Future Tech Advice and Assistance Thread [O.O.C.]

[Vernii]

I've gone over my approach to missile warfare several times in the past in regards to individual missile capabilities and the command & control systems associated with them. As far as the actual ship side of it goes, most Imperial warships fit vaguely into the 'missile boat' category. While energy weapons are an important part of doctrine and design, missiles are the foundation that doctrine rests upon.

For ship design, larger vessels (BC/DN/SD) use VLS style missile tubes arranged in batteries. In the case of DNs and SDs, missiles are transferred via dedicated lifts from the main magazines deep in the ship to smaller ready magazines closer to the actual launch tubes, thus enabling a higher rate of fire for as long as the ready magazines are stocked, after which point rate of fire drops to as fast as a missile can be brought directly from the magazine to the tube.

For smaller warships which have less cross-sectional volume to spare for that type of arrangement (the typical anti-capital missile is 20m long and 3m diameter, roughly the size of an SM-65 Atlas), they use either angled tubes or side-launched (I haven't decided yet since I haven't gotten around to modeling them yet, will probably be angled). Magazines would likewise stow the missiles sideways (tips facing the bow in other words), and there would probably be multiple magazines to allow for faster salvos.

Missile pods also have a place in the Navy, typically in system defense roles and area denial. The Navy used to operate dedicated pod-carrying warships, but the sacrifices in volume and structural durability weren't worth it*. Warships can still carry pods, all of which are designed to be capable of gripping onto a hull and releasing upon command. Thus, an IVN warship can carry its own expendable support into a battlespace to deploy and activate at a time of its choosing without sacrificing internal volume or mass for it. Most commanders would choose to deploy and activate their pods early in a battle, both to inflict as much damage as possible while their own command is intact, and to avoid having the pods destroyed or mission killed by enemy fire.

*Q-ships operated by the Ministry of Frontier Stability are an exception, they are warships with the hull profiles of merchants, and each has a dual 'core' of missile pod storage and launch racks. The Great War era dreadnoughts that MFS operates are also pod-carrying designs.

[Tribea]

I was wondering what would make for a reasonable level of star ship armor.

I was planning of doing some sort of layering with a thin section of the outer armor being a Titanium-A armor and was wondering what sorta of underlying armors I could add.

On a standard ship, that would be about whats needed.
Also, any FT alliances? I can't really find any.

[Vocenae]

The alliance system in FT has been dead since 2010. It just doesn't work and has always ended up stagnating nd lowering the chance of RP rather than improving it.

[Tribea]

The alliance system in FT has been dead since 2010. It just doesn't work and has always ended up stagnating nd lowering the chance of RP rather than improving it.

Oh....

[Vernii]

Also, any FT alliances? I can't really find any.

There are three that I can think of, TSAR, GESO, and AXIS, though only GESO is a "open" alliance so to speak, while TSAR and AXIS are much more inclusive/region-focused, IIRC.

From my own RP perpective, alliances are best when they come about more naturally through roleplay and shared security commitments, and that players should keep in mind that there are manners of beneficial military interaction besides alliance; informal security commitments, joint training and exchanging of liaisons, and so on.

For example, my own region, the Raumreich Oversector, typically presents a relatively unified face to the rest of the galaxy, but we aren't an alliance at all. Instead, we have something more akin to the G8 or UN Security Council, and it serves our purposes well enough.

[Tribea]

Also, any FT alliances? I can't really find any.

There are three that I can think of, TSAR, GESO, and AXIS, though only GESO is a "open" alliance so to speak, while TSAR and AXIS are much more inclusive/region-focused, IIRC.

From my own RP perpective, alliances are best when they come about more naturally through roleplay and shared security commitments, and that players should keep in mind that there are manners of beneficial military interaction besides alliance; informal security commitments, joint training and exchanging of liaisons, and so on.

For example, my own region, the Raumreich Oversector, typically presents a relatively unified face to the rest of the galaxy, but we aren't an alliance at all. Instead, we have something more akin to the G8 or UN Security Council, and it serves our purposes well enough.

