PeterZ wrote:Yeah, even using Haven's pre-Grand Alliance systems would be better than anything the SLN had. Heck, from podnoughts, to carriers to Cimetere LAC, those ships are valuable to anyone without Alliance first line tech.
The Anderman Empire and Erewhon/Maya have shipyards and tech comparable to "Manticore Lite" or better. The Andermani even have Keyhole II and their own version of FTL comms.
The near future is going to be a Golden Age for arms merchants of all stripes. Manticore and Haven have a current edge in LAC/CLAC technology and doctrine, but that's not going to last long once the idea of "Super LACs" seeps into old school SL military types.
The monster SysDef missiles Technodyne provided Monica are sufficient for most defensive purposes; paired with a Moriarty copy they are easily within the current Solarian military tech. (As the first stage of a three stage Cataphract SysDef design, they might even compete with Apollo for range and accel.)