GTM Tempest

The GTM MX-6 Tempest Missile is a small, fast-moving rocket; an upgrade of the Great War-era GTM Fury rocket. It has excellent compatability and will fit into the secondary bays of most ships. While it does little damage compared to most other missiles, and has no guidance system, the Tempest has two powerful features.

Firstly, the munition itself is very small, allowing most fighters to load at least one hundred of these rockets. Heavier craft can carry several hundred. Secondly, the recycle speed on the Tempest launcher is extreme. While other missile racks require a second or two to load a new volley, the Tempest can launch in a veritable hail.

Tactically, the Tempest fills two main roles. One, it is a good short-range tool to use against slower enemies like assault fighters, and bombers. These ships have thick armor and powerful shielding, but a hail of Tempest rockets can quickly shred even the heaviest protections. The weapon's second role is the use of surgical strikes against warships or lightly armored vessels like freighters.

Using the Tempest against agile targets, it is best to save your ordnance until you're right on their tail. The Tempest is fast, but not instant, and without a visual indicator you would have to depend mostly on luck to gauage the necessary amount of lead on a moving target at any appreciable range. When engaging slower ships, fire as soon as you're within range since the rocket can easily intercept any cruiser, freighter, transport, etc.

Generally, the Tempest is best used in dual-fire mode at all times. Given the munition's disadvantage of low damage per rocket, and the advantage of having huge numbers of them to fire, using them twice as fast is not an error. A subtle benefit of the Tempest is that when you've used up your stock of rockets, a support ship can reload this type of ordnance very quickly.

Weapons in Descent: FreeSpace

Primaries Secondaries Turrets Weapon Comparison Table, FS1

Weapons in FreeSpace 2

Primaries Secondaries Turrets Weapon Comparison Table, FS2

Tech Room Data

The GTM MX-6 Tempest improves upon its predecessor, the Fury missile. Faster and more deadly than the GTM Fury, the Tempest is also smaller, enabling flight crews to load more into each Secondary weapon bay. The Tempest is a dumbfire missile, moving in a straight line from its point of release. The missile detonates when it strikes a solid object or when it reaches its effective range of approximately 600 meters. Tempests are best used at close range. With a velocity of 360 m/s, nothing outruns a Tempest.

Performance

Statistics

Range	650 m
Rate of Fire	3.33 / s
Velocity	360 mps
Damage	40.5
Against Hullplating	Excellent
Against Shields	Average
Against Subsystems	Good
Shockwave Radius	10 m / 20 m
Homing System	None