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In the grim darkness of the far future, Jamming systems are still used.....

Luco wrote:That isn't a wiki, the reply was given by a rocket scientist with awards in engineering and awards from nasa. Those would be projectiles, or possibly ufo's if you throw them hard enough (not the hamster preferably), unless the two are identical, except that rockets are also projectiles and rockets and missiles arent the same in military terms. Projectile is a blanket term for anything that gets thrown, rocket uses an engine, missile is a rocket with a guidance system.

What is a Saturn five?

What about a guided bomb or shell?

A guided bomb is a smart bomb.

You know, kinda like the Ork bomb which has a grot riding in it, only it's a computer instead of a grot (and therefor smarter).

What about the re-entry vehicle of a ballistic missile?

The ballistic stage is unguided. The re-entry vehicle is guided but has no motor.

Didn't you answer your own question?

Luco wrote:That isn't a wiki, the reply was given by a rocket scientist with awards in engineering and awards from nasa. Those would be projectiles, or possibly ufo's if you throw them hard enough (not the hamster preferably), unless the two are identical, except that rockets are also projectiles and rockets and missiles arent the same in military terms. Projectile is a blanket term for anything that gets thrown, rocket uses an engine, missile is a rocket with a guidance system.

Grey Templar is correct, the word missile is a standard word in the english language that refers to a weapon that can be thrown or otherwise launched through the air. According to the dictionaries I've seen so far the word has been in use for around 400 years and comes from the French. Missiles have been around long before guidance systems.




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Melissia wrote:A guided bomb is a smart bomb.

You know, kinda like the Ork bomb which has a grot riding in it, only it's a computer instead of a grot (and therefor smarter).

Isn't substituting a superior computer for a grot rather stupid though? The orks have more sense than they let on me thinks.

A guided bomb is still a bomb because it has no rocket motor. A missile is a guided rocket, thus no rocket = no missile.

The unit as a whole is a rocket, as the rocket drops away it becomes a bomb.

Yes its an old term, but terminologies change.

Reading from your OP, it would seem like GW wanted the "missile" launcher to sound more futuristic than the missile launchers we have today, 40,000 years before the 40K universe is set.

How about if the missile launcher was too accurate it would blow the whole game equilibrium because the marine player could just load up on MLs and they'd always hit. In the fluff the launchers are guided, in the game they are not.

A spear is still a missile when thrown btw, despite what pet definitions others think they have discovered.

i actually wouldn't imagine their "man portable weapons that can fire an Armor piercing or an fragmentation projectile that uses a rocket to give it speed", other then payload, have advance much more then todays "man portable weapons that can fire an Armor piercing or an fragmentation projectile that uses a rocket to give it speed"

It's not described as being a particularly advanced weapon in Dark Heresy.

Hell, they still use RPGs i the Imperium.

Hunter Killers and lasgun.

weapon of choice for the terrorist of the 41st millenium.

Melissia wrote:Didn't you answer your own question?

I supplied relevant information to help others answer it, information that shows the definition of a missile as a guided rocket is not 100% applicable.

Missile historically originated from latin as a term to describe any object fired, thrown, dropped or otherwise projected at a target, but in current (especially military) parlance missile indeed refers a to rocket-propelled weapon that flies either in a fixed trajectory (ballistic missile) or in a trajectory that can be controlled during flight (guided missile).

It's pretty grandpa-ish to refer to unguided objects as 'missiles' even though it's historically correct.

Halfpast_Yellow wrote:

It's pretty grandpa-ish to refer to unguided objects as 'missiles' even though it's historically correct.

I'm a historical wargamer, so I have to deal with weapons 5,000 years old.

And I enjoy WFB just as much as I enjoy 40k (at least the fluff bits anyway), as well, so same thing here really.

Grey Templar wrote:I actually wouldn't imagine their "man portable weapons that can fire an Armor piercing or an fragmentation projectile that uses a rocket to give it speed", other then payload, have advance much more then today's "man portable weapons that can fire an Armor piercing or an fragmentation projectile that uses a rocket to give it speed"

Sounds about right, honestly. Especially when you think of the standard man-portable ML/RL(the Guard one at least) as an AT-4/RPG-7 equivalent and Hunter-Killers as a Javelin equivalent.

Save for more destructive warheads, better fuel, and generally better materials in most cases.

...Really Mel?

There's a bit in that quote that says "save for payload". That statement was completely unnecessary.

Luco wrote:That isn't a wiki, the reply was given by a rocket scientist with awards in engineering and awards from nasa. Those would be projectiles, or possibly ufo's if you throw them hard enough (not the hamster preferably), unless the two are identical, except that rockets are also projectiles and rockets and missiles arent the same in military terms. Projectile is a blanket term for anything that gets thrown, rocket uses an engine, missile is a rocket with a guidance system.

Was this scientist American? America and the English share the same language in basic form however specific meanings of individual words vary just look at the word 'pants' for example or 'allied target'. Therefore despite the fact that this chap may be a world renounced scientist (good for him) it does not make his use of English necessarily reliable hence why Microsoft Word had English (US) and English (UK).

Back in 2nd edition, Marine Cyclone Launchers used a targeting system that provided a +1 BS bonus when used. On this assumption, I guess marines have had guided missiles for a while.

and now that is represented by the marine being able to use his Stormbolter and missile launcher simultaniously.