Hybrid High Speed Linear Cannon

With a very long launch rail, acceleration to mach 1 is not unreasonable at 6 G. From there a scramjet could get it fast enough to engage my plasma envelope drive. By manipulation of the plasma envelope only the very tip of the ship would be a heat shield. You can push the plasma back and away at the same time, causing both thrust and shielding. Now power..... that is another can of worms.

Again, you're talking about slamming into the sound barrier. While this might compression ignite a scramjet, it's just as likely to create instant drag losses that quickly drop it below the sound barrier again, and probably destablize it to tumble out of control. Also, you're not going to get it up to orbital velocity in the atmosphere with your ramjet, so it'll still need a rocket stage. This is a bit more reasonable, though, as it's scaled low enough to accieve with a fairly short barrel.

Well, the heavier the craft the harder it is to slow down, and I have been reading about hybrid engines that could drive it.... the issue now is how do you use Rf to steer and manipulate the plasma.