A Missile Launcher is a weapon that can fire several types of self-propelled Missile, including both Frag and Krak Missiles. Frag (Fragmentation) projectiles are designed to spray a designated area with shrapnel, making these munitions highly useful against lightly armoured infantry. Krak projectiles cover less area but their warheads have improved penetrating capabilities, making them useful for taking down either heavily armoured infantry or moderately armoured vehicles. A missile is a self-propelled projectile, usually incorporating an electronic guidance system, that are tipped with a high explosive chemical, kinetic or plasma-based warhead. Missiles are usually self-propelled projectiles that make use of a chemical rocket, jet engine or even anti-gravity drive to provide motive force. Missiles are self-propelled projectiles that contain a guidance package while the term "rocket" usually refers to a similar self-propelled projectile which lacks an electronic guidance package and intead is fired using line-of-sight and its warhead detonates on impact. Rockets are thus often termed "fire-and-forget" weapons. Missile Launchers are used in one form or another by many of the different species and factions of the Milky Way Galaxy in the late 41st Millennium, including by the Loyalist Space Marines of the Imperium of Man, the Chaos Space Marines, the Orks, the Eldar, and the Fire Warriors of the Tau Empire.

Grenade Launchers are a weaker form of the Missile Launcher employed almost exclusively by the Imperial Guard, although Inquisitorial Stormtroopers and Adeptus Arbites units have been known to use them. They make use of Frag and Krak Grenades. Missile Launchers are primarily used by Space Marines because their Power Armour gives them the enhanced strength required to carry them into battle. Grenades, naturally, are less powerful than missiles, but are easier to fire on the move.

Imperial Missile Launcher VariantsEdit

• Armourbane Missile Launcher - The Armourbane Pattern Missile Launcher (unique to the Jericho Reach Deathwatch) is a squat, wide-barrelled launcher half as tall as a Space Marine. That is where the similarities to a standard Astartes Missile Launcher end, however, for whereas the anti-aircraft Missile Launcher is built to take down airborne targets, the Armourbane specialises in dealing with heavily-armoured ground units. This launcher is typically loaded with Hunter-Killer Krak Missiles, and is fitted with an array of Augurs and special Cogitators to guide its missiles smoothly to their targets. Armourbane Launchers give a Kill-team extra protection against armoured vehicles and large xenos beasts over and above that of a standard "Soundstrike" Missile Launcher. The special Augur array mounted to the Armourbane combines the benefits of a preysense sight and a red-dot laser sight.
• Soundstrike Missile Launcher - The Soundstrike Pattern Missile Launcher is the standard Imperial pattern of Missile Launcher used by the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes.

Imperial Missile TypesEdit

• Frag Missiles - Frag Missiles are designed to explode on impact with any surface, raking the immediate area with lethal shrapnel composed of aerodynamic metallic shards. Though Frag Missiles are primarily intended to be used as anti-infantry weapons, they can also be deployed effectively against light vehicles. Frag Missiles are often ineffective against heavily armoured infantry.
• Krak Missiles - Krak Missiles are primarily intended to serve as anti-vehicle weapons, and contain a high-strength shaped charge with a relatively small blast radius that causes massive damage to anything it hits with minimal collateral damage. Krak Missiles are also very effective against heavily armoured infantry, bunkers and other armoured or fortified static targets where their concentrated explosives will often punch holes straight through armour. However, a Krak Missile's small blast radius makes them impractical for use against most infantry and moving targets.
• Flakk Missiles - Flakk Missiles are designed to serve as anti-aircraft munitions so that when they explode they release a specially-shaped charge containing shrapnel intended to pierce the often lightly-armoured airframes of enemy aircraft. A Flakk Missile can be outfitted with heat-seeking or radar-based targetting packages.
• Astartes Anti-Plant Missiles - Astartes Anti-Plant Missiles are a stronger variant of the standard Imperial Anti-Plant Missiles. They release a vicious cocktail of toxins, viral agents, defoliants, and anti-fungal agents on detonation that reduce even the heartiest flora to a foul-smelling muck in minutes. Typically used to deny cover and to clear landing zones and fortification sites.
• Incendiary Missiles - Incendiary Missiles are commonly employed to flush out enemies in entrenched cover. Incendiary Missiles contain a slow-burning Promethium distillate that ignites when the missile explodes. The Promethium will also continue to burn in the area for a significant time after the missile has detonated.
• Plasma Missiles - Plasma Missiles are the larger incarnations of Imperial Plasma Grenades and are highly effective against most foes. A single salvo of Plasma Missiles can easily turn enemy troops into a smoking crater. It is for this reason, however, that the user of Plasma Missile weaponry must take care when firing one of these dangerous weapons to make sure that he and his comrades are sufficiently out of harm's way. Plasma Missiles utilise a deliberate plasma containment failure that erupts into a blast of white-hot energy upon impact. The dense plasma core of the missile is rarely entirely consumed in the initial explosion and will leave behind a glowing, energised orb that acts like a minature sun that leaves the immediate area of the impact unapproachable for some time. Plasma Missiles are especially effective against vehicles as the plasma core can quickly penetrate most vehicles' armour.
• Concussion Missiles - Concussion Missiles are outfitted with powerful high explosives and are very effective at breaking up entrenched enemy fortifications. Concussion Missiles are much beloved by the Battle-Brothers of the Imperial Fists garrisoned at Watch Fortress Erioch in the Jericho Reach while serving a term with the Deathwatch.
• Other Types: Missiles are extremely versatile and can potentially carry any conceivable type of warhead, including: Virus, Vortex, Smoke, Gas, Tanglefoot, Haywire, Stasis and Photon Flash warheads.

Other Missile LaunchersEdit

Missile launchers are versatile weapons, and the Imperium is not the only force to make use of them. Eldar Missile Launchers are similar to the Imperial equivalent but contain complex chambered pods each holding their own ammunition, all but eliminating the need to reload. They also differ in that they fire Plasma Missiles rather than the more crude Frag Missiles. Tau Missile Pods fire missiles that deal high damage against singular targets, while Seeker Missiles and Smart Missiles both use drone intelligences to guide themselves to their targets. Orks use a simple Rokkit Launcher that is very inaccurate due to the tendency of their Rokkits to corkscrew in flight, and due to the large amount of smoke produced when the Rokkit is launched. However, the Rokkit is nevertheless quite effective if it manages to hit the target.

SourcesEdit

• Deathwatch: Core Rulebook (RPG) pp. 151-152
• Deathwatch: Rites of Battle (RPG), pp. 136-137
• Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook (6th Edition), pg. 55
• Warhammer 40,000 Wargear (4th Edition)
• Warhammer 40,000 Wargear (2nd Edition)

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