GTM Hornet
The GTM-4 Hornet is a Great War-era early swarming missile. This missile rack launches four warheads per volley that each follow individual, slightly erratic paths to the target. This gives them a better chance of intercepting the target and increases their resistence to countermeasures. Though the Hornet has since been eclipsed by other missiles, most especially its direct descendant the GTM Tornado, vast quantities of Hornets remain available due to overzealous production.
While the Hornet will lock and track a figher-sized target, in general it lacks the speed and agility to succesfully engage anything except bombers or the slower assault fighters. Modern superiority fighters and interceptors are simply too maneuverable to be caught by this aging design.
Where the Hornet still performs well is in the role of heavy assault. In dual fire mode, 8 missiles are launched in each rapidly-loaded volley. Light warships and slow ships with minimal armor are quickly shredded by the blizzard of incoming warheads. Unlike the Tornado, the Hornet arms its explosives immediately upon exiting its launch tube, so if a target is big enough you can even launch a salvo without gaining lock on it. Assault fighters such as the Hercules Mark II can carry large numbers of these missiles, and a wing of Hornet-equipped assault fighters spell certain doom for any light ship that crosses their path.
The GTM-4 Hornet |
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Contents
FS1 Tech Room Data
Infrared and ultraviolet tracking - designed to fire in small groups of 4 missiles per burst - light medium payload per missile (12 Kt) - semi-intelligent on-board tracking - single-pass kill probability will not exceed 60% on average -designed as an offensive version of the Fury.
As a "swarm" based weapon, this missile can take out an unshielded fighter without any difficulty. It's four missile system almost guarantees one or two hits, and its speed is quite amazing. Twice as powerful against naked hulls.
FS2 Tech Room Data
The GTM-4 Hornet was showing its age even toward the end of the Great War, but it was cheap to manufacture. As a result, war-time production of the Hornet ran full-tilt at factories in eight star systems right up to the end of the war. After hostilities ceased, the GTVA found itself with an inventory of 2.6 million Hornet missiles. This stockpile has been spread among all GTVA battle groups, with each receiving at least 100,000 Hornets. This aspect-seeking missile still delivers a devastating four-missile punch, which makes it a consistent favorite of many pilots.
Performance
Statistics - Hornet
Range | 1 330 m | |
Reload time | 2.0 s | |
Velocity | 190 ms-1 | |
Base Damage | 50* | |
Armor Damage | Full | 50* |
Shield Damage | Average | 25* |
Subsystem Damage | Minimal | 7.5* |
Shockwave Radius | 10 / 20 m | |
Type: | Aspect Seeking | |
View Cone: | N / A | |
Minimum Lock Time: | 3.0 s | |
Turn Rate (360 degrees): | 1.15 s |
Statistics - Hornet#Weak (FS1)
Range | 1 140 m | |
Reload time | 2.0 s | |
Velocity | 190 ms-1 | |
Base Damage | 15 | |
Armor Damage | Full | 15 |
Shield Damage | Very Poor | 3 |
Subsystem Damage | Poor | 4.5 |
Shockwave Radius | 0 m | |
Type: | Aspect Seeking | |
View Cone: | N / A | |
Minimum Lock Time: | 3.0 s | |
Turn Rate (360 degrees): | 1.6 s |
Statistics - Hornet#Weak (FS2)
Range | 1 140 m | |
Reload time | 2.0 s | |
Velocity | 190 ms-1 | |
Base Damage | 15* | |
Armor Damage | Full | 15* |
Shield Damage | Very Poor | 3* |
Subsystem Damage | Poor | 4.5* |
Shockwave Radius | 20 / 40 m | |
Type: | Aspect Seeking | |
View Cone: | N / A | |
Minimum Lock Time: | 3.0 s | |
Turn Rate (360 degrees): | 1.6 s |
Statistics - Hornet D
Range | 1 330 m | |
Reload time | 2.0 s | |
Velocity | 190 ms-1 | |
Base Damage | 36* | |
Armor Damage | Full | 36* |
Shield Damage | Average | 18* |
Subsystem Damage | Minimal | 5.4* |
Shockwave Radius | 10 / 20 m | |
Type: | Aspect Seeking | |
View Cone: | N / A | |
Minimum Lock Time: | 3.0 s | |
Turn Rate (360 degrees): | 1.15 s |
Notes
- Missile launches in swarms of 4 missiles.
- The shockwave doubles the damage against any target that takes a direct hit
Veteran Comments
I usually prefer either the GTM Tempest or the GTM Fury (depending on the generation) to this missile, as they pack more damage per missile bank. I generally use the Hornet to bombard cruisers like the Mentu, the Cain or the Aeolus, or on any freighters or transports in the area. The Hornet has several advantages over its dumbfire cousins, including range, accuracy and - of course - firepower.
Choose the Tornado over it as soon as you get it. It may take more space, but Tornados have better homing capabilities.
In FS1, this is a solid weapon with a set of drawbacks that keep it from dominating. It out-damages the GTM Interceptor by 50 base points (100 base points on double-fire mode), provided all 4 missiles strike their target, but is considerably slower. Because of this, it is less useful in a dogfight against quick vessels, but works well against slower targets or those pinned down by the Flail. In a pinch, they still force the opponent to move or be hit, like any locked missile.
The best use of the Hornet lies in its "bombing" capabilities. The Hornet inflicts up to 400 base points per salvo, which can be repeated every second if you cycle between two embankments. Against cruiser-sized vessels and lower, this can actually be a faster method of killing them, thanks in part to the slow travel time of bombs (or distance that the slow bombers must travel to point-blank). Furthermore, Hornets cannot be intercepted like Harbingers or Tsunamis can, making successful strikes much easier. It is only when pitted against capital ships that Hornets really start to have problems, due to the much faster rearm times for bombs.
One other drawback of the Hornet is that it does next to null against subsystems. You'll want to use Interceptors or Phoenix Vs for that job, if you aren't going to employ Stilettos.
The ability to cram slightly more Hornets into each missile bank is worth considering if you are fending off bombers or attacking cargo, transports, and freighters and, in the absence of Tempests, must decide between equipping either the Hornet or Tornado. While the Tornado is a more efficient single-target killer since its homing ability is better, and all 4 (or 8 in dual-fire mode) missiles hit the target at once, thus overwhelming most shielded targets with a mini "alpha strike", the Hornet (theoretically) does the exact same amount of damage, has a slightly shorter reload time, and does not have the "lockarm" flag, which means each Hornet still does its tabled damage even if you fire them without gaining aspect lock. If you need to spread damage out across multiple unshielded large targets within a short amount of time, the Hornet might be marginally superior than the Tornado, although the Tempest would be the ideal missile for such a purpose.