STS-03 “Anvil”

The Anvil is an advanced 22kt nuclear missile. It fulfills the same role as the STS-01 but with more than double the yield at almost two thirds the price. ICA production is slowly shifting to producing Anvils, but the Gavel is still preeminent in missile combat due to the sheer number produced.

The STS-03 shares most of its components with the STS-01. The casing, engine, and fuel systems are identical and interchangeable. Internally, the Anvil features an upgraded ECCM suite and a W4 22kt thermonuclear warhead. The warhead is composed of lighter materials, and as such the missile has an extra 1km/s of dV compared to the Gavel.

The STS-03 can be deployed out of the same launch platforms as the STS-01 and fulfills the same anti-capital, anti-strikecraft, and anti-missile duties.

The Anvil features a vastly simplified design thanks to new metamaterial advancements.

While trivial for core worlds to produce, the metamaterials used in the new warhead design have proven to be difficult to manufacture for many colonial production plants, heavily delaying the modernization of the Gavel arsenal. Many frontier systems have opted to continue producing the original Gavel design for their patrol fleets rather than risk supply issues.