Lance Missile

Lance
Type	Long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile
Service history
In service	1987-Present
Used by	Belfras see operators
Production history
Manufacturer	Aegium Defence Consortium
Specifications
Weight	1,950 kg (4,300 lb) 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) with booster 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) with ER booster
Length	5.8 m (19 ft) without booster 7 m (23 ft) with booster 7.45 m (24.4 ft) with ER booster
Diameter	0.55 m (22 in) 0.85 m (2.8 ft) with ER booster
Warhead	Variable
Wingspan	0.98 m (3.2 ft) folded 2.7 m (8.9 ft) unfolded
Propellant	Solid-fuel Booster Rocket Liquid-fuel turbo-fan Primary
Operational range	1,620 km (870 nmi) 2,000 km (1,100 nmi) with ER assistance
Flight ceiling	22,000 m (72,000 ft)
Flight altitude	250 m (820 ft) Cruising 5 m (16 ft) Terminal
Speed	752 mph (1,210 km/h)
Guidance system	GPS, INS, Active radar homing + Terminal infra-red guidance
Launch platform	Fixed-wing aircraft, Vertical Launch System (VLS) and horizontal submarine torpedo tubes (known as TTL (Torpedo Tube Launch))

The Lance Missile is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile developed by Aegium Defence Consortium and introduced into service in 1987. Named after the medieval pole weapon, the Lance was initially designed for launch from submerged platforms, providing the Federation Navy with a strategic tool capable of striking targets at extended distances. Over time, the missile's versatility has been enhanced, allowing deployment from various platforms, including aircraft, surface ships, submarines, and land-based vehicles.

The Lance boasts a standard operational range of approximately 1,620 kilometers (870 nautical miles), which can be extended to 2,000 kilometers (1,100 nautical miles) with the addition of an Extended-Range (ER) booster. It maintains a cruising speed of around 575 miles per hour (925 kilometers per hour) and is capable of adjusting its flight altitude between 250 meters (820 feet) during cruise and as low as 5 meters (16 feet) in the terminal phase to evade enemy radar and defenses.

The missile's modular design allows for a variety of warhead configurations, enabling it to engage a wide spectrum of targets, from fortified land-based installations to naval vessels. Its guidance system integrates GPS, inertial navigation, active radar homing, and terminal infrared guidance, ensuring high precision even in challenging operational environments. This combination of adaptability and accuracy has made the Lance a cornerstone of the Belfrasian Armed Forces' strategic capabilities.

One of the Lance's notable features is its in-flight reprogrammability. Operators can update target information, alter mission parameters, or even abort the mission if necessary, providing tactical flexibility during dynamic combat situations. Additionally, the missile can relay real-time data back to its launch platform or command centers, offering valuable intelligence for battle damage assessments or reconnaissance purposes.

The Extended-Range Mount (ER-Mount) is an optional attachment that increases the missile's fuel capacity, thereby extending its range. This conformal fuel tank wraps around the missile's midsection and is jettisoned in four stages during flight to maintain optimal balance and performance. However, the added size of the ER-Mount limits its use to air and ground launch platforms, rendering it unsuitable for deployment from ships and submarines.

Since its induction, the Lance Missile has undergone several upgrades and spawned multiple variants to meet evolving military requirements. Its adaptability across different platforms and mission profiles underscores its significance as a versatile and reliable asset within the Belfrasian military arsenal.

Design

Lance being launched a submarine

The Lance Missile's design emphasizes modularity and adaptability, allowing it to fulfill various roles across multiple platforms. Its airframe measures 5.8 meters (19 feet) in length without a booster and extends to 7 meters (23 feet) with a standard booster, or 7.45 meters (24.4 feet) with the Extended-Range booster. The missile's diameter is 0.55 meters (22 inches), expanding to 0.85 meters (2.8 feet) with the ER booster. Its wingspan is 0.98 meters (3.2 feet) when folded and 2.7 meters (8.9 feet) when deployed.

Propulsion is achieved through a solid-fuel booster rocket for initial launch, transitioning to a liquid-fuel turbofan engine for sustained flight. This combination provides the necessary thrust to reach speeds of approximately 575 miles per hour (925 kilometers per hour) and maintain subsonic cruise velocities, optimizing fuel efficiency and range.

The guidance system integrates multiple technologies to ensure precision targeting. An inertial navigation system (INS) provides initial course guidance, supplemented by GPS for mid-course corrections. As the missile approaches its target, active radar homing and terminal infrared guidance systems engage to refine targeting accuracy, enabling the Lance to effectively engage both stationary and moving targets.

Warhead options are modular, allowing the missile to be equipped with various payloads tailored to specific mission requirements. This flexibility enables the Lance to engage a diverse set of targets, from hardened bunkers to naval vessels, enhancing its strategic utility.

The missile's airframe is constructed from advanced composite materials, balancing structural integrity with weight considerations. This design ensures durability under various environmental conditions while maintaining the agility required for low-altitude flight profiles.

