Lepus (Nykean for Hare) is a short range ballistic missile developed by Nykea, Falkre, and SMDB from the years 1949 to 1953. The Missile began to enter service in Fall of 1953 with the Nykean Military. The purpose of Lepus is to serve as both a deterrent to adversaries and a supplemental arm to the Nations it is employed with.
Development History
After the Great War Nykea and Falkre began to form closer bonds and initiate several joint programs, one of which being a ballistic missile program. Both governments agreed that a deterrent was needed to avoid future conflict. In late 1948 a joint commission on deterrence concluded that the best course of action, to deter conflict and maintain independence for all parties in Carinidal, would incorporate a ballistic missile program, similar in concept to the Kassian KW2.
In late 1948 design requirements were drafted for the at the time unnamed project. The ballistic missile needed to be capable of delivering 1.5 tons of payload onto its target, have a minimum range of 200 km, and be either capable of mass production or precision of 1 km or better. The project would then be split into three components, the missile, the guidance unit, and a mobile launcher. Nykean engineers were charged with the design of the missile and its engine, with the guidance unit and launcher being assigned to Falkrian engineers.
The Furritus engine was designed with a 9 ton missile in mind, however as the Lepus project progressed the lift requirements placed on Furritus would rapidly increase. By the end of 1949 four test articles of the Furritus engine had been produced, and after a further 6 month test regime the design was finalized. Further improvements to the reliability of the engine would be made alongside Lepus, but the thrust, ISP, and other main design parameters remained the same.
During this time there was debate among the military officials of Nykea on whether to employ an explosive warhead during tests or not. The two prevailing opinions were installation of large dye packets to mark the target area, and use of a live warhead to test the system more accurately to its reality. A Kutsani military advisor present at one of these debates suggested filling the nose with lead, to which he was met by mumbling and groaning from both sides[1]. Ultimately the lead ballast was chosen as it would not slosh during flight or cause severe damage in the case of guidance failure.
In 1950 wind tunnel models of the now Lepus project were analyzed and a design chosen. Lepus was to be a straight, roughly 6 meter long missile with a 2 meter long nose cone containing the payload. at the time Lepus weighed only slightly more than Furritus was intended to launch, weighing 10 tons fully loaded on the drawing board. The first mock ups of Lepus proved that the design integrity was not sufficient. The support for the engine, while capable of bearing static loads, was weakened by high dynamic stress in the start-up process, and could not bear long duration burns that would be required. between February and May 1950 the design was improved and tested again, with weight increased by 130 kg by new structure. The Falkrian Inertial Measurement Unit was completed by September 1950, being integrated with Lepus in October and tested in Nykea at the end of October.
Initial tests of Lepus showed an abysmal error of 80 km from target, consistently overshooting the target and veering towards the east. This was determined to be the result of a failure to agree on standards between Nykean and Falkrian engineers, which was soon rectified. The next test occurred in January 1951, with the missile performing better than before, lying roughly on the line between target and launch site, but having burnt up on re-entry. Observations of the missile upon re-entry determined that it was experiencing higher than expected heating on the aft section of the missile, leading to a failure of the structure. At this point Lepus was re-designed once more, and after a 5 month period of deliberation and input from military officials the range requirement was extended to 600 km. Amid these deliberations it was decided a larger production base was required, and SMDB was invited to the Lepus program.
In November 1951 testing began on the re-designed Lepus, and while re-entry no longer destroyed the vehicle and its range was vastly improved, the guidance on ascent of the missile was flawed, leading to the missile consistently passing over the target at an altitude of 20 kilometers. The dynamics of re-entry were poorly understood by the designers when the guidance system was designed, and as such the guidance system cut off engines too late. New research was conducted on the next several flights of Lepus to better understand the high heating, and shape the ascent profile in a more appropriate way. March 1952 saw a second re-design of Lepus, with the vehicle split into two stages, the payload separating from the missile and having fins added to the re-entry vehicle. Now Lepus weighed in at a significant 13.4 tons, and 12.3 meters in length. Furritus went from being capable of providing a thrust to weight of 2.9 to only 1.9, still capable of lifting the payload, but having a longer dwell time in atmosphere than originally intended.
During the Fall of 1952 testing regime, Lepus proved to be capable of more than the intended 600 km range, reaching its official range of 800 km. Accuracy was also improved, but still wanting, especially for a weapon of its cost. By now Lepus had incurred a total project cost of 1.3 billion Para, and was beginning to exceed its initial budget under the Nykean government. Not wanting to cease development and waste excessive funds for no reward, but also wishing to prevent further loss, the Nykean Congress approved an additional year of funding for Lepus. The Falkrian development team also produced a more capable and accurate Inertial Measurement Unit, which when tested in December 1952 through March 1953 proved to be accurate enough for the Nykean Government to consider adopting Lepus into service.
By the end of July Lepus was adopted into service by the Nykean Congress, new production facilities were approved, and SMDB awarded a contract to produce and further develop Lepus, alongside Nykean and Falkrian production firms.
Operational History
As of 1953 all deployments of Lepus are considered Top Secret by the adopting nations. No further information is available at this time.
Notes
[1] - The direct quote from the advisor is attributed as being multiple different variations on similar phrases, but the most agreed upon is "Why don't you stop bickering and just fill the damned thing with Lead".