The obvious downside of the electromagnetic weapons is the charging time prior to the first shot, and the fact that you need a fully functioning power supply system to power them. Add to that, if an enemy has a decent sensor array they can probably detect the power being shunted towards the capacitors or whatever is used to power the weapons. Especially if they've got the drop on you or have their weapons spun up already.... that charge time gives them a chance to open fire.
(That said, I did once build a coilgun that used a three-phase electricity supply direct from the mains in the shed. It worked..... once. Then caught fire and fused itself because I'd rigged the breaker box so it wouldn't cut power when I switched it. That got expensive. The hardest part of the big zap guns is powering them. And not melting your power supply, or the wiring leading up to the power supply. And I don't want to know what happens when a capacitor bank that large takes a hit.)
There's a good reason why chemically propelled weaponry is still popular, especially for Q-ships and self-defence. It has a power signature of almost Zero, power requirements of almost zero and a rate of fire of up to 2 rounds a second. While they lack the raw kinetic punch of rail and coilguns...... they can also fire explosive ammunition that will burst *inside* the target rather than going through and through. (Another real danger with kinetic weapons is hitting what's on the other side of the target).
A number of pirate ships have been thoroughly surprised to stop what they think is a standard roadrunner, only for it to wait for the pirate to get close enough and unleash a torrent of fire from a battery of 76mm gast-action dual-barrel autocannon, firing 4 rounds per second at point blank range, a mix of armour piercing and explosive shot that should pretty much cripple anything.
And for missiles. If I was insane, I'd replace the boosters on This with guided kinetic missiles. Run at the target at .15-.18c..... launch missile from outside the drive field and hope they hit. Because changing vectors at that speed is going to be tough.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
(That said, I did once build a coilgun that used a three-phase electricity supply direct from the mains in the shed. It worked..... once. Then caught fire and fused itself because I'd rigged the breaker box so it wouldn't cut power when I switched it. That got expensive. The hardest part of the big zap guns is powering them. And not melting your power supply, or the wiring leading up to the power supply. And I don't want to know what happens when a capacitor bank that large takes a hit.)
There's a good reason why chemically propelled weaponry is still popular, especially for Q-ships and self-defence. It has a power signature of almost Zero, power requirements of almost zero and a rate of fire of up to 2 rounds a second. While they lack the raw kinetic punch of rail and coilguns...... they can also fire explosive ammunition that will burst *inside* the target rather than going through and through. (Another real danger with kinetic weapons is hitting what's on the other side of the target).
A number of pirate ships have been thoroughly surprised to stop what they think is a standard roadrunner, only for it to wait for the pirate to get close enough and unleash a torrent of fire from a battery of 76mm gast-action dual-barrel autocannon, firing 4 rounds per second at point blank range, a mix of armour piercing and explosive shot that should pretty much cripple anything.
And for missiles. If I was insane, I'd replace the boosters on This with guided kinetic missiles. Run at the target at .15-.18c..... launch missile from outside the drive field and hope they hit. Because changing vectors at that speed is going to be tough.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?