Also, ive heardl talk about the "Alliance System" in other threads and telegrams. What was the Alliance System?

[Feazanthia]

Imagine the politics of the Cold War, but with the interlocking alliances of pre-WWI Europe. That was the Alliance system - a quasi-metagame of stupendous wankery.

Once upon a time, in the dark ages of NSFT, a nation's military strength was nebulously determined by the population listed on your NationStates home page. Thus, in order to avoid being gobbled up by those of us that had been around forever, nations banded together into massive alliances. Typically, each alliance had its own OOC thread where players would put in an application for their nation, and many even had offsite forums. Unfortunately, this became an arms race/epeen measuring contest as alliances vied to attract large nations, and alliances that already had very large members threw their weight around both ICly and OOCly. There was a time where the Galactic Assembly, basically the Space UN, was effectively the mouthpiece and legislative cudgel of a single alliance (instead of being a useless, toothless point of mockery as it is today). While the Alliance System facilitated a lot of RP, most of it was not very high quality. Most of the great "alliance wars" descended into stupidity of the highest magnitude as RPs suffered from "too many cooks" syndrome, and typically ended up with both sides ignoring each other. The Alliance System largely ended with the end of the IRON-Hermes cold war, which saw IRON break up from sheer entropy and Hermes fall apart due to its loudmouthed anchor getting his sorry ass deleted (which was a fitting punishment, IMO, given that he backed up all of his insanity with how huge his nation was).

Alliances today still exist, but tend to be between two or a small number of nations. "Open" alliances (the ones that you apply to rather than which form organically through RP) are largely a thing of the past, and those that try to replicate the old Alliance System by forming an open alliance tend to fail miserably and messily.

[Tribea]

Imagine the politics of the Cold War, but with the interlocking alliances of pre-WWI Europe. That was the Alliance system - a quasi-metagame of stupendous wankery.

Once upon a time, in the dark ages of NSFT, a nation's military strength was nebulously determined by the population listed on your NationStates home page. Thus, in order to avoid being gobbled up by those of us that had been around forever, nations banded together into massive alliances. Typically, each alliance had its own OOC thread where players would put in an application for their nation, and many even had offsite forums. Unfortunately, this became an arms race/epeen measuring contest as alliances vied to attract large nations, and alliances that already had very large members threw their weight around both ICly and OOCly. There was a time where the Galactic Assembly, basically the Space UN, was effectively the mouthpiece and legislative cudgel of a single alliance (instead of being a useless, toothless point of mockery as it is today). While the Alliance System facilitated a lot of RP, most of it was not very high quality. Most of the great "alliance wars" descended into stupidity of the highest magnitude as RPs suffered from "too many cooks" syndrome, and typically ended up with both sides ignoring each other. The Alliance System largely ended with the end of the IRON-Hermes cold war, which saw IRON break up from sheer entropy and Hermes fall apart due to its loudmouthed anchor getting his sorry ass deleted (which was a fitting punishment, IMO, given that he backed up all of his insanity with how huge his nation was).

Alliances today still exist, but tend to be between two or a small number of nations. "Open" alliances (the ones that you apply to rather than which form organically through RP) are largely a thing of the past, and those that try to replicate the old Alliance System by forming an open alliance tend to fail miserably and messily.

Galactic Assembly?

[The Sarin]

Galactic Assembly?

It's like the galaxy's governing body.

[Tribea]

Galactic Assembly?

It's like the galaxy's governing body.

Wat.
I refuse to accept that. I will not be bound by that system.

[Dreadful Sagittarius]

It's like the galaxy's governing body.

Wat.
I refuse to accept that. I will not be bound by that system.

It's not binding on anyone. Think of it as a FT version of the League of Nations; highminded intentions but pretty much never gets shit done and most people, including the attendees, ignore it.

[Rethan]

Wat.
I refuse to accept that. I will not be bound by that system.

It's not binding on anyone. Think of it as a FT version of the League of Nations; highminded intentions but pretty much never gets shit done and most people, including the attendees, ignore it.

