ACM-8 Malphas
| ACM-8 Malphas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Place of origin | Arthurista |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1985-present |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Arthuristan Dynamics |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 1,200kg |
| Length | 4.3m |
| Warhead | 150kg HEAP or 0.5-150kt Red Hammer warhead |
| Engine | turbojet |
Operational range | Depending on flight-profile and altitude, 240-480km |
| Flight altitude | Depending on flight-profile. Sea-skimming/tercom to 12.2km |
| Speed | Depending on altitude, Mach 2.5-5.5 |
Launch platform | Aircraft |
The ACM-8 Malphas is a supersonic cruise missile of Arthuristan origin. It was originally developed in the late-70s to early-80s as a compact and lightweight replacement for the ACM-3 Bune which could be carried by tactical fighter bombers. Originally conceived as a stand-off nuclear attack ordnance, its designers quickly realised the missile's strengths and adapted it to carry a conventional payload.
The ACM-8 is designed to penetrate heavily-defended airspace using high speed and maneouverability. It features a wingless airframe entirely dependent upon body-lift. Its most innovative feature is the missile's dual-cycle engine, which functions as a solid rocket-motor during the initial acceleration phase. Once the missile has accelerated to mach 2, a small charge detonates the frangible glass blocking the air inlet, allowing airflow into the now-empty rocket casing and turning it into a ramjet.
The missile features a thrust-vectoring nozzle. In the terminal phase it may carry out rapid random evasive manouevres to protect itself against defensive fire.
The missile is designed to fly a variety of flight profiles. In a high-speed semi-ballistic approach, the missile will cruise at 12,220m at mach 5.5 and dive towards the target from above, with a maximum range of 480km. A purely low-altitude terrain-conforming/sea-skimming approach would cut both range and top speed by 50%. Most mission profiles call for a mixed approach which would involve low-altitude flying only at the final approach to the target. As an anti-ship weapon, its 125kg shaped charge warhead is relatively lightweight, smaller than the Sieuxerrian Exocet, Rodarian C-802 or Anikatian Kh-35, although its lethality is likely more than compensated by its supersonic speed.
The ACM-8 Malphas utilises an inertial/SATNAV-based guidance package for the cruise phase, supplemented by a frequency-hopping datalink. The first mark of the missile featured three options for homing packages: a land-attack version with SATNAV, an anti-ship version with frequency-hopping active-radar and an anti-radiation version with passive radar. The current Mark 2 version utilises an imaging-infra red/targeting database combination to replace all three.