So you guys are saying that the new missiles can ONLY be fired out of modular pods, and can NEVER be just hung off pylons? I don't buy it for a second. They wouldn't be anything like 'universal' if that were the case.
No, however the changes from the URLS means that some of the old pylons do not work for the new missiles. The issue is that before we had a ton of different pylons to cover the various missiles produced across the military. That is changed as URLS now has 4 standard missile sizes and configurations. The Orca Dev was taken at the same time so the new Orca, A-16 is designed from the ground up to work with the URLS system. Also note that currently the A-15 has no anti-air ability, something fixed in the A-16
[ ] Universal Rocket Launch System Development
GDI's ground forces require a wide array of different rockets and missiles, ranging from simple and cheap tactical launch systems such as those mounted on the Mammoth and Pitbull, to heavy anti-tank missiles, and increasingly the large heavy strike length bombardment missiles. However, this has proven to be an increasing strain on the overall logistical system.
(Progress 63/40: 15 Resources per die) (High Priority)
During the lead up to the Third Tiberium War, GDI was producing over fifty different rocket systems, ranging from 58.4mm in diameter rockets for the Mammoth tanks to Sidewinders, Rattlesnakes, and various multirole missile platforms such as those found on the Pitbull and Missile teams. Some guided, some unguided, and none produced in enough numbers that GDI could ensure a steady and uninterrupted supply by the late years of the war.
The solution that Ground Forces came up with was a modular missile system. A series of sizes and components that could be fit together to fill nearly any role. Codenamed Thunderbolt, the missiles come in four sizes. T5, at 50mm in diameter, T10, T15, and T20 at 200mm in diameter. The other key feature is variable length, from a 50cm baseline, up to 3.5 metres with modular solid fuel sections. Each can mount standardized seeker heads, payloads, fuel and exhaust assemblies to produce a staggering array of potential rocket systems.
For example, as a signal rocket, a short T5 can be equipped with a flare, firework, or even an antenna system with wire, and fired up into the air without all that much difficulty. However, the same basic platform and launcher can be reconfigured to destroy light vehicles or deliver long range fragmentation charges into concentrations of NOD infantry. Or it can be loaded as a submunition round for the T20, with ten of them capable of being loaded into the rocket. Things become more interesting at the larger sizes. The T15 and T20 are planned to become the baseline of lightweight, high mobility rocket artillery systems, using a mix of guided or unguided weapons. A return of the MLRS of the first two Tiberium Wars has already been planned, relying heavily on the longest and heaviest of the weapons available.
The only holdout so far has been the Navy, which has cited its need for longer range and heavier missiles as a problem. And even so, the Navy has seen fit to propose Thunderbolt + as a future project, building in the capacity for larger systems. Fundamentally, by ensuring cross-compatibility, it will make it so that GDI should never have to worry about running entirely out of ammunition. In terms of deployment, GDI will begin by converting a long list of surviving munitions factories over to the new standard. However, with demand expected to spike in the coming years, a series of new factories have already been planned.