The only thing the GA has ever been good for is hilarity.

A host got drunk and shot a Russian in the leg once. Then the next one got invaded by Persians and all the delegates had to fight off teh evulz. It's always good fun to show up to a GA meeting.

[-The Unified Earth Governments-]

It's not binding on anyone. Think of it as a FT version of the League of Nations; highminded intentions but pretty much never gets shit done and most people, including the attendees, ignore it.

The only thing the GA has ever been good for is hilarity.

A host got drunk and shot a Russian in the leg once. Then the next one got invaded by Persians and all the delegates had to fight off teh evulz. It's always good fun to show up to a GA meeting.

Sounds a lot like a UEF meeting to me, damn :/

[Tribea]

It's not binding on anyone. Think of it as a FT version of the League of Nations; highminded intentions but pretty much never gets shit done and most people, including the attendees, ignore it.

The only thing the GA has ever been good for is hilarity.

A host got drunk and shot a Russian in the leg once. Then the next one got invaded by Persians and all the delegates had to fight off teh evulz. It's always good fun to show up to a GA meeting.

Damnit, whens the next meeting? I want to rp in that.

[Vernii]

Galactic Assembly?

It's like the galaxy's governing body.

Quite a bit of an overstatement, at least in its current incarnation. It's more of a political convention where rulers and delegates congregate and discuss issues of importance, perhaps with a few treaties being brokered, but more likely to end in lots of yelling and people storming out.

[Vocenae]

This.

The only time anything memorable ever happened at a GA was when the planet hosting it got attacked and it went from typical boring talking heads to Big Damn Heroes where all the diplomats held off a bunch of enemies until they could EVAC. Even before the invasion happened, nothing much was getting done aside from a bunch of political hotheads yelling at each other over long held grudges. The most recent GA that was held didn't even get past the meet and greet phase, I believe.

[SquareDisc City]

Missiles in the UPT Space Force:

Typically they're seen as long-range striking weapons, while the "bread and butter" of space combat is with guns (defined as anything unguided, so including lasers along with the kinetics.) There's always a bit of tension with when to fire a volley and how big to make it. The more missiles that are fired, the more effective they'll be; the hope is to overwhelm the enemy point defense. However, fire them all and well, you've got no missiles left. Also, all too often the target simply bugs out before the missiles strike, leaving the UPT Space Force with the choice between tediously retrieving the missiles or wasting good warheads and going on with fewer remaining; both options are worse the bigger the volley was. That making the target bug out might be sufficient in itself hasn't really occured to the Space Force (or me, until just now!).

Still, despite the above issues, volleys tend to be big. To have half the craft in a group all shoot off half their missiles in one co-ordinated attack would not be unusual. Individual missiles can be pretty big too, the largest being comparable in size to a Saturn V. Way I see it they've got to be big if they're to credibly threaten mile-long spaceships.

The small(ish) "bombers" are the closest thing to a missile boat, though they do carry the Hyper Pulse fighter/point-defense grade lasers as well. (Yes, I use fighters. Yes, I know they're probably useless.) The bombers tend to be used more for small-scale combat and scouting missions, or for harassment, than as a serious attacking force, not least because OOCly the few big craft get more RPing attention than the hordes of little things. For larger craft, there are variants on designs that give up some of their other weapons in favour of more missiles, but still retain a solid all-round capability. A craft without reasonable non-missile weaponry would be too vulnerable in too many situations. Missile "pods" have been considered, mainly ones that would travel at warp for interstellar-range strikes, but never used. "Mining" can be and is routinely done simply with free-floating missiles, although the usefulness is dubious.

Incidentally, I see no reason why the size of missiles depends on whether they're the main or the secondary weapon of the craft carrying them, barring the missiles being a significant fraction of the craft's own size. I'd expect a craft using missiles in a secondary role to just carry fewer.

As for loading and handling, well it's from the outside only. Stick 'em down the tubes, stacked nose-to-tail, and keep 'em there. Saves space and machinery, at the cost of being a bit of a nuisance and leaving the missiles somewhat vulnerable close to the craft's surface.

