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Boombooster
Boombooster
Image from Steve Bowers
To avoid interception this autowar is using a lateral boombooster to jink sideways
Modified application of ACER technology used to rapidly launch or redirect automated weapons or other devices.

Boomboosters use a modified form of ACER technology to create a compact microfission or microfusion/fission explosive that is jacketed in material that creates a shockwave of plasma and fragments upon detonation. Launched from a suitably designed spacecraft, this shockwave provides a powerful propulsive force, whether against a reaction plate, a magnetic ‘virtual reaction chamber’, or the suitably hardened hull of the craft itself.

Boomboosters are most often used with military craft, such as autowars, that may spend long periods of time in a station keeping or even passive stealth mode while also needing to launch almost instantly and without regard to the limitations of biont crewmembers. While most reaction drives require some period of time to power up, self-test, and then activate, a suitably designed nuclear pulse system can accelerate a craft to high speeds in a fraction of a second and allow it to keep accelerating until its main drive is ready to activate and take over propulsion.

Boomboosters are also used to allow warcraft to rapidly change direction or stop, particularly if they are being targeted by energy weapons. The detonation flash, secondary EMP, and resulting plasma cloud may also temporarily confuse enemy sensors, allowing the deploying craft to successfully ‘dodge’ the incoming strike and go on to either counter-attack or even escape.

Most high-tech, ultratech, and even transapient military forces use boomboosters to one degree or another, although the sophistication of the technology can vary enormously. While reactionless drives can, in principle, outperform nuclear pulse systems, the vastly larger infrastructure requirements of the former continues to make boomboosters the more commonly selected option.
 
Appears in Topics
Atmospheric WeaponsPropulsion TechnologySpace-Based Weapons
 
Development Notes
Text by Todd Drashner
Initially published on 03 July 2013.

 
 
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