Ground-launched Orbital Torpedo
The Ground-launched Orbital Torpedo is a type of torpedo used by the Imperium that is launched from ground-based silos[1a] and targets orbiting spaceships.[1b]
Known Classes
Glaive Class
The Glaive Class is a class of ground-launched orbital torpedo that incorporates a serrated, spiral groove at the tip to help penetrate through the thick spaceship hull before detonating. Repurposed and supplied by dedicated targeting coordinates, the Glaive can also engage ground targets on the same world it was launched from.[1b]
The torpedo is guided by a war-spirit, whose targeting data can be supplied by directly connecting a Vox-Caster, allowing a tech-priest to remotely input coordinates. If necessary, it can be hot-wired by a single person to be armed, in case dedicated operating crew has been lost.[1b]
The Glaive is propelled by a powerful rocket engine and climbs rapidly, reaching an attitude of nearly a hundred kilometres before separating the first stage during which the war-spirt calculates time, distance and vector to the selected target. The second stage accelerates the torpedo even further and, if a planetary target was selected, alters its flightpath by usage of vectored nozzles, tipping the torpedo back to the surface, where it impacts at the chosen destination.[1b]
The Glaive is equipped with a triple stage warhead, the first stage and third stage of which are designed to explode at the same time. The first stage opens a hole in a starship's hull, while the explosion of the third stage propels the middle charge into the target, where it itself detonates with the power of the sun. By hitting ground targets, the first stage creates a crater fifty metres deep and destroys everything in a three hundred metres radius. The explosion of the middle stage can severely damage a giant bastion, leaving only its void-shielded keep standing. Furthermore, the detonation can crack million of tonnes of stone and can cause hundreds of secondary explosions at ammo dumps and fuel storages,[1b] potentially destroying millions of artillery shells in the process.[1c] The resulting shockwave can even collapse Chaos Warlord Titans.[1b]
Sources
- 1: Storm of Iron (Novel) — Iron Warriors: The Omnibus (Omnibus):
- 2: Stronghold Assault (E-Book) — Fortifications Datasheet