The Essential Guide to Force Exile/Nighthawk missile

The weapons incentive that produced the Nighthawk was launched at the same time as the effort to produce the Ataru-class gunship, starting in 14 BBY. The first missiles were test-fired in 11 BBY, and went into full production in 10 BBY. At first, only the Ataru-class gunship could fire them, until Valkyrie starbombers were deployed in 9 BBY. It was no coincidence that the only two platforms that could fire the stealthy Nighthawk were themselves passively-stealthed; that is, possessed a low sensor cross-section without being fully cloaked.

The Nighthawk was a nine meter-long missile coated with black sensor-deflecting material and with a specially designed exhaust intended to lower its heat signature. In fact, the missile's launch mechanism meant that initial propulsion was provided by the launch mechanism and the inertial velocity of the launch vehicle. Coordinates for the target and projected intercept courses were downloaded into the missile's warhead by the firing vehicle, requiring a launch vehicle with significant computing capability.

The missile was then launched silently&mdash;almost no sensor reading was produced by the missile's firing. In fact, the Nighthawk cruised silently through space without engines or sensors active, requiring that it be aimed within a certain probability sphere in order for it to hit. Once the Nighthawk reached the edge of the probability sphere, which usually had a diameter of five kilometers, but could be reprogrammed at need, it activated. A high-impulse rocket and active sensors, along with an evasion pattern, initiated, driving the Nighthawk towards its target, which if it had not detected the missile before, would be unable to defend against it before being hit. If the target was not detected inside the probability cone, the Nighthawk's self-destruct activated. As such, the weapon was deadly to unsuspecting targets, but was very slow and required significant preparation to aim. The lack of active guidance meant that they also did not work against targets maneuvering evasively. These drawbacks and its price meant that it was never used except in the opening salvoes of a fleet engagement. Instead, standard capital-ship grade proton torpedoes were used for fleet combat.

However, the Nighthawk was designed to deal heavy damage to an unsuspecting target and it was quite successful in that role. The missiles were hard to detect and the relatively small engine and countermeasures package meant that more space could be reserved for ordnance. As such, the Nighthawk packed three times the explosive yield in the Krupx MG7-A proton torpedo commonly employed on the X-wing fighter. Nighthawks had to be armed manually prior to being fired, and their warhead was in fact split into three packages, allowing for various configurations to be equipped depending on the mission. Types of warhead included a shield disrupting ion package, a high-density armor-piercing penetrator, seismic charge, and a high-explosive tip.

Nighthawks were first used in combat in a covert strike on a Black Sun-owned orbital station over Nar Shaddaa in 8 BBY. Six missiles were launched from long range (500,000 kilometers) by the Ataru-class gunship Serra Keto. They successfully maneuvered into position using a pre-programmed flight path and reached the probability cone without detection. Upon activation, five of the six missiles impacted on the space station, destroying 76,000 kilograms of glitterstim and the Black Sun vigo in charge of Nar Shaddaa. The sixth Nighthawk missed the station and self-destructed. The result was spectacular, and the Nighthawks soon became the weapon of choice for quiet strikes.

Their next use was on Saloch, where they were employed against the Lortan fanatics. Three missiles were launched from orbit to strike landed Lortan ships. However, the after-battle reports were rather disappointing. While the Nighthawks had struck successfully, only two of the ships suffered severe damage. Furthermore, sensor nets were able to detect the Nighthawk with much greater ease than in space, due to the aerothermodynamics involved in re-entry. Also, the heat shields fitted to the missiles increased the sensor signature.

After that incident, Nighthawks were no longer used for orbital strikes, and they couldn't be launched from ground-based platforms due to the lack of inertial velocity and the adverse effects of gravity on their performance. However, that did not stop the Yanibar Guard from deploying them against spaceborne targets. The largest firing of Nighthawk missiles prior to 1 ABY was their use in 0 BBY against the Star Destroyer Impenetrable. A salvo of thirty missiles was fired, and though the Impenetrable managed to raise shields, they were not capable of withstanding that kind of explosive energy, and the result was the utter destruction of the command tower of the Star Destroyer.

All Nighthawk missile strikes had to be approved by the Defense Commission of Yanibar's Ruling Council, as their use typically incorporated both pre-emptive striking and the inability to provide any sort of warning or negotiations. The weapons themselves derived most of their success from their surprise factor, but that had drawbacks as a negotiation tool. As such, their use was limited, which was just as well due to their cost.

Behind the scenes
Nighthawk missiles were conceptualized as part of the Yanibar Guard inventory in order to provide a stealthy form of standoff firepower. They were originally intended to be hyperspace-capable, but the Cronau radiation that a vessel emerging from hyperspace would emit, as well the size and complexity of navicomputers, meant that such a weapon would be both impractical and too large for mass deployment. Nighthawk missiles also allowed the Yanibar Guard a means of striking targets without having to engage in direct fights against superior foes. The designation "Nighthawk" was inspired by the same nickname being given to the F-117A Nighthawk, the world's first operational stealth fighter. The actual characteristics of the missile were inspired from real-world torpedoes and cruise missiles. The depictions of the Nighthawk were created by Atarumaster88 using 3-D solid modeling CAD programs.

Appearances

 * Hard Code