Ares missile

The Ares missile was the iconic anti-shipping missile of the CMA Navy, and was later adopted in limited numbers by the UNSC Navy.

Description
The Ares was the standard-issue weapon bestowed to Colonial Navy warships during the UNSC-CMA Cold War, and was equipped on everything from refitted Pax Humanan frigates all the way up to their fearsome supercapital ships. It was, in every sense of the phrase, a monstrously huge and capable missile, as its entire development from driven by the introduction of new Titanium-A battleplate that rendered all other missiles ineffective at destroying warships bearing the new protection. So overbuilt was it that the most powerful variations of the line were only truly resisted by battleship hulls, rendering even the older models effective even by the end of the Insurrection.

As a consequence of this, the Ares missile had a number of notable drawbacks. Its size and weight meant that it was easily one of the most sluggish missiles of its days, and proved vulnerable to enemy point defence fire. This was in spite of its targeting system being difficult to trick with countermeasures, largely because of sheer computing power more than anything else. Moreover, CMA vessels could only carry a small number of missiles; even cruisers could only carry three Ares total to each silo, with smaller frigates sometimes having two or only one in many cases. This reflected the actual position of the Ares in CMA arsenals, in which they were carried more for deterrence when encountering rival UNSC starships than being intended as practical weapon systems. As a result, most ships carry some sort of lighter supplemental (and often more versatile) weapon system to serve their day-to-day needs, which includes either naval coilguns, Loki or Howler missiles.

Too large for Class-4 silos used to carry the M42 Archer, the Ares could only be accepted by Class-5 universal missile pods, like the Mark 71 traditionally used by the CMA.

M35 Ares
The initial development version, the M35 Ares offered only slightly less explosive power than its descendants to come. It was standard-issue on all CMA warships of the Cold War. It was introduced in 2472.

M44 Ares
Created in parallel with the M46 Ares, the M44 was a "short-tail" version that cut off most of the engine section in order to make the missile more agile, lighter, and easier to install on lighter warships, at the cost of reduced range. This meant that the M44 could actually be carried in pods of three missiles by Pax Humanan frigates. It was introduced in 2489, and was considered the standard model of the Insurrection.

M48 Ares
The strike-length version of the M48, which used lessons learned in the evolution of fusion missiles to increase its agility while also improving its velocity. This was the finally version of the Ares that actually entered service. It saw its debute in 2491.

M50 Ares
Inspired by lessons learned during actions against the Secessionist Union, the M50 model promised to be the first serious attempt at properly scaling down the Ares into a more compact and effective package. It never left the design stage, as the missile's development was hampered by budgetary problems caused by the VERITAS Scandal and the UNSC's renewed attempts at disarming the CMA. It was formally cancelled in 2509.