The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Alasht, who had his helmet tucked under his arm, nodded solemnly after hearing that Soshjan was going to assign warships to the White Templars, and said loudly:

"Thank you for the support of the legion commander. The battle group has indeed lost a lot of light ships in the Great Vortex Expedition and urgently needs to be replenished."

"It's not just support, Centurion Alasht. The rational allocation of ship resources is also a compulsory course for a commander."

"Yes, I will keep it in mind."

Afterwards, the shuttle came to the end of the Nova-class, where a warship with a size close to a light cruiser was parked, but the appearance and bridge distribution were slightly different from the existing warships of the Empire.

"This Viper-class destroyer has also completed all tests and is ready to be put into actual combat for inspection, but many sages still have doubts about its combat effectiveness."

The Viper-class missile destroyer is an extreme variant of the Cobra-class destroyer. Its original design aimed to remove most of the Cobra-class's weapons in order to add more torpedo launchers, and to add boarding torpedoes to its standard equipment, making it a professional torpedo destroyer or boarding team transport destroyer.

However, this design proved not very successful in actual combat, because the destroyer could not carry enough crew to carry out large-scale boarding, and the destroyer's limited ammunition capacity meant that they could not carry many torpedoes, and had almost no sustained combat capability, and could only be used as a simple decisive weapon.

For the Imperial Navy, which pursues efficiency and versatility, this result was unacceptable, so the Viper-class program was completely abandoned, and most of the Viper-class destroyers were refitted to their standard equipment.

However, after personally participating in several large-scale naval battles, Soshjan realized that the effect of large-scale missile or torpedo attacks was still valuable, especially after he reached a certain position and height. He had long had the idea of doing something for the human empire, such as updating or creating some valuable new tactics.

For example, he asked Ulanhuda to build a Viper-class. The initial idea was that if the warhead could be reduced in size without reducing the power, thereby increasing the ammunition capacity, then the Viper-class might become a weapon very suitable for large-scale naval battles, and add a newer option to the Empire's naval tactics. As for the suitable warhead, there might be a chance to encounter it in the future.

Unexpectedly, it was really found in the Great Vortex Expedition. The Riza's Sunfall-type plasma missile became Soshjan's target.

This special plasma missile is a powerful weapon used by large Titans in Riza's belligerent Titan Legion, such as the Warlord-class. It is larger than a normal plasma missile. Even the huge war engine of the Warlord-class Titan can only carry 6 rounds at a time, but it is smaller than a ship-borne torpedo. This model of plasma missile is even equipped with three small plasma engines, making it extremely fast after launch and has a very long range. The maximum controllable range of the engine in space can reach 60,000 kilometers - but the actual combat distance is probably only about 20,000 kilometers, and it will decompose into six plasma clusters equivalent to the mass of a plasma shock cannon's single shot before impact, which can fill a large area with deadly plasma without being interfered by enemy equipment, causing coverage to enemy Titans or other heavily armored targets - huge damage.

According to the Riza Forge Master, the single-shot power of this missile is even stronger than the Doomstrike missile used by the Warmaster-class Titan, so even the armor shell of a cruiser may not be able to withstand a few more shots.

In addition, this missile is also equipped with a hunter wetware system, which can autonomously track and lock on large targets, avoid obstacles on the route, and perform multi-stage curved maneuvers.

The thing is a good thing, but this is Riza's special skill, and Soshjan can't get it just by talking about it. Even with his relationship, he only got the "right to purchase" from the Forge Master in the end, but the installation and use must still be the responsibility of Riza's Tech-Priests.

Although there are indeed many restrictions, it does give the Viper-class, a "rejected plan" model, a new possibility.

"Legion Commander, we have re-adjusted the structure of the Viper-class, abandoning the torpedo tubes on the bow and the main weapon on the spine, and placing the missile vertical launch platform in the front half of the ship, launching from the upper deck. It can launch 72 Sunfall missiles in one minute. In addition, there is an automatic reloading system that can reload 72 Sunfall missiles in ten minutes. The entire ship can carry 216 Sunfall missiles. In addition, a cruiser-class detection system and radar are installed in the rear half of the ship, so that the scanning range of the ship can cover the maximum shooting range of the missiles. Considering the energy occupancy rate of these systems, we had to remove all energy weapons and added two engine nozzles to give it extremely fast speed so that it can immediately escape the enemy's firepower range after launching. It is quite safe during combat."

After adding the Sunfall missiles, the Viper-class's firepower is undeniably fierce. Even if it is extremely calculated that a salvo has an 80% interception rate, it still means that 14 missiles will hit the target in a salvo, which is equivalent to suffering 84 shots from a plasma shock cannon. Not to mention small ships, even a Lunar-class may not be able to withstand a salvo of void shields, and the Viper-class itself is just a destroyer.

Although the combat range of the Sunfall missiles cannot be compared with long-range energy weapons such as lances, its instantaneous burst output is enough to compare with the close-range salvo of a cruiser. Coupled with its smaller hull and faster speed, its survivability is still guaranteed to a certain extent during combat.

Of course, there is a price to pay.

"After removing all energy weapons, the Viper-class only has point defense guns on both sides of the hull and a light bombardment cannon. The direct-fire firepower may be worse than that of a galaxy escort ship, so it cannot perform combat missions independently. This is also the reason why many sages question it."

In fact, for Soshjan, what Bangura said is not a problem. The real problem is...

Sunfall missiles are too expensive!

This is Riza's special skill, and even a "deep partner" like Soshjan can't cut down the price. To put it this way, 72 Sunfall missiles are equal to 72 Leman Russ tanks. The Viper-class is equivalent to destroying a tank regiment in one round.

As for why it is so expensive, Soshjan doesn't know. Riza won't tell him whether it is expensive in materials or technology. Anyway, Riza strictly protects the most core plasma compression sub-warhead technology of this missile. If you don't buy theirs, Soshjan has nowhere to find it.

Soshjan sometimes wonders, if other forge worlds can master this technology, maybe this missile won't be so expensive?

But there is no way, this is the current situation of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Everyone relies on technological barriers to make a living, so they can only build the barriers higher and higher.

So Soshjan only asked Bangura to build one of this Ulanhuda-type Viper-class destroyer, more to verify tactical and technical use. If there are more suitable missiles in the future, maybe this type of destroyer will shine.

If it proves that the idea of this fast missile ship is feasible, Soshjan will promote it to other Astartes chapters and the Imperial Navy. He does not intend to hide it and only use it for his own use. If it can open up the already very solidified combat ideas of the Imperial Navy, then the original intention of developing this model of warship will be achieved.

"It doesn't matter, it is only experimental in nature. I didn't expect it to immediately form a powerful combat force. What I want to see is a new idea, a new way of thinking. After all, our enemies are constantly changing. If our tactics do not change or innovate accordingly, this does not conform to the general rules of war. Any force in the Empire can be complacent, but the Astartes must never, because we never know what enemies we may face. The First Tyrannic War is a bloody lesson."

"The legion commander is right."