Well, rambling over. Tbh, I've not really considered missile warfare in the detail I've done for some other things, so there's every chance I'll revise my stuff at some point.

[Lubyak]

Torpedo Warfare in the Imperial & Federal Navy

---

R.u.B Navy Torpedoes

Within the Imperial and Federal Navy, anti-ship missile weaponry (commonly referred to as torpedoes) is seen as an extremely useful but secondary portion of warfare. Torpedoes are widely seen as a way for relatively light vessels to inflict damage on larger ships that they would usually lack the firepower to damage, and as torpeodes are guided unlike standard naval gunnery using mass driver, particle, and plasma cannons, they can be used as much greater range to achieve a fist strike. However, torpedoes are seen as unreliable at close range, and with their limited ammunition capacities, can not be relied upon to provide a fleet's main power. Instead, torpedoes are intended to attrit portions of the enemy fleet so that when the wall of battle closes with gunnery, the engagement might be made easier.

Technically, R.u.B Navy torpedoes consists of three parts: 1) An ion drive and guidance system designed to propel the torpedo across space at high velocity and provide terminal guidance, though instructions are programmed into the torpedo to cover its initial course. 2) A main warhead, which is usually a high yield nuclear or antimatter shaped charge, designed to focus the blast inwards, so as to avoid 'wasting' energy uselessly radiated into space, and to cause as much damage to the target as possible. 3) The 'Petard' which utilises a specific type of deflector shield system to both protect the torpedo from point defense fire, and can be 'overcharged' to enable penetration of a target's shields, so that the main warhead can be delivered directly to the enemy's hull. When the Petard functions effectively, massive damage can be delivered, and if the torpedo strikes a vital target, even a capital ship could be crippled in a single hit. However, the Petard can be overcome with a sufficiently powerful shield, resulting in the warhead detonating against the shield, damaging it, but leaving the hull unscathed.

Torpedoes have a wide range in size, from 10 m strike torpedoes, 30 m cruiser torpedoes, and 40 m capital torpedoes. They of course increase in deadliness as they get larger, though as different types of warheads can be mounted on a torpedo, actual destructive power can vary. Torpedoes are usually carried internally in armoured magazines, though they can be extremely volatile if the magazine is breached. They are then loaded into an external launch tubes, from which they are then fired. An example of these launch tubes can be seen on this Elbrus class light cruiser, with a four cell 30 m assembly on each side of the hull. The Elbrus can fire up to 8 torpedoes in a single salvo, and carries 88 additional torpedoes in its magazines, which take up a large proportion of its internal space. This dedication of space to torpedoes has given most dedicated torpedo vessels a reputation as being 'cramped' and uncomfortable for personnel. This also means that torpedoes are generally only carried on vessels dedicated to the purpouse, as the amount of space taken up by the munitions severely limits the space available for other equipment. The amount of space given over and volatile nature of the torpedoes has also created a belief throughout the fleet that torpedo vessels are more 'fragile' than conventional vessels, and more likely to suffer from catastrophic destruction. This has sometimes led to morale and performance issues, as some personnel attempt to avoid assignment to a dedicated torpedo vessel.

In combat, torpedoes are used by light cruisers and destroyers to inflict damage beyond their means upon vessels of the enemy wall of battle, while larger weapons mounted on torpedo cruisers and capital ships provide long range fire to begin causing damage before gunnery range is reached. Light cruiser and destroyer formations will generally attempt to manuever into positions where they can use their long range torpedoes to damage hostile capital ships that can then be finished off by gunnery. However, torpedoes are used in many situations outside of the pitched battle. As they are terminally guided, they are often used in 'hit and run' attacks, especially by raiding vessels. A lone vessel or group of vessels will exit transition space within torpedo range of a key target, fire a full salvo, and then retreat back into transition lanes. Although limited by their inability to fire a second salvo, such hit and run tactics can be quite damaging to soft targets unprepared for attack. Torpedoes are also heavily used by interdiction vessels, who use their detectable emission minimisation (DEM) equipment to position themselves in position to cause severe damage to vessels, though interdiction vessel torpedoes are usually much larger to fit the transition or warp maintenance equipment necessary to allow the torpedo to attack targets traveling FTL. When combined with the necessary small size of an interdiction vessel, this often means that they can only carry a very, very small war load of torpedoes, thus severely limiting the interdiction vessel's endurance.

