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TairaMai rollin' on dubs from El Paso Tx Since: Jul, 2011 Relationship Status: Mu
rollin' on dubs
#426: Feb 2nd 2014 at 2:41:36 PM

Speaking of FTL and all that, how do you think the order of battle would go for a Space Navy? As in how would they actually engage one another tactically?

It depends on what the fleet's objective is:

  • Planetary assault: the large ships would hang back and make sure the troop carriers are protected. Smaller ships would attempt to attack first. Draw the defenders out then the rest would attack.

  • Fleet vs fleet: depending on the tech level and what kind of weapons, some might favor small Glass Cannon type ships, others might have ships built around weapons systems and certain tactics (fighter carriers, Beam Spam gun boats etc).

  • Doomsday Device: some factions might employ some "super weapon" to force the other side to surrender or back down. A large "death star" type ship or yet another Glass Cannon Super Prototype with lots of escorts.

edited 2nd Feb '14 2:54:51 PM by TairaMai

I tried to walk like an Egyptian and now I need to see a Cairo practor....
Flanker66 Dreams of Revenge from 30,000 feet and climbing Since: Nov, 2009 Relationship Status: You can be my wingman any time
Dreams of Revenge
#427: Feb 2nd 2014 at 2:47:27 PM

In terms of the blockade question, in the event mines are not an option, I'm tempted to pose the idea of a blockade that focuses on the most important planet, supported by a roving patrol that is intended to snag any ships attempting to jump in and resupply other planets.

It will tie up resources, of course, and I'm not entirely convinced it's the most efficient option, but for lack of a better idea that's what I would do.

Locking you up on radar since '09
Flanker66 Dreams of Revenge from 30,000 feet and climbing Since: Nov, 2009 Relationship Status: You can be my wingman any time
Dreams of Revenge
#428: Feb 21st 2014 at 2:16:40 PM

Wow, this thread is quiet.

To help kick it back into life, here's a question for you all:

Since a future military force is probably going to be mostly - or may I be so bold as to suggest entirely - mechanised, that would probably mean that they can act and react faster than ever before. What sort of tactics/strategy might evolve to take advantage of this newfound agility? Or would we just find that it would be more or less the same tactics and stratagems as before, albeit carried out at a higher tempo?

Locking you up on radar since '09
MajorTom Since: Dec, 2009
#429: Feb 21st 2014 at 2:37:53 PM

^ Partially. The concept of deployability will emerge as a key player. The faster you can move mass amounts of troops, vehicles and supplies over a greater range, the better off you'll be. Air assault will be one of the primary means of accomplishing this type of strategy.

After all in a war that can span planets, you won't be fighting for every inch of ground. If you have the level of deployability to where you can land troops and vehicles anywhere on a planet within 24 hours ideally, hiding in the boonies insurgent style ain't gonna save your enemies.

This concept and the change in strategy is emphasized three-fold if orbital fire support is a thing. (And no I don't mean fling rocks and doomsday shit. I'm talking like the equivalent of parking the battleship Missouri in low orbit and pasting ground targets with continuous fire.)

TairaMai rollin' on dubs from El Paso Tx Since: Jul, 2011 Relationship Status: Mu
rollin' on dubs
#430: Feb 21st 2014 at 5:32:53 PM

It depends on how you want to take the world in question:

TEOTWAWKI:

Storming the Beachs, And The Plains, and The Cities:

So Dropships, SpaceFighters and Standard Sci-Fi Fleet have encircled the planet, now what?

  • What ever you do, don't just land directly on the capital if they have KillSats and other missiles, use Fraction Orbital approach. Make a half orbit and then land.

  • Or Zerg Rush the cities with AttackDrones and lots of DropShips.

  • Some would take the cities, others would surround the cities and lay siege YMMV.

edited 21st Feb '14 5:39:53 PM by TairaMai

I tried to walk like an Egyptian and now I need to see a Cairo practor....
AFP Since: Mar, 2010
#431: Feb 21st 2014 at 10:10:17 PM

The orbital equivalent of paratroopers would probably deploy via Drop Pods, for those occasions when Drop Ships are too vulnerable. Drop them on someone's head (or behind their front lines) to secure high value locations (airfields, command posts, etc.) or just to force an opening in the enemy defenses for conventional forces (drop ships, ground vehicles, etc.) to move through. Expect some heavy casualties from this approach, as I just don't see how you can drop someone from orbit near a high-value target in anything resembling a discrete fashion.

Generally speaking, I'd say establish a beachhead in a relatively quiet area on the planet, and use that as a stepping off point to launch a massed planetside (air, ground, sea) assault.

edited 21st Feb '14 10:11:40 PM by AFP

MajorTom Since: Dec, 2009
#432: Feb 22nd 2014 at 4:53:24 AM

as I just don't see how you can drop someone from orbit near a high-value target in anything resembling a discrete fashion.

You can either do air assault Grenada style and deploy airborne troops via Drop Ship from a distance out in orbit (below the horizon groundside) and move on conventionally. Or alternatively you do Drop Pod assaults Operation: Overlord style and you cover their insertion with precise orbital bombardment of local military targets, mainly Anti-Air and anti-orbital defenses.

TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#433: Feb 22nd 2014 at 3:16:55 PM

Or you can say fuck discretion and fill the air with so much shit while running SEAD missions that it doesn't matter. Didn't we cover this to a point? Like using drop pods that are not just personnel containers but also ECM, decoys, munitions pods, and other "surprises".

