Earth - X6 Missile

EXPERIMENTAL LORE FILE - CURRENTLY INCOMPLETE/SUBJECT TO CHANGE

ASA-MMX-6 (Arcadia Spacecraft Armaments-Missile Model X-6) "Diablo" Missile.

The ASA-MMX-6, also simply called the X6, is a multipurpose missile built by the Arcadia Systems corporation, mainly for the European Federation, then for the Martian Republic.

It is built around a 3rd generation gravitational drive, which gave it a maximum acceleration of 12 000 Gs of acceleration, albeit for a very short period of time. The 'multipurpose' part of the designation comes from the fact that the missile can be programmed with a highly variable acceleration, some very complex flight instructions, and had an entirely modular payload. This has let the missile outlast it's projected lifespan as a frontline missile by nearly 3 decades. Indeed, while the X12 and eventually the X16 took over eventually, it was still in use until the 2150s in EFSN taskforces, and was still in use the day of Alexandra's disappearance in Mars' Orbital Defense Grid, as well as every nation the EFSN had starship weapons trading agreements with.

The main reason as to why the X6 was so popular is due that it did not follow the trend of capital ship missiles, which is just to stack penetration aids, bigger drives and bigger warheads every new generation. While there are legitimate arguments for both sides, it is clear that overall most missions undertaken by navies do not require to pummel enemy capital ships into scrap. Which is the reason of the missile's popularity and longevity, as payload space was reduced compared to other missiles, used up by extra computer cores, communication systems and sensors. It could be equipped with penetration aids (lures, EWAR emitters, chaff launchers and interceptor missiles interceptors), and thus be able to keep up surprisingly well with more 'normal' missiles, but it usually was equipped with navigation buoys, sensor drones, probes of various kinds, ect. It was an extremely practical and multi-use tool for ships patrolling the outer reaches of solar systems, and responding to emergencies, sightings of pirates, ect. Hence why it was primarily used by cruisers and smaller ships, with the odd battleship and battlecruiser from the IOC, until the agreement was revoked due to them siding with the UIS in Alpha Centauri.