Uncompromising honor snippet #10 (?)

SYED wrote:How big is an Alpha launch of missiles? The impression I get that it will be heavy to make a statement. Also, how much of the salvo will be those longer ranged missiles.

Since they seem to be getting a hold on Manty defensive fire, I'd guestimate an Alpha launch to be everything but the kitchen sink, all deployed pods. Especially in light of their sentiment 'See how they like that.' Withholding the sink, internal mags. I'm willing to bet the League still suffers from a holdover of the old school of thinking, where their bigger is always better. Old habits, die hard.

Leaving them with nothing but their internal magazines after that, and if my guess is right, with their alpha launch destroying a few decoys, and facing LACs (an SD sized signature?).

Replying to Louis R, I do actually want to know, but Cthia and a few others are made of sterner stuff, so any answer would have to be heavily SPOILERED.
May have to buy the Earc, as I'm just not patient enough.

cthia wrote:

SYED wrote:How big is an Alpha launch of missiles? The impression I get that it will be heavy to make a statement. Also, how much of the salvo will be those longer ranged missiles.

Since they seem to be getting a hold on Manty defensive fire, I'd guestimate an Alpha launch to be everything but the kitchen sink, all deployed pods. Especially in light of their sentiment 'See how they like that.' Withholding the sink, internal mags. I'm willing to bet the League still suffers from a holdover of the old school of thinking, where their bigger is always better. Old habits, die hard.

SYED wrote:How big is an Alpha launch of missiles? The impression I get that it will be heavy to make a statement. Also, how much of the salvo will be those longer ranged missiles.

An "Alpha Launch" would logically use any pods first and use the maximum number of control channels. Since Cataphracts are primarily pod-based, all of an "Alpha Launch" should be Cataphracts, if available.

Since the maximum size of the launch is limited by the number of control channels available, it all depends on who is launching the strike and what kind of ship(s) they are commanding.

cthia wrote:

“Program an alpha launch,” Vice Admiral Hajdu Gyôzô said. “Let’s see how the bastards like that.”

Alpha beta be good. LOL

Good to see some of the holes have been plugged in SLN intel.

what exactly is an alpha launch... i've not come across the term before?

[no spoilers in the answer please - I'm really enjoying this snippet sequence!]

Weird Harold wrote:

SYED wrote:How big is an Alpha launch of missiles? The impression I get that it will be heavy to make a statement. Also, how much of the salvo will be those longer ranged missiles.

An "Alpha Launch" would logically use any pods first and use the maximum number of control channels. Since Cataphracts are primarily pod-based, all of an "Alpha Launch" should be Cataphracts, if available.

Since the maximum size of the launch is limited by the number of control channels available, it all depends on who is launching the strike and what kind of ship(s) they are commanding.

The problem with any Solarian Alpha launch, is there isn't a single Alpha amongst them.

isaac_newton wrote:what exactly is an alpha launch... i've not come across the term before?

[no spoilers in the answer please - I'm really enjoying this snippet sequence!]

That phrase probably derives from "alpha strike". Which can be summed up as "put all available force into an attack."

In the Honorverse, it's sometimes used to refer to the opening salvo of pod-towing(but not pod-deploying) combatants. E.g. one salvo from shipboard launchers plus all pods on hand.

Daryl wrote:Leaving them with nothing but their internal magazines after that, and if my guess is right, with their alpha launch destroying a few decoys, and facing LACs (an SD sized signature?).

Replying to Louis R, I do actually want to know, but Cthia and a few others are made of sterner stuff, so any answer would have to be heavily SPOILERED.
May have to buy the Earc, as I'm just not patient enough.

The answer can be found in the large excerpt linked to in this post:
"[STICKY] Sneak peek of Uncompromising Honor"

cthia wrote:

SYED wrote:How big is an Alpha launch of missiles? The impression I get that it will be heavy to make a statement. Also, how much of the salvo will be those longer ranged missiles.

Since they seem to be getting a hold on Manty defensive fire, I'd guestimate an Alpha launch to be everything but the kitchen sink, all deployed pods.

One problem with that is that thus far the Sollies who've actually exchanged fire with the Manties haven't made it home to tell the tale. They've got the recording of Honor's boasts to Filareta, for whatever weight they give that.
Another is that they don't have control links for 120k missiles in one salvo.

When successful, the result [of an alpha strike] is an absolutely devastating bombardment that turns its hapless target into a smoking crater. When unsuccessful, the attacking unit will usually be in for a world of hurt, as an alpha strike usually leaves it out of ammo, overheated, overextended, or otherwise vulnerable to a Counter Attack from a surviving opponent

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AlphaStrike

munroburton wrote:

isaac_newton wrote:what exactly is an alpha launch... i've not come across the term before?

[no spoilers in the answer please - I'm really enjoying this snippet sequence!]

That phrase probably derives from "alpha strike". Which can be summed up as "put all available force into an attack."

In the Honorverse, it's sometimes used to refer to the opening salvo of pod-towing(but not pod-deploying) combatants. E.g. one salvo from shipboard launchers plus all pods on hand.

Ah - thanks!

It seems the SLN still suffers from inexperience. No member of the GA would hyper into a potentially deadly system where enemy fire may be lurking and assume you've arrived first. Without sending in a pattern of drones into the inner system to clear the advance.

It is obvious that Vice Admiral Hajdu Gyôzô attained his rank by stealing from the poor and giving to the richly arrogant.

cthia wrote:It seems the SLN still suffers from inexperience. No member of the GA would hyper into a potentially deadly system where enemy fire may be lurking and assume you've arrived first. Without sending in a pattern of drones into the inner system to clear the advance.

It is obvious that Vice Admiral Hajdu Gyôzô attained his rank by stealing from the poor and giving to the richly arrogant.

I don't know if I'd call it inexperience. It's more like an ingrained habit and a lack of imagination - or so I read it, at least. After all, at the time he arrives, Hypatia is still part of the Solarian League (even if Kolokoltsov and his cronies are afraid that the referendum will change that) - and so, in a way, friendly territory. And there's textev that he knew about the peculiarities of the systems policies - like, that they don't announce referendum results until the last ballot is truely accounted for, for example.

In addition, he simply couldn't imagine, that Hypatia would call for a manticoran presence in the system before the referendum was officially finished. Ok, that you could possible put under the headline of inexperience - after all, somehow one has to learn (and survive the experience) that even the most improbable events can actually happen, especially in a warlike situation like this. And the SLN didn't fought any war for several centuries, as we all know.