Torpedoes mounted on strike bombers are much smaller than the torpedoes mounted on capital ships or even light cruisers, though some design philosophies have pushed for larger bombers carrying single cruiser torpedoes rather than the current standard of a bomber carrying two or three smaller strike torpedoes. This reduction in power means that even with their petards are incapable of breaching most shields. As such they are often forced to strike at targets who have lost shields, or focus their engagements on vulnerable points, where their torpedoes might have a greater chance of penetrating, such as around the drive emissions or sensor arrays. Larger strategic and operations bombers in service with the Aerospace Troops also use torpedoes, though these are usually larger and more on line with the cruiser, capital, or even interdiction torpedoes. This flexibility often means that the presence of an Aerospace Troops strategic bomber wing can be a major threat to shipping against any vessel within the craft's considerable range.

[Feazanthia]

The warships of the Kiith Federation have used guided munitions as their primary means of engagement for centuries. Indeed, while all ships have at least some ship-mounted laser weaponry, even those tasked with anti-ship duties are typically seen as secondary weapons to the vessel's missile armament. Kiith doctrine has evolved along similar lines, favoring extended-range engagements where their missile armaments will have the greatest advantage. Kiith commanders typically engage several light-seconds distant from their targets, relying on their missles' ability to engage the enemy without ever exposing the parent vessel to enemy fire.

The standard, current-generation anti-ship munition amongst the Kiith is the Kuun-Lamaat family of stand-off engagement vehicles. These weapons, in fact, differ from what most civilizations consider to be a "missile". The Kuun-Lamaat would better be described as an autonomous and disposable single-shot drone armed with a spinal, fusion-pumped X-ray laser. Upon reaching its engagement range (determined either by its on-board computer intelligence, a shepherding guidance platform, or by the parent vessel), the missile will fuse the remainder of its reactant as quickly as possible, and use the resultant energy to fire its weapon at the target. While this unrestricted reaction typically overheats and incinerates the vehicle in less than a second, in that time the vehicle produces a devastating coherent beam of X-ray radiation.

Typically, Kuun-Lamaat missiles will be grouped together and accelerated in an independent first-stage launch vehicle, or "missile bus". This bus will then fire its missiles via electromagnetic accelerator coils, typically grouped with an Osheklam-Koya ECM penetration aid, a guidance platform designed to increase missile survivability against enemy countermeasures, and a Skaal-fa bomb-pumped laserhead armed with several dozen independent lasing rods (designed to destroy enemy counter-missiles and defensive strike craft). The entire system is designed to increase the lethality of the anti-ship munitions, and these "busses" can be fired en-masse from the average Kiith yewonrozt (primary combat capital ship, lit. "war sailer"). Indeed, yewonroztda have begun being retrofitted with external coil-launch hardpoints to mount these missile busses in addition to their internal launchers and ammunition stores. With multiple yewonroztda and their attendant pok firing in unison, this results in a truly titanic "first strike" volley meant to cripple and throw the enemy into disarray as well as test the enemy's defensive capabilities before the Kiith commander is too deep within the enemy's engagement envelope to withdraw.

[Huerdae]

So now that Feaz has made his response, I feel obligated to speak up. I am, for all intents and purposes, his spiritual opposite. The HSE, for the longest time, did not have a single type of guided munitions, even amongst the levies. Chemically and magnetically acclerated projectiles make up the bulk of my ammunition. There are only a limited number of energy weapons, as well, which (while canonically powerful) are volatile and not very dependable. The HSE, it could be said, is built upon the fire and thunder of ballistic lead.