Who watches the watchmen?
MajorTom Since: Dec, 2009
#434: Feb 22nd 2014 at 4:06:16 PM

^ You mean like the first wave is unmanned with either simply empty pods or supply/sensor pods launched first and the manned ones launched in subsequent waves?

I'm not sure we fully covered the methods surrounding that type.

TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#435: Feb 23rd 2014 at 7:54:55 PM

Yeah something like that. I don't think we covered the full range of things you could drop on someones head. Everything is air droppable once :P

edited 23rd Feb '14 7:55:30 PM by TuefelHundenIV

Who watches the watchmen?
MajorTom Since: Dec, 2009
#436: Feb 23rd 2014 at 8:19:53 PM

I wonder if you can make a Drop Pod or something like it which is the Space Age version of a runaway bouncing cannonball? (Like that scene in The Patriot. You know the one.)

Drop it from orbit at an oblique angle and watch it bounce and crush anything in its path. Obviously it has to be small enough to not be a WMD.

edited 23rd Feb '14 8:21:09 PM by MajorTom

AFP Since: Mar, 2010
#437: Feb 23rd 2014 at 9:27:09 PM

[up][up] Isn't that pithy quote the entire thought process behind a Colony Drop?

TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#438: Feb 24th 2014 at 3:24:56 AM

AFP: Not quite. Its from Schlock Mercenary

Who watches the watchmen?
AFP Since: Mar, 2010
#439: Feb 24th 2014 at 4:26:46 AM

Could have sworn it was a lot older than that, along the lines of how any ship can be a minesweeper once.

TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#440: Feb 24th 2014 at 4:11:33 PM

All I know is it is an airborne joke I have heard before. Any x can be x once is probably an old joke though.

Who watches the watchmen?
AFP Since: Mar, 2010
#441: Feb 24th 2014 at 5:01:25 PM

"Any weapon can be a spear, once."

"Any hero can storm the castle, once."

"Anyone can decoy the dragon, once."

AFP Since: Mar, 2010
#442: Feb 24th 2014 at 5:35:34 PM

Someone help me out, who was the World War One flying ace who had his fighter painted up to look like a fish? I'm on a gov'ment computer, so naturally Google is Gimped.

TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#443: Feb 24th 2014 at 8:36:32 PM

Not sure where this is going. I saw two results. A stunt Biplane done up like a fishing lure and a Donnet-Lévèque Flying Boat that had sort of a fish scheme also referred to as the Flying Fish.

Check this one

edited 24th Feb '14 8:38:57 PM by TuefelHundenIV

Who watches the watchmen?
AFP Since: Mar, 2010
#444: Feb 24th 2014 at 8:54:24 PM

This is going to the evidence pile that I need to drink more coffee. I thought this was the "Sky High Aviation etc." thread.

TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#445: Feb 25th 2014 at 4:26:55 PM

Its ok. I thought you were going somewhere particularly odd but ultimately interesting with it.

Who watches the watchmen?
AFP Since: Mar, 2010
#446: Feb 25th 2014 at 4:36:09 PM

OK, how about spaceships painted to look like fish. Space Is an Ocean, right?

TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#447: Feb 25th 2014 at 6:11:26 PM

Lol. Dunno about the practicality of painting a space ship. Though I suppose it could be fore morale booster type purposes.

Who watches the watchmen?
TacticalFox88 from USA Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Dating the Doctor
#448: Feb 25th 2014 at 7:13:16 PM

So...I was thinking...isn't the logistics of invading a planet ridiculously large? I mean I just imagined the so called "invasion fleets" from various tv shows and applied them attacking earth.

I mean outside of planetary bombardment and the tech advantage....what?! Sheer numbers would simply overwhelm them eventually. The amount of troops needed for a genuine planet invasion would orders of magnitude higher than the amount of ships they shown on screen

New Survey coming this weekend!
TairaMai rollin' on dubs from El Paso Tx Since: Jul, 2011 Relationship Status: Mu
rollin' on dubs
#449: Feb 25th 2014 at 7:24:20 PM

[up]An Acceptable Breaks from Reality. Most wargames hide the fact that the Soldiers at the Rear far outnumber the shooters. In Real Life, it's 7-12 soldiers who support each troop with two boots, a ruck, a helmet and a rifle.

Cities are a nice pile of resources all gathered up. Farmland will be needed later. Now if Aliens Are Bastards or Humans Are the Real Monsters, they could just do a Colony Drop (a large asteroid would do nicely, as would diverting a comet). The problem with bio-weapons would be risking them mutating or not working if you've made mistakes with your enemies Bizarre Alien Biology.

edited 3rd Jul '14 9:40:43 PM by TairaMai

I tried to walk like an Egyptian and now I need to see a Cairo practor....
MajorTom Since: Dec, 2009
#450: Feb 25th 2014 at 8:15:51 PM

^^ The easiest Hand Wave for that is what you see on screen are purely the warships.

It happens in historical fiction. In Operation: Overlord the majority of vessels in the D-Day fleet were of the auxiliary, support, supply and transport type. The minority were dedicated warships. (A minority of that were capital ships like cruisers.) Yet if you watch The Longest Day, you almost don't see the auxiliaries.

Of course in an interstellar war if FTL capabilities exist you'll get a shuttling of new reinforcements and supplies over time as the Ships Of The Rear move in and out.


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