History Main / WeaponRunningTime

** Offensive strategems take anywhere from a second to twenty to call in. They're ''supposed'' to be aimed at the enemy, but in the chaos, a teammate can throw one down dangerously close, prompting a terrified scramble out of the way. Of particular note is the 500kg bomb, which has a one-second fuse -- when it lands on the cliff you're on instead of the valley you aimed it at, you have just enough time for an OhCrap!

** In a volcanic eruption or meteor shower, you have just enough time to spot incoming rocks and dodge.

All kinetic weapons have a finite speed --along with most energy-based ones-- they take time to get from the attacker to the target. Even light takes 8 minutes to reach Earth from the Sun. Sometimes this becomes a plot point. When a weapon takes over 30 seconds to reach a target, it allows things to happen. As in self-destructing the missile or attempting to.

[[AC:Films -- Live-Action]]

* Franchise/JamesBond:
** ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'': In the ActionPrologue, Bond exploits the fact that his tiny jet is almost as fast as an intercepting missile to lead it into a hangar so that it explodes there and destroys the advanced radar system that was Bond's target.
** ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'': Bond has to get an aircraft clear from an ArmsFair before a Tomahawk hits the place.

* ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'': V'ger's plasma-energy bolts travel slowly enough that the ''Enterprise'' can see them coming for ten or fifteen seconds --but [[PointDefenseless has no way to divert or stop them]] and must depend on shields for defense.

[[AC:Literature]]

* Creator/TomClancy: This plays into many of his novels.
** ''Literature/TheHuntForRedOctober'': {{Inverted}}. The ''Red October'' survives a torpedo hit because the torpedo doesn't run long enough. Its safety systems require a run of at least 400 meters before the warhead would arm, and it hits ''Red October'' just 350 meters after it's launched.
** ''Literature/RedStormRising'':
*** Aircraft use missiles as their long-range weapons (where "long-range" is anything beyond 500 meters). However, as in real life, all air-to-air (and most air-to-ground) missiles have top speeds in the 500-600mph range. This is a particular problem for the F-14 with its very long-range Phoenix missile: at long Phoenix range, the Tomcats must take every possible precaution against being detected, because the missiles take so long to reach their target that a forewarned target will be able to dodge, duck, or decoy the missiles and escape.
*** Submarines use both missiles and torpedoes, and both have the same problems: limited speed and limited fuel, which means limited range. Torpedoes also have top speeds between fifty and seventy knots, while submarines have top speeds ranging from twenty to forty knots. This means that under certain circumstances the submarine can ''outrun'' a pursuing torpedo. Even if the sub can't outrun a torpedo, it can use noisemakers and water conditions to dodge or fool the torpedo. A great deal of the skill in attacking an enemy sub comes from the need to get as close as possible before firing, so the target doesn't have time to employ any counter-tactics.

[[AC:Live-Action TV]]

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': In [[Recap/StarTrekS1E14BalanceOfTerror "Balance of Terror"]], the Romulans' plasma bolt travels at sublight speed and has a limited range. This allows the fleeing ''Enterprise'' to travel far enough before the bolt hits that it survives the weakened bolt's impact. A full-power hit would have destroyed the ship.

[[AC:Tabletop Games]]

[[AC:Video Games]]

* ''VideoGame/{{DEFCON}}'': Nuclear missiles launched can take several minutes to reach their targets, which means they could be shot down en route by enemy anti-air missile sites.
* ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'': The series was one of the earliest to model each round's trajectory when fired rather than {{hitscan}} it, so as to be able to utilize the BulletTime mechanic for Max. Even at normal speed, there is a slight but noticeable delay between Max firing a shotgun and the rounds actually striking the target and knocking him back dead.

[[AC:Real Life]]
* In World War 2, torpedo-bombers had to consider running time in their attacks and drop their torpedoes from a range that didn't give the target ship time to dodge. Japanese torpedo-bombers didn't have to worry about this as much as American ones, because the Japanese air-dropped torpedo ran about twice as fast as the American one.
* Modern torpedoes generally travel at around 50 knots. When launched at a target 2.5 nautical miles away, a torpedo will take 3 minutes to reach a target, allowing a sub time to "clear datum."

* ''Literature/USSCunninghamQuintet: The running time of both missiles and torpedoes becomes tactically important as the U.S.S. ''Cunningham'' fights a solo battle against multiple enemies above, on, and below the sea in ''Choosers of the Slain''.

May well involve a MagicCountdown, when time flows differently on time counters currently not onscreen or discussed. {{Hitscan}} is what you get when a game skips this. When combined with OffscreenInertia, it produces peak tension. SisterTrope of TravelingAtTheSpeedOfPlot, any vehicle travels as fast or as slowly as the plot demands. SuperTrope of SlowLaser, laser beams depicted as slower-than-light energy bullets.

May well involve a MagicCountdown, when time flows differently on time counters currently not onscreen or discussed. {{Hitscan}} is what you get when a game skips this. When combined with OffscreenInertia, it produces peak tension.

* ''Literature/ChoosersOfTheSlain: The running time of both missiles and torpedoes becomes tactically important as the U.S.S. ''Cunningham'' fights a solo battle against multiple enemies above, on, and below the sea.

* ''Literature/{{Choosers of the Slain}}'' (Creator/JamesHCobb): The running time of both missiles and torpedoes becomes tactically important as the USS ''Cunningham'' fights a solo battle against multiple enemies above, on, and below the sea.

* ''Literature/{{Choosers of the Slain}}'' (Creator/JamesCobb): The running time of both missiles and torpedoes becomes tactically important as the USS ''Cunningham'' fights a solo battle against multiple enemies above, on, and below the sea.

All kinetic weapons have a finite speed --along with most energy-based ones-- they take time to get from the attacker to the target. Even light takes 8 minutes to reach Earth from the Sun.

Sometimes this becomes a plot point. When a weapon takes over 30 seconds to reach a target, it allows things to happen. As in self-destructing the missile or attempting to.

* ''Literature/ChoosersOfTheSlain'' (Creator/JamesCobb): The running time of both missiles and torpedoes becomes tactically important as the USS ''Cunningham'' fights a solo battle against multiple enemies above, on, and below the sea.

* ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'':

* ''Series/BlakesSeven'': Plasma bolts had running times, allowing the force wall on the ''Liberator'' to be activated.