The Apollo Triple Ripple

As the title says. What are the chances that one of the first 'innovations' to come out of the combination of Sonia and Foraker is an Apollo Triple Ripple? Just think of the possibilities - and the uses.

The GA decides they want to step up their control of various WHs, so they send a division of Apollo equipped SD(P)s along with 1 CLAC, 1 Ammo ship, and a division or two of Heavy Cruisers and Destroyers, to all of the WHs they have been taking over. With only 2 Apollo equipped SD(P)s, things would get pretty dicey if the Sollies sent a force big enough to survive into their missile range. Enter the ATR (Apollo Triple Ripple).

Keyhole-2 compatible SD(P)s bounce command links between the Mark-23(E) missiles to control triple the firepower, allowing the SD(P)s and other ships to keep hundreds of pods tractored to their hulls continuously in the event something pops out of hyper close by. If they do everyone can start deploying their pods to target many more Solly ships at once with just a slight delay compared to the conventional Apollo setup.

As an added bonus, it would triple a Keyhole-2's fire density with only a marginal loss to accuracy. And frankly, with Apollo, what is adding an extra 2 or 3 seconds while the computers and links cycle between the Mark-23(E)s. You are already within the defenders fire control loop, so adding a couple second additional delay will not harm the accuracy by a measurable impact.

Erls wrote:As the title says. What are the chances that one of the first 'innovations' to come out of the combination of Sonia and Foraker is an Apollo Triple Ripple? Just think of the possibilities - and the uses.

The GA decides they want to step up their control of various WHs, so they send a division of Apollo equipped SD(P)s along with 1 CLAC, 1 Ammo ship, and a division or two of Heavy Cruisers and Destroyers, to all of the WHs they have been taking over. With only 2 Apollo equipped SD(P)s, things would get pretty dicey if the Sollies sent a force big enough to survive into their missile range. Enter the ATR (Apollo Triple Ripple).

Keyhole-2 compatible SD(P)s bounce command links between the Mark-23(E) missiles to control triple the firepower, allowing the SD(P)s and other ships to keep hundreds of pods tractored to their hulls continuously in the event something pops out of hyper close by. If they do everyone can start deploying their pods to target many more Solly ships at once with just a slight delay compared to the conventional Apollo setup.

As an added bonus, it would triple a Keyhole-2's fire density with only a marginal loss to accuracy. And frankly, with Apollo, what is adding an extra 2 or 3 seconds while the computers and links cycle between the Mark-23(E)s. You are already within the defenders fire control loop, so adding a couple second additional delay will not harm the accuracy by a measurable impact.

Using Keyhole 2 as rotating control links have already been mentioned a couple times in this forum. I actually like the idea since the Apollo missile AI has more capability than the standard MDM and I believe it can handle 'less' hand-holding from the ship.

Maybe another option is not to rotate the control links but make use of the Apollo missile's better AI and send the same data to a couple of them and let them refine it for their own brood of MDMs based on their current position/speed/etc.

Erls wrote:As the title says. What are the chances that one of the first 'innovations' to come out of the combination of Sonia and Foraker is an Apollo Triple Ripple? Just think of the possibilities - and the uses....

What you describe is not a "triple ripple."

Rakhmamort wrote:Using Keyhole 2 as rotating control links have already been mentioned a couple times in this forum. I actually like the idea since the Apollo missile AI has more capability than the standard MDM and I believe it can handle 'less' hand-holding from the ship.

Keyhole II is routinely rotated between available Keyhole drones. If more missile control is needed, they can switch to each keyhole drone managing its own brood. Each ship's Keyhole II can apparently control an entire squadron's missiles, so the problem isn't control links for a change, it is being able to launch as many missiles as you can control by NOT rotating links.

Rakhmamort wrote:Maybe another option is not to rotate the control links but make use of the Apollo missile's better AI and send the same data to a couple of them and let them refine it for their own brood of MDMs based on their current position/speed/etc.

Current deployment of Apollo ACMs one to a pod would have to change in some way, but allowing one ACM to control eight ACMs (with broods) instead of directly controlling a brood of Mk23/25 missiles would expand control without the degradation inherent in rotating links.

Weird Harold wrote:Keyhole II is routinely rotated between available Keyhole drones. If more missile control is needed, they can switch to each keyhole drone managing its own brood. Each ship's Keyhole II can apparently control an entire squadron's missiles, so the problem isn't control links for a change, it is being able to launch as many missiles as you can control by NOT rotating links.

I'm going to need confirmation info for that. There is a limiting factor to the number of Apollo missiles a Keyhole II equipped ship can control. IMHO it is always the control links. My understanding is that the Keyhole II is the FTL extension of the control links.

Rakhmamort wrote:I'm going to need confirmation info for that. There is a limiting factor to the number of Apollo missiles a Keyhole II equipped ship can control. IMHO it is always the control links. My understanding is that the Keyhole II is the FTL extension of the control links.

I can't find it in textev off-hand, but I'm not sure it isn't from on of RFC's posts or an infodump. I am sure that only one keyhole at a time is used and control of salvos is rotated among active KHII units to confuse counter-battery fire as to the source of control.

Weird Harold wrote:

Rakhmamort wrote:I'm going to need confirmation info for that. There is a limiting factor to the number of Apollo missiles a Keyhole II equipped ship can control. IMHO it is always the control links. My understanding is that the Keyhole II is the FTL extension of the control links.

I can't find it in textev off-hand, but I'm not sure it isn't from on of RFC's posts or an infodump. I am sure that only one keyhole at a time is used and control of salvos is rotated among active KHII units to confuse counter-battery fire as to the source of control.

Your description of how Keyhole II operatres is correct.
Keyhole platform survivability

Vince wrote:Your description of how Keyhole II operatres is correct.

Keyhole platform survivability

A thousand thanx, Vince. You are the textev master!

Vince wrote:Your description of how Keyhole II operatres is correct.
Keyhole platform survivability

Thank you Vince.

Honestly, I don't know how to react to that information. It looks like magic right now. 1 ship with Keyhole 2 has the ability to control, on its own, a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand Apollo missiles. It only needs other ships to bring the missile pods coz 1 ship couldn't carry it all.

You guys are oversimplifying David's example. He was merely illustrating how a group of ships would bounce around transmission slots. It's not a statement of how many missiles a single SD(P) controls. There would be multiple ships transmitting as salvo size goes up.

As for the idea proposed, I don't see any particular need for it. A single KH2-equipped SD(P) is already capable of slaughtering entire squadrons of Solarian SDs. They don't need to inflate their salvo size any more against such ineffective targets.

Salvo size, no. Ammo capacity, probably

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