[Spaceships] 'Triple' bomb size instead of triple ammo count?

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by cmdicely

OTOH, its true that for kinetic-kill "bombs" (and I wonder if "mines" isn't a better word than "bombs", generally)

'Mines' seems like a word to avoid in space. You can't really do area-denial weapons very well between 'space is big' and 'stealth is hard'.

Originally Posted by ciaran_skye

I viewed the missiles as being long for their diameter, like a Sidewinder, AMRAAM, Harpoon or Standard, whereas the bombs were comparatively shorter. I also viewed the standard bomb as being a 500-lbs class weapon as opposed to the missile's 1,000 to 2,000-lbs class weapon. However that distinction makes little sense with SM+4 to SM+6 since most of the missiles are a small fraction of a ton each. Even assuming bombs simulate something similar to the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (250lbs range) they're still very small and there's the real-world question of whether the SMB can do what it's designed to do.

The distinction makes sense at the 28-32cm size range. Naturally it needs some adaptation for the rest, considering that missiles weigh anywhere from 133 pounds to 40 tons.

Comparing Spaceships bombs and missiles to atmospheric bombs and missiles is unwise, since they have very different modes of action. The ~44 pound conventional 16cm bomb isn't packed with explosives. Most of its mass is solid penetrators and maybe some terminal attack boosters and penaids. Its lethality comes from being delivered at a few miles per second.

Hum. It's a bit strange to me that bombs mass less than electromagnetic and grav gun shells. Why does the shell version weight 50% more?