Belial666 wrote:1) Shipkiller warhead + recon drone, total mass ~300 tons.
2) Modified Nevada-class. Replaces its 32 grazers and 30 of its 68 missile launchers with a missile and countermissile control link each. Replaces half of its magazines with 100 kilotons worth of fire-control computer.
3) Send 200 freighters with 20.000 of the long-range shipkillers each.
4) Send 2.000 modified Nevadas with them.
5) Drop in on the Manticore system. Freighters unload the 4 million long-range missiles. Nevadas remain to provide control/targeting priority for the swarm.
6) You don't care if the Manty fleet got 90% kill probability vs your missiles. 10% hits of 4 million is still unit-kill for several hundred SDs.
7) Kill infrastructure by retargeting any missiles that miss or go off-course on them.
I went back to this original premise, and I have to ask: why do you think the recon drones could get long range control or targeting from the Nevadas without coming into sensor (and missile) range of of home fleet? the Sollies recon drones aren't nearly as long-lasting as the RMN's drones. And, if the Nevadas are out of range of a response, how could they communicate with the drones?
So, first, I don't think they could get in without being seen; second I think the life expectancy of the Nevadas will be too short to accomplish an attack; third, I don't think the stealth of the drones will be good enough against the system arrays in manticore.
Regards,
Rob