ACM-13 Lilith
| ACM-13 Lilith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Place of origin | Arthurista |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2010-present |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Arthuristan Dynamics |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 500kg |
| Length | 3.95m |
| Warhead | 125kg HEAP |
| Engine | turbojet |
Operational range | 180-560km, depending on launch altitude and flight profile |
| Speed | High subsonic |
Guidance system | Inertial, jam-resistant rapid frequency-hopping datalink, SATNAV, TERCOM, IIR homing, target database |
Launch platform | Ships, submarines, aircraft, trucks |
The ACM-13 Lilith is a stealthy, subsonic sea-skimming/terrain-conforming cruise missile in Arthuristan service. It was designed to provide stand-off striking power for Arthuristan 5th generation fighter bombers, without compromising their stealth characteristics by being able to fit into their internal weapon bays. Unlike previous Arthuristan cruise missiles, which require separate land attack and anti-ship variants, the Lilith is able to fulfill both functions due to its new guidance package. In the cruise phase, it navigates towards its target using a mixture of inertial guidance, SATNAV and TERCOM, with a datalink providing the means for mid-course correction. In the terminal phase, it uses an imaging infra-red homing system to acquire its target, matching it to its on-board targeting database to pick out high value enemy assets (such as a carrier among its smaller escorts). The targeting-database system also allows it to maximise the utility of its relatively light warhead by attacking the most vulnerable parts of an enemy ship, such as radars, bridge and vertical-launch systems - vital components which are almost impossible to protect and whose damage or destruction may potentially cause a warship to be 'mission-killed'.
This targeting package also makes Lilith an ideal weapon to attack targets hiding in cluttered environments such as littoral or urban areas. New generation multi-spectrum passive defence systems, which throw up an IR-smokescreen in an attempt to mask the ship, are defeated using a simple target-location and -course memory program which, combined with the low warning time available to the defending vessels, ought to ensure that a hit would still be scored.
The missile is capable of penetrating modern integrated air defence belts by virtue of its stealthy design, using a combination of RCS-reducing architecture and radar-absorbent materiel to decrease its signature, cruising under the radar in terrain-hugging/sea-skimming mode. In the terminal phase, it is capable of performing a rapid series of random maneouvres to evade defensive fire.