My combat doctrine contains three major types of attacks. In a naval engagement, I have magnetically accellerated warheads, rocket-propelled, and then directed energy weapons. My DEWs are the quickest to explain. Referred to only as 'disruptors', they have a rather short range for DEWs, and lose coherent from within the effective range of even standard projectiles. They are designed to pierce shields, and do well on this count (if you're using a system like Huerdaen shields, anyway) and can cause catastrophic damage. They are, however, volatile and somewhat inconsistent.

Next are railguns. The primary attack power of my fleet lies in slinging lead. All combat warships, including my carrier models, includes a spinal weapon. This is elaborated upon in my factbook, but it is always (excepting one prototype, I believe) a railgun. Huerdaen technology, according to IC references, is particularly advanced, allowing a wide array of munition types, warheads, and firing procedures. Anything from a simple KKV to a multiple-flechette armor-piercing warhead which deposits multiple independent nuclear or charges within an enemy's armor. The reliance on projectiles, however, means that the Huerdaen have a decidedly much shorter engagement range than most of their foes. This is a double-edged sword.

The first and most obvious issue with this is it means that at ranges of light-seconds out, Kiith standard engagement protocols, I am effectively toothless. With the exception of the Deva/Devi-Class battleship, I have no weapons for that range. That specific warship is only possible because it relies completely on tech stolen from....the Kiith Federation. Using weapons and technology adapted, stolen, or bought from our enemies. They are rare, but a powerful tool. The previously mentioned Kuun-Lamaat (rechristened in the HSE as the 'Flashlight') is one of two possible warheads available for strike at this range. The second is an impact weapon, designed for use once my fleet closes, and uses a contact antimatter warhead as a 'finishing blow' to a damaged enemy warship.

Otherwise, my engagement range could be as close as 50 km from the target (for most warships) or down to less than a kilometer from the target for strike craft. These unreasonably short ranges (in space) mean that I have a long run to reach firing point. This is a serious disadvantage, and why I often have so many vessels. The second part, however, is that if I can close that distance, the damage output of my fleet is often quite intense. Moreso, it's sometimes within a range such that an enemy returning fire may hit themselves with some of their more powerful weapons, meaning that some long-range enemy warships may be somewhat de-clawed and forced to give ground.

Lastly, is rockets. Used almost completely aboard strike craft, rockets are close-range deployment weapons. Armed normally with shaped antimatter charges, they're used as mighty ship-killers, at the cost of the carrying vessel often being in danger of losing its magazine. The amount of devastation that can be wrought from these rockets can be a killing stroke for many vessels. Often used in fast-firing rocket racks in strafing runs across larger vessels, they are limited to strike craft and the deadly Anger-Class destroyers to mitigate losses should the magazine be hit. They make up, however, a surprisingly large danger for such a small device.

It should be noted I do not use fighters in my doctrine - only bombers. My bombers are in no way designed to protect themselves from fighter assault, they are designed to be able to avoid heavy fire from enemy warships on a sprint to their target, and peel off after deploying their payload. It is a risky, but often effective, tactic. The small size of the ship and low crew numbers of a bomber (2, in total) mean that the losses incurred should the ever-so-volatile antimatter be hit is minimal. If not for the catastrophic danger of these warheads, it is likely the HSE would use no strike craft. As it is, they exist simply to mitigate losses in the case of 'bad luck'.

The only real reason these tactics work is due to the Huerdaen FTL drive. Relatively short-ranged, instant-translation drive, it allows me to close the distance on an enemy with little or no warning. Especially in a conflict that I initiate, ranges favor my own warships, meaning that events such as the Massacre above Foer can occur, where a large, unprepared Vocian fleet was struck a devastating blow because of a lack of warning, and the devastatingly close range of the Huerdaen fleet. On the other hand, against Feaz, an equally devastating blow was struck when he took out a whole Huerdaen trade hub without placing himself in danger. Not a single return shot was fired, and only wreckage was left behind.

There are other concerns as well, but I just wanted to put another style of fighting out there. My doctrine comes down to what amounts to knife-fight range in space.

