Lithium SAM

A type of surface - air missile used by the Hyperion Federation. It is carried by infantry.   The Lithium missile is mostly filled with tracking and maneuverabnility equipment. This allows it to maneuver at extremely high Gs while using multiple methods (making it extremely hard to softkill) of homing to constantly track the position of the target in real time. This does mean, however, that its payload is small in size and not extremely powerful.   Its engine is also powerful which results in the Lithium flying at high velocity.Because many aerial vehicles are not very strongly armoured, such a powerful payload is not required. Against armoured targets, the HF would use larger and less maneuverable missiles.   The tracker makes use of a combination of radar and IR tracking methods. It is also automated by very complex algorithms that determine an enemie's position using a camera. The algorithm identifies the enemy craft against the surroundings. Due to its low armour penetration nature, it is not usually used against heavily armoured aerial targets like ATVs or Taidakic Field airships. Though this has somewhat limited its use, the Lithium has a long and reliable track record against its intended targets. It might also be able to damage an armoured target when hitting weakpoints, which rarely happens. The missile rarely misses the target however so it is one of the more common SAMs in use by the HF. The missile is quite large, being just over 1 m in length. It is usually carried by vehicles like dedicated AA tanks or trucks. They can also be fired by a team of infantry who can fire the missile without a barrel, but this is suboptimal as the missile must acquire its momentum before flight which can render an area around the missile dangerous for a few seconds, also giving the plane time to track the missile and perform countermeasures.