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.

Weapons in Descent: FreeSpace

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Weapons in FreeSpace 2

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The GTM-4 Hornet

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

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The Hornet is perfectly usable in a dogfight. You just need to understand how it works. The Hornet flies a lag-pursuit curve to the target, rather than a lead-pursuit like most FS missiles. It does its best work fired in a head-on pass or from within a 45-degree cone from the target's six-o'clock position. Do not expect high-deflection Hornet shots to hit anything. Also in FS2 do not expect wonders from the Hornet, as its FS1 design lacks the power against shields most FS2 missiles have.

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 do more damage and 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 Hornet's a respectable weapon, although it's very old. If you're a new pilot in 2367, try not to use this. Unlike its descendant, the Tornado, this missile requires a certain skill to use properly. It isn't very fast-moving, but if you set it to dual-fire mode and it hits an enemy, you'll almost be guaranteed a kill. It's also smaller than Tornados, so you can cram a few more of these into any fighter or bomber. This is something worth noting, especially if you're going out to kill bombers.

Arguably better than the Fury as the anti-cruiser missile of choice for FS1. By the time of FS2 its usefulness is truly gone as the Tempest does over 80% the hull damage at 25% the size of a Hornet missile. There really isn't much of a purpose for the Hornet in the second game aside from using it to fill in your assault fighter's banks when you can't stuff anymore Tempests in a bank - it's useless for dogfighting when the Harpoon(and later the Tornado) come out, alongside the issue of the Tempest outclassing it for anti-cruiser work.