
   • Modifiers: Decrease warhead strength by 25% and Weapon Rating by -1. Increase atmospheric speed by 25%, but decrease range in an atmosphere by 50%. The missile generates no ECCM, even though its size would normally allow it to do so.


2. MPI-2 Mixer:
   The second missile seen in 2037, the Mixer, is an altogether more powerful missile than the Misfit, and approaches the REF's Hammerhead in performance, though not in speed or accuracy. Its seeker head, for instance, is still easily diverted, and the missiles cannot lock onto small objects, such as approaching missiles, something the Hammerhead can do. Like the Misfit, the Mixer is a near-spherical design, possibly to make a large number of them fit in the missile banks of the Royal Command Battloid. Unlike the Misfit, it is likely that the Invid would continue to use this design, albeit with some improvements, for many years.
   • Service History: Used by the Invid between 2037 and 2038.
   • Platforms: Gosu Royal Command Battloid
   • Missile Size: Short Range Missile
   • Missile Drive: Chemical Drive only
   • Missile Type: Multipurpose only
   • Missile Guidance Systems: Passive Protoculture Homing only
   • Missile Warhead: Any
   • Modifiers: Decrease warhead strength by 10%. The missile generates no ECCM, even though its size would normally allow it to do so.


3. MPI-10 Monroe:
   The Monroe was the Invid's first attempt to create a heavy missile. This was in response to the increased resistance activity and the appearance of several large REF fleets. While possessing a longer range and a stronger warhead, the Monroe is by no means an equal to similar sized missiles used by the REF. Many of the design flaws in this missile would be fixed in 2038 with the appearance of the Mummer, but for most of the year, the Monroe was the Invid's heaviest missile.
   • Service History: Used by the Invid between 2037 and 2038.
   • Platforms: Gosu Royal Command Battloid
   • Missile Size: Medium Range Missile
   • Missile Drive: Chemical Drive only
   • Missile Type: Multipurpose only
   • Missile Guidance Systems: Passive Protoculture Homing only
   • Missile Warhead: Any
   • Modifiers: Decrease warhead strength by 25%, decrease atmospheric speed by 25%, and decrease range in an atmosphere by 50%.


4. MPI-11 Mummer:
   The newest Invid missile was an almost total unknown to the REF forces until the arrival of the Jupiter Attack Group. Apart from a mounting of six of these missiles to the left shield-arm of some Royal Command Battloids in the battle of Reflex Point, this missile has never been seen. This missile was developed during the last days of the Third Robotech War to battle the more heavily armed and armored forces of the REF. It is a vast improvement over previous missile designs, but this made it more expensive to produce, which limited its numbers.
   • Service History: Used by the Invid in 2038.
   • Platforms: Gosu Royal Command Battloid
   • Missile Size: Medium Range Missile
   • Missile Drive: Chemical Drive only
   • Missile Type: Multipurpose only
   • Missile Guidance Systems: Passive Protoculture Homing only
   • Missile Warhead: Any
   • Modifiers: None