[The Ben Boys]

Whelp, everyone's doing it and I have too much time on my hands, why not?

Missile Warfare in the Imperial Navy
And other background info you don't want to know

The first thing I need to address is my own combat doctrine in space. Tactics usually revovle around the "cauldron" concept (though it has nothing to do with the "Blitzkrieg" strategy, it's just an apt description). In this model, ships fall into one of two categories, depending on their role and the situation: a ship of the line or combat support.

Ships of the line would enter the fray guns blazing, breaking into enemy forces and weaking havok, charging in headlong. These are usually the heavily armored battleships, heavy cruisers, sturdy escort ships, etc. They soak up the most damage but also have the greatest opportunity to return fire with a variety of close-range weapons that fall under the "big cool-looking explosions" category.

On the outskirts of the battle, there are combat support. This is not to be confused with "support ships" which are generally logistic or maintenance/repair oriented: theses ships carry an inordinate amount of attack craft compared to your standard ships of the line. These are generally carriers, though cruisers can be retasked to fit either the "ship of the line" or "combat support" role. Combat support ships have a variety of uses:

• Send in attack craft, such as fighters and bombers, that augment the ships of the line. They can serve as direct action, interference, or as a distraction.
  
• Rescue ships that are out of the fight. If a ship is falling apart but still capable of being salvaged, or at least has enough people alive so that it's still worth something, a ship can come in, provide fire support, then get the hell out. Since space battles can often last for days (and campaigns last for years) depending on the scale and forces committed at any one time, this is more valuable than you would think.
  
• Provide long-range fire support for the ships of the line. The "line" ships are usually the most heavily armed and armored, however support ships can still bring in enough firepower to damage and destroy enemy ships from a distance. They usually have to use incredibly fast weaponry because the ranges are so great, so only heavy railguns and gravitic cannons are used.

TL; DR: Ships of the line take up the damage and dish out, combat support ships stay behind and provide attack craft and space artillery support.

Now we move on to main portion: space missiles. They are a natural adaption of modern guided missiles in space. But, like modern day missiles, they present a host of problems. I mean, you can try to dodge a guided missile, but a 10,000 ton cruiser can't dodge one? Well, it doesn't need to dodge it, just to destroy it.

For those of you that don't know, the US Navy has been using close-in weapons systems (CIWS; anti-missile guns) for decades. They can either be as missiles (anti-missile missiles, yeah) or as guns, both of which require sensors and a computer, used a lot in FT these days. So this is the only problem, dodging these mother-

Oh wait. What about range? We're dealing with hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles between ships. If you want to fight with missiles, you have to get them there first, and then not get shot down on the way/ Yes, some people use their FTL, or ion drives, or some other level of tech that is cool and everyone loves it except for that guy in the corner whose passion for military realism borders on a psychotic disorder. He also happens to dislike certain major-label science fiction franchises because they aren't "realistic" enough.

I'm "that guy".

So here's how I kept my OCD in check and made a missile system that I could work with: missile pods. I'm happy to see some people agree with me already, so here's the general rundown of my missile system.

Each missile isn't that large, only about two meters in length, but packed with enough high explosives to make a B-52's payload seem like a BB gun. They are in pods of about eight, packed together on a booster frame that utilizes a chemical reaction to accelerate it to incredible speeds. The kicker here is that once the missile pod's computer detects a lock-on from a missile or a lost of CIWS fire coming to it, the missiles split off of the booster frame and either the CIWS computer is confused or only locks onto one (most likely the booster frame). This tackles the counter-measure problem, since you confuse the hell out of the computer or simply overwhelm it with numbers.

Keep in mind, most of these missiles get used on my ships of the line, since (to solve the "range" problem) they are only used in close quarters (i.e. less than thirty miles) so that they can actually get to their destination in a timely manner. So instead of using missiles like torpedos and firing it at medium or long ranges, I use them as a close-range weapons (depending on your definition) like a culverin on a sail-era frigate. If culverins were fired en-masse and split into mini balls if you tried to dodge them.

