Missile Launch & Flight
How a missile is guided — and how it loses the shot.
FOUR WAYS TO FIND A TARGET
| GUIDANCE | FAMILIES | IN FLIGHT |
|---|---|---|
| RADAR, SEMI-ACTIVE (SARH) | Some SAMs, naval, air-to-ground and anti-armor missiles | Needs a fire-control lock until the terminal phase |
| RADAR, ACTIVE (ARH) | Most long-range air-to-air, SAM and naval missiles | Needs a fire-control lock until the terminal phase |
| SELF-HOMING | IR air-to-air, cruise, laser-guided, loitering, swarm, hypersonic, most ATGMs, torpedoes | No outside guidance — terminal from launch |
| FIXED POINT | Ballistic, surface-to-surface, bombs | Flies to where the target stood at launch |
GUIDANCE PHASES
Radar-guided missiles fly in three phases, set by the distance left to the target as a share of the missile's own range:
| PHASE | WHEN |
|---|---|
| MID-COURSE | From launch until half the missile’s range from the target |
| SEEKER ACQUIRE | Inside 50% of its range |
| TERMINAL | Inside 15% of its range — the missile is on its own |
LIVE HOMING
Everything except fixed-point weapons re-reads its target's real position every tick and homes on wherever the target is now. If the target is destroyed or removed before arrival, the missile doesn't look for a replacement — it's a miss. Coordinate strikes and bombing runs fly to a map point and hit whatever is there.
ARRIVAL IS CHECKED, NOT SCHEDULED
Flight time is estimated at launch (distance ÷ missile speed) and used as a timeout ceiling — the missile arrives when it closes within ~200 m of its aim point, with a 5-second grace past the estimate before it's ruled a miss.
BALLISTIC ARCS & DROPPED BOMBS
Ballistic, hypersonic and surface-to-surface missiles fly a parabolic arc, peaking at roughly 25% of the launch-to-target distance (capped at 400 km). Bombs fall under gravity at about 200 m/s from their release altitude, with no course correction after release.
AIRCRAFT SELF-DEFENSE
Self-defense is a separate, purely reactive layer: any airborne aircraft being chased by an incoming missile auto-fires its own interceptor the instant that missile enters its personal defensive range — no player input, no coordinator involvement. It only triggers for aircraft actually in the air; grounded aircraft rely on ground defense. Stacked aircraft each get an independent chance against the same inbound missile.
| ENGAGEMENT DOCTRINE | BEHAVIOR |
|---|---|
| AGGRESSIVE | Fires everything loaded at the first incoming missile — nothing left if a second arrives right after |
| DEFAULT (CONSERVATIVE) | Holds back, fires one round per incoming missile |