Defensive pods

Maldorian wrote:You are talking about "defense pods". Wouldn´t it be better, to develope real defense satellites? I mean a defense structure that has limited moving ability, a bigger size that can contain very big missles with very high range and a great number of them. And you can equip thes satellites with laser Cluster and maybe countermissles so that these structure can also defend themself and the planet/structure they protect.

The pods aren't supposed to defend themselves, they're supposed to get as many of the enemy missiles to attack them. Eat up the enemy salvo instead of the enemy missiles hitting the ships the pod drones are protecting.

BrigadeΔ wrote:How abput countermissile pods so you actually have a hope in the world of surviving a modern pod salvo (or even a pod + donkey salvo)

There's already a counter-missile pod. It really doesn't help if you launch hundreds of counter missiles if you don't have the fire control for all of them.

Rakhmamort wrote:There's already a counter-missile pod. It really doesn't help if you launch hundreds of counter missiles if you don't have the fire control for all of them.

Where did you see that? David has always shot that idea down here.

And actually I can see uses for a CM pod, but only for LACS in the fleet defense mode.

Lord Skimper wrote:Three problems.

1. Using lower tech gets your people killed.

It is only lower tech compared to what the GA has. Compared to what the Sollies are fielding, the tech difference is a lot wider than during the Buttercup operation.

2. Sitting around when you should be smashing The enemy lets them rearm and ends up getting your people killed.

Who said these defensive pods are only for defending one's systems? There is a reason why I added the part about BuWeaps being able to contour these pods to match the size and shape of the currently deployed pods. So that the ships being sent out can bring with them these defensive pods with them.

3. Extending a battle gets your people killed.

Adding more defenses for your ship keeps your people alive.

MWW doesn't want drone technology, you must think age of sail combat with missiles in space, and no drones, people running and doing everything. You should just use an LAC to jam signals and fly about.

This is not a ship that has an AI that fights. This is an ECM drone that can be deployed as a pod and has the ability to launch dazzlers to help it attract more of the enemy's missiles.

kzt wrote:

Rakhmamort wrote:There's already a counter-missile pod. It really doesn't help if you launch hundreds of counter missiles if you don't have the fire control for all of them.

Where did you see that? David has always shot that idea down here.

And actually I can see uses for a CM pod, but only for LACS in the fleet defense mode.

counter missile canisters are pods that have counter missiles in them.

http://infodump.thefifthimperium.com/en ... gton/160/1

in that pearl entry, a large unit's canister might contain up to 5 counter missiles.

Rakhmamort wrote:There's already a counter-missile pod. It really doesn't help if you launch hundreds of counter missiles if you don't have the fire control for all of them.

kzt wrote:Where did you see that? David has always shot that idea down here.

And actually I can see uses for a CM pod, but only for LACS in the fleet defense mode.

Rakhmamort wrote:counter missile canisters are pods that have counter missiles in them.

http://infodump.thefifthimperium.com/en ... gton/160/1

in that pearl entry, a large unit's canister might contain up to 5 counter missiles.

Canisters and pods are two very different things.

Canisters of CMs get shot out of regular missile tubes.

Pods have missile launchers in them. One could, I suppose, take a pod and fill it with CM canisters instead of regular missiles.

Rakhmamort wrote:counter missile canisters are pods that have counter missiles in them.

http://infodump.thefifthimperium.com/en ... gton/160/1

in that pearl entry, a large unit's canister might contain up to 5 counter missiles.

The function of a CM canister is not to throw out hordes of CMs (which couldn't be effectively guided, anyway), but rather to allow a ship to put out all the CMs it can handle at any given moment, regardless of what has happened to its dedicated CM launchers. If, for example, you've taken a hit that destroyed three CM launchers but the guidance channels are still intact, you simply seed your next salvo of shipkillers with a CM canister, only three of whose missiles (I am assuming a 5-missile canister from a larger unit) actually spin up and go after incoming threats.

Solon shows us that the RMN doesn't need canisters or CM pods anymore - they're already unable to control all the CMs they can launch.

The Invictus has more CM launchers in one broadside than the Gryphon has total(76). And the Invictus can engage with all of its launchers(206) at once.

There's also a real squeeze on missile magazine space for smaller warships(which themselves have had almost commensurate increases in missile defense capability), which is going to impact canister presence.

Rakhmamort wrote:

kzt wrote:Where did you see that? David has always shot that idea down here.

And actually I can see uses for a CM pod, but only for LACS in the fleet defense mode.

counter missile canisters are pods that have counter missiles in them.

http://infodump.thefifthimperium.com/en ... gton/160/1

in that pearl entry, a large unit's canister might contain up to 5 counter missiles.

they are launched by the missile tubes, and usually but not always, most DD tubes can launch a canister with three, BC tubes can launch 4 CM canisters, SD tubes can launch 5 CM canisters.

The drawback is that you loose some of your offensive missiles.

theoretically, you could take a pre-apollo pod, fill it's 10 missile slots with CM canisters, and have a 50 CM pod, but LAC's are a better solution as they are more fleible.

At the Battle of Hyacinth, Capt Terekhov was launching CM pods as part of the last ditch effort to stop the incomming missles from the Peeps. If you have lost tubes and capacity to launch your regular missiles, using the "unused" portion of your control channels to boost CM capability certainly would help.

Brigade XO wrote:At the Battle of Hyacinth, Capt Terekhov was launching CM pods as part of the last ditch effort to stop the incomming missles from the Peeps. If you have lost tubes and capacity to launch your regular missiles, using the "unused" portion of your control channels to boost CM capability certainly would help.

CM Canisters, not CM pods. A CM pod (something we've only talked about here; never seen developed or deployed in practice) would presumably be the size of a navy's normal pod-layer / towed pods but stuffed full of CMs. An CM canister is the size of a missile and launched out the offensive missile tubes of a warship.

Shadow of Saganami wrote:"Point defense fire plan Horatius!" he snapped, and what was left of his Tactical Department started throwing canisters of counter-missiles out of the bow tubes. The canisters were seldom used, especially by a ship as small as a light cruiser, but this was exactly the situation for which they were designed. Defiant had lost over half her counter-missile tubes. The canisters used standard missile tubes to put additional clusters of defensive birds into space, and despite her vicious damage, the ship still had three-quarters of her counter-missile uplinks, which gave her control channels to spare.

Also, didn't RFC say that normal missile and CM fire control links weren't interchangeable? Ok, yep, found it over in pearls. It was part of Fire control uplink flexibility. So it seems you couldn't divert offensive control links over to supplement your CM control...