"Obsolete SDs" Waste not...

IIRC it's mentioned in one of the Dreadnaught classes in HoS that it was easier to leave obsolete equipment (but shut down) in place than incur the expense of trying to remove it.

There once was a really bizarre show called Salvage One- with Andy Griffith of all people on it. He built a spaceship to go and salvage out of date satellites ( I should mention this show is circa 1980- and is on youtube). Wonder if any enterprising people in the honorverse scour battlefields in this manner.

If he'd found something like even one of these monster- ka ching indeed.

markm57 wrote:Wonder if any enterprising people in the honorverse scour battlefields in this manner.

Problem is, Honorverse battlefields closely resemble rapidly expanding debris clouds (sometimes expanding at relativistic speeds to boot). Salvaging anything worthwhile requires a lot of running down of pieces that may be worth a lot, or may just be worthless scrap metal. Unless those pieces are in danger of becoming a hazard to navigation in some form, I don't think they're routinely salvaged.

markm57 wrote:There once was a really bizarre show called Salvage One- with Andy Griffith of all people on it. He built a spaceship to go and salvage out of date satellites ( I should mention this show is circa 1980- and is on youtube). Wonder if any enterprising people in the honorverse scour battlefields in this manner.

If he'd found something like even one of these monster- ka ching indeed.

Probably a very safe bet that there are companies that deal in salvaging ship wreckages.

pnakasone wrote:

markm57 wrote:There once was a really bizarre show called Salvage One- with Andy Griffith of all people on it. He built a spaceship to go and salvage out of date satellites ( I should mention this show is circa 1980- and is on youtube). Wonder if any enterprising people in the honorverse scour battlefields in this manner.

If he'd found something like even one of these monster- ka ching indeed.

Probably a very safe bet that there are companies that deal in salvaging ship wreckages.

A few, maybe, in high traffic system. But I think you're ignoring transit time and tactical speed.

Even a couple hours of acceleration at 500g (easily within reach of almost any honorvere warship) builds up a not insignificant velocity 35,280 KPS. In the month it might take for news of the battle to reach a salvager and their salvage ship to return any hulk from the battle would drift 91.5 trillion KM. That's over 12 times the distance Pluto is from the Earth. That makes the hulk a tiny object in a vast empty wasteland. And of course the salvage ship wouldn't necessarily have a reliable vector (in either direction or speed) that any hulks or debries might be traveling along.

The odds of finding a valuable enough salvage to pay for the crew, fuel, supplies, maintenance, (and likely debt servicing) on the salvage ship seem... low.

Jonathan_S wrote:A few, maybe, in high traffic system. But I think you're ignoring transit time and tactical speed.

Even a couple hours of acceleration at 500g (easily within reach of almost any honorvere warship) builds up a not insignificant velocity 35,280 KPS. In the month it might take for news of the battle to reach a salvager and their salvage ship to return any hulk from the battle would drift 91.5 trillion KM. That's over 12 times the distance Pluto is from the Earth. That makes the hulk a tiny object in a vast empty wasteland. And of course the salvage ship wouldn't necessarily have a reliable vector (in either direction or speed) that any hulks or debries might be traveling along.

The odds of finding a valuable enough salvage to pay for the crew, fuel, supplies, maintenance, (and likely debt servicing) on the salvage ship seem... low.

Post battle etiquette requires the victor to check wrecks for survivors. So a tracking/navigation beacon would be easily to place on the hull.

Battle damaged ships would need salvaging if they are not considered worth the effort of repairing.

I can think of at least one useful thing to do with the extra Sollie ships the Manties have lying around, sell them. As rich as Manticore is wars are expensive so it is not like they could not use the extra cash. Giving the SDs over to a neutral party would not really threaten Manticore's security since any squadron that can throw Mk-16s is more than capable of demolishing an SD on their own. Star nations that normally cannot afford to build such hardware would be able to use the Solly SDs to defend themselves against OFS. Privateers could use them to harass and raid Solly territory, such a sudden upsurge in piracy within their borders would make it all the more difficult for the SLN to mount any kind of offensive operations against the GA. I really do not see the downside of selling them or even giving them as gifts to star nations that have pledged their support to the GA. After all the crap that Zanzibar and Alizon went through during the Havenite Wars they could probably use the extra hardware to bolster their national defense. I know that the number of systems that lack the infrastructure to maintain an SD outnumber the ones that can handle the upkeep, but it is a big galaxy. Manticore has the supply, someone is bound to have a demand for Solly warships.

GabrialSagan wrote:I can think of at least one useful thing to do with the extra Sollie ships the Manties have lying around, sell them. As rich as Manticore is wars are expensive so it is not like they could not use the extra cash.

Anyone who could afford to pay more than a nominal price for them likely has no use or interest in them.

kzt wrote:

GabrialSagan wrote:I can think of at least one useful thing to do with the extra Sollie ships the Manties have lying around, sell them. As rich as Manticore is wars are expensive so it is not like they could not use the extra cash.

Anyone who could afford to pay more than a nominal price for them likely has no use or interest in them.

Manticore would not have to charge more than a nominal price, they are offloading captured goods they acquired for the cost of the expended missiles after all. As for the use and interest, Barregos is not the only one who can see the writing on the wall as far as the collapse of the Solarian League is concerned. Star nations that have relied on the SLN as a stabilizing force in the galaxy are going to find themselves suddenly in the midst of a new age of warlordism and are going to want the hardware necessary to defend themselves. Other star nations and militant NGOs are going to want that same hardware to seize opportunities in the new destabilized galaxy to kick off the new age of warlordism.

GabrialSagan wrote:Manticore would not have to charge more than a nominal price, they are offloading captured goods they acquired for the cost of the expended missiles after all. As for the use and interest, Barregos is not the only one who can see the writing on the wall as far as the collapse of the Solarian League is concerned. Star nations that have relied on the SLN as a stabilizing force in the galaxy are going to find themselves suddenly in the midst of a new age of warlordism and are going to want the hardware necessary to defend themselves. Other star nations and militant NGOs are going to want that same hardware to seize opportunities in the new destabilized galaxy to kick off the new age of warlordism.

Sure, if some hypothetical buyer showed up, and you were reasonable sure they weren't going to turn around and immediately commit atrocities with them, by all means offload the otherwise useless SDs.

But a buyer who can scrape up a sufficient crew to fly them away, can maintain them, aquire replacement ammo but still has a real use for obsolete, and very manpower intensive, hardware might be less common than you thinks.

Oh, and one who's not worried about what the SLN might think about their acquisition of ex-SLN war prizes. Because as obsolete as the SLN is, it's more than capable of crushing anybody trying to start up a little navy around captured SLN units. If Manticore is willing to offer system defense to prevent the League from retaliating against you then you don't need the SDs in the first place - but if it's an "as is" transaction then you'd better hope the League doesn't learn about it, doesn't care, or at least has higher priorities than making a quick and painful example of you.