Deployment versatility is a key feature of the Lance Missile. It is compatible with vertical launch systems (VLS) on naval vessels, can be launched from horizontal submarine torpedo tubes (Torpedo Tube Launch or TTL), and is deployable from fixed-wing aircraft. This multi-platform compatibility ensures that the missile can be utilized across the spectrum of the Belfrasian Armed Forces' assets.

The Extended-Range Mount (ER-Mount) enhances the missile's operational reach by increasing fuel capacity. This conformal tank is jettisoned in stages during flight to maintain optimal aerodynamics and balance. However, its size restricts deployment to air and ground launch platforms, excluding ship and submarine launches.

Variants

Over the course of the Lance's inclusion to the arsenal of the Federation Navy, it has been further developed with diverting variants being made along the way.

Lance Block I

The original model introduced in 1987, designed primarily for land-attack missions with a conventional high-explosive warhead.

Lance Block II

An upgraded version featuring enhanced guidance systems and the option for different warhead types, including submunitions for area denial. This is the first variant capable for anti-ship attacks.

Lance GPHE-2

Designed for warfare against enemies utilising below-ground access ways or for usage in sub-surface detonations, the GPHE-2 (Ground Penetrating High Explosive) maneuvers for an extremely high-angle attack profile over it's target coordinates and discards it's wings and control surfaces moments before impact, with an extremely hardened and sleak frame allowing it to burrow itself deep into the ground before detonating a 300kg high explosive warhead. A delayed fuse on the detonation allows for it to be completely buried to intensify the pressure of the blast. A sub-variant, the GPHE-2A contains it's warhead in four 'chunks' that get sheered off during impact to create a trail of explosives from the surface to it's primary detonation point.

Lance TH-1

Carries a 450kg Thermobaric warhead utilising High Explosive/Al-Eth Oxide mixture for detonation. Primarily used for an area attack air burst weapon or for delayed-fuse ground penetration of buried targets.

Lance RP-1

Reconnaissance platform missile, essentially an expendable platform that replaces it's warhead and targeting sensors for surveillance equipment and extended fuel stores for longer on-station time. A small charge detonates whilst the missile is in a steep dive to destroy the missile at the end of it's mission and to concentrate debris in a small box to avoid collateral damage.

Lance SD-5

Sub-munition dispensing missile. Inspired by the previously utilised Nenda 44, it's increased weight and reduced fuel load reduces range to 2200km. Each payload is jettisoned through an end-phase 'spiral spin' to dispense munitions over a greater area than previous versions of the missile. Each missile can carry eight 155mm canisters or 10 127mm canisters.

• APSM-1: Anti-Personnel Sub-Munition Type I carries 80 munitions per canister, each containing a High Explosive/White Phosphorus filling with steel ball-bearings and incendiary pellets ignited by the detonation.
• APSM-2: Anti-Personnel Sub-Munition Type II is identical to APSM-1, although it carries 70 munitions per canister lacking the steel ball-bearings and incendiary pellets in favour of a bouncer mechanism to ensure a rebound detonation at roughly 1 meter for maximum effect on target.
• ATSM-1: Anti-Tank Sub-Munition Type I is a canister consisting of an advanced sensor package and four smart anti-tank sub munitions. Each canister has an uplink to the missile, ensuring that each munition has an at-launch uploaded no-go list for targets to avoid targeting civilian/friendly equipment and a tight-beam differential to avoid two munitions going for the same target and ignoring one altogether. The sub-munition, upon release, enters a fin-controlled spin and scans the kill-zone with dual-mode laser/IR to locate targets, at which point the control surfaces guide the munition to it's target for a top attack profile. The sub-munition, nearing impact, detonates a primer charge that high-explosive penetrator into the target. Should no targets be found, the sub-munition will self destruct.
• CWSM-5: Chemical Warfare Sub-Munition Type II carries four staged canisters for chemical agent dispersal over a pre-specified area. Weapon enters glide pattern over target sight and jettisons the canisters with small motors. Canisters then disperse chemical agent through either main canister itself or through multiple pellets that disperse the agent over a prolonged period of time.
• ATSM-2: Anti-Tank Sub-Munition Type II is the significantly more expensive version of the two anti-tank options for the missile. Released the same way as ATSM-1, the ATSM-2 munition is essentially an armoured 155mm guided anti-tank round with a tandem-shaped penetrator.
• RDSM-1: Runway Denial Sub-Munition Type I is a single large canister filled with 30 two-staged cratering charges and 200 anti-personnel mines. The effect of the cratering charge is two fold; The first detonation is shape-charged to blow through the runway's surface, with the second high-explosive charge producing a large crater. The mines that are deployed along with the charges perform area denial service.
• MDSM-1: Mine Dispensing Sub-Munition Type I consists of 72 anti-tank and 22 anti-personnel mines per canister for the fast creation of mine fields.

Operators

Belfras