RIM-442 Anubis

Developed in 2551, the 'AShM 441 "Anubis" is an anti-ship missile designed by Sierra Space Systems for use against Covenant capital ships. Seeing its first use during the Battle of Minorca, deployed in early 2552, the missile was scheduled to be adopted into full frontline service by 2553, but the Battle of Earth saw the entire production line destroyed by Seraph bombing runs.

Development
Working on a contract from Fleet Command for a missile that would be effective against Covenant ships, far more so than the appallingly inadequate Archer missiles currently in service, Sierra proposed a number of designs, all of which were considered and rejected in turn. The first proposal used ionised plasma surrounding the missile to prevent detection by enemy sensors, effectively rendering it invisible, improving the number of strikes. The second was a minor yeild boost to the current missiles. The third was to fit a number of smaller missiles within one capsule, flooding enemy sensors. This would eventually be reworked into the AShM 442 "Hydra" missile.

The fourth was the onle design to be considered. It used what little scientific principles the UNSC knew that Covenant shields used to take advantage of their weaknesses. Using controlled electromagnetic fields to hold a barrier of superheated plasma in place around the ship, Covenant ships have proven susceptible only to their own weapons. It was a supposed "common fact" that only plasma weapons would damage them enough to be worth investing in - that "fact is incorrect." It is the electromagnetic field used to guide the plasma to the target that renders the shields inoperable - the two EM fields cancel each other out, the plasma barrier collapses, and a gap is left. The missile proposal essentially eradicated the need for plasma, in favour of generating a much larger EMP burst to interrupt Covenant shields.

Designated the XAShM-441, the first prototypes were essentially Archer missiles with their warheads removed and replaced with an EMP device installed. Captured shield generators were rendered temporarily inoperable by early tests, and in later tests were rendered fully inoperable. Designed for use in a total vacuum, the missile first releases a fine spray of conductive debris, and then generates the electromagnetic pulse which is conducted through the material to the shields. Demonstrations to FLEETCOM observers were somewhat hampered by the unexpected side-effect of shutting down allied ships too close to the test, and although unimpressed with this setback, allowed funding to continue.

Seven prototypes were deployed to various ships within the UNSC fleet for use against Covenant warships. The first use of one of the prototypes was in 2549, at the Battle of Delta Pavonis, where the UNSC Cheyenne managed to make a direct hit on the enemy battlegroup, bringing down the shields of three ships, and managing to destroy two and badly damage the third. This was deemed by FLEETCOM as an unprecedented success, and the missile was redesignated AShM 441, codenamed the "Anubis", and put into mass production.

Its only other use was at the Battle of Minorca, where it was put to similar effect in rendering concentrated battlegroups vulnerable. Expected to enter UNSC service sometime within mid-2553, the Covenant invasion of Sol, and Earth in particular, destroyed the entire production line and factory. The last Anubis missile was carried by the UNSC Aeneas, and only schematics and plans of it exist today, though efforts by ONI have seen several projects launched that plan to improve upon it.

Design
Rather than a conventional payload, the Anubis fits an extremely efficient electromagnetic pulse generator rather than a warhead. Given that actual impact would destroy the missile, and the EMP generator, the Anubis set into a proximity fuse, programmed to activate forty meters from the target's shields. The actual range of the Anubis extends in a two-kilometer radius, boosted by a fine spray of conductive material ejected beforehand, and improving the effectiveness of the missile.

By itself, the Anubis cannot deal significant damage to an enemy ship. Electronic and computer systems may be effected, but ultimately the missile is destroyed by impact against the hull, dealing little damage. The entire point of the missile is to open up a gap in the shields of the enemy ship or fleet, through which conventional Archer or Hydra missiles can pass through, striking the hull. Initial designs allowed the missile to be recovered after use, but its own EMP generator renders its guidance systems inoperative, and its momentum carries it into the targets hull before retrieval can begin.

The actual missile itself differs from the Archer missiles it was originally based on. Rather than conventionalc hemical rockets, it uses a small but efficient Hall Effect Thruster to propelling ionised gas behind it, providing thrust. This thruster is shrouded in stealth metamaterial, rendering it optically invisible and rendering enemy LDAR, MASER and RADAR systems ineffective.