Jonathan_S wrote:Most of Manticore's tech breakthroughs (FTL comms, MDM/DDM, ERMs, bow/buckler walls, improved grav lenses, and presumably improved compensators) came from better manipulation of gravitational technology. (Not sure if the microfusion power plants are also grav based)
The Solarian League may be able to copy or replicate some of these, but what other areas might they make breakthroughs in?
Manticore improved the effective power of their laser heads by improving the grav lensing. But the SLN might make different breakthroughs there. They probably can't improve the raw fusion warhead yield much without simply making it larger (grav pinch direct fusion warheads are already extremely efficient) but they might be desperate enough to switch to anti-mater for the boom behind the laser rods. Still I doubt it, RFC hasn't don't that yet in the Honorverse and the safety risks are insanely high. Better to simply build a bigger missile to carry a larger fusion warhead. But better lasing rods certainly seem like a possibility - doing a better job of focusing the received energy. A laserhead with significantly more damage or standoff range could be a nasty surprise.
Breakthroughs in ship based energy weapons seem somewhat less useful, at least offensively. Nothing bigger than a LAC seems to make it into energy range of an enemy anymore. But improvements that, say, doubled or triple the range of PDLCs could be a defensive game-changer. Similarly any improvement that let you cycle PDLC emitters quicker would up your defensive firepower.
Sensor or stealth improvements are another non-grav based potential andvantage (well some of stealth - hiding your low power wedge is grav based)
Certainly ECM, missile sensors, missile 'smarts' can be a big help.
Better physical armor, though I'm not sure how big a breakthrough you can do there.
And I'm sure you all can think of other areas, beyond where Manticore's tech flowed, where the League might make a surprise field leveler; even without RFC blindsiding us with a total paradigm breaking tech (teleporters, tachion based weapons, etc).
Microfusion reactors are grav pinched. Small ship fusion reactors are laser containment, which Madeline the grav pinched microfusion reactors a big deal.
As for the rest, I'm expecting some esoteric tech - something we cannot predict because we have not seen it in the Honorverse. David Mentioned that the SLN actively avoided paradigm shifting technologies because they would invalidate their own fleet, as well as their opponent's. If I was guiding research in the SLN, I would start in those folders, because I would know their contents would most likely surprise the RMN.