[The Akasha Colony]

The 'current' state of my military doctrine is somewhat tricky since I just went through the process of replacing my active ships with a completely different design paradigm, but here goes.

Against non-stationary targets, missiles have been the preferred weapon in the Alliance for engaging targets beyond a few light-seconds, although depending on the size, dispersion, and agility of the target(s), a heavy neutron cannon bombardment may also be employed (which is the preferred method of combat for ranges within a few light-seconds). All ships are armed with them due to the relative ease and simplicity with which they can be added to a design, unlike powered weapons which require the addition of power conduits and a sufficiently powerful reactor.


Missiles and their types

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There are three common sizes of missiles used by the Star Fleet, primarily intended for different roles but generally multipurpose in design. The smallest is the 0.5 x 5 meter "Demolisher" class, generally designed for shorter-ranged assaults and point defense. They can be carried in extremely large numbers; the former standard Pangu-class battleship (1,260 m long) carried over 436,800 between ready rounds in their tubes and those stored in the magazines. Normally these missiles are launched from modular banks of 1,600 tubes fed by a local central magazine, with a few magazines located throughout the ship to supply the banks closest to it. They are normally fired from laterally-mounted tubes, as opposed to the larger Sledgehammers, which are fired vertically (relative to the ship's orientation). Launched in sufficient numbers, they can be a threat to even large warships, although they are primarily intended for use against attacking strike craft or incoming missiles and other projectile ordnance. They have sufficient fuel for 10,000 seconds of continuous acceleration, although their range can be extended if allowed to coast, and this range is only limited by the fuel consumed to power the missile's electronics.

The medium 1 x 10 meter "Sledgehammer" class is designed for general anti-ship work. Their larger size and more specialized purpose mean that fewer are carried; a Pangu-class battleship carries 17,000 between ready rounds and those stored in the magazines. For most intents and purposes, the Demolisher and Sledgehammer classes are identical with the exception of scale. Like the Demolisher, they have enough fuel for 10,000 seconds of continuous acceleration, but their greater fuel stores relative to their power consumption increases their coasting endurance, which can last for days after a full acceleration burn or months without one if left behind as a mine. The Sledgehammer is also used as the basis for the standard probe chassis fielded by both the Defense Force and the Exploratory Corps, as well as by private organizations.

The largest type bears no resemblance to the smaller types and is designed for use against stations, planetary defenses, and other large, extremely well-fortified targets. The 15 x 100 m "Railsplitter" is as large as a small starship, and unlike the Sledgehammer and Demolisher is equipped with a basic shield and point defense system to protect itself on approach to its targets. Due to its large size, it is only carried by specialized platforms, namely the Demeter-class missile cruiser and Diamond Core-type support module. More recently, converted Jafnhár-class transports have been converted to carry and deploy missiles of all sizes, including the Railsplitter class. Unattended, they have enough fuel to last for years, but are generally too large and too few in number to be left behind as a minefield, as even the Demeter-class can only carry a handful.

Smaller classes of missiles were once fielded by fighters before their retirement and conversion into EW drones, and are still used by surface warfare units, but are no longer commonly used by the Star Fleet.

The missiles are modular design and prismatic in profile; they are not conical or cylindrical. Thus, any warhead or package that fits within the payload dimensions may be used, although there is also a benchmark maximum mass for the payload if the missile is to be expected to achieve its designed acceleration and endurance. The most common is some form of laser warhead, using suspended positrons and electrons to generate large quantities of gamma rays to be directed at the target, be it a starship or an incoming missile. For use against large swarms of incoming ordnance, scatter-laser focusing units are used, allowing multiple beams of lower power to be generated. Conventional explosive warheads are also available, as are electronic warfare packages although the basic design includes ECCM, anti-spoofing, and networking capabilities. Missiles are powered using photon thrusters, the same as previous-generation Alliance warships.

Use

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Missiles are generally employed at any range, although at shorter ranges they are accompanied by other weapons. For large bombardments before closing to shorter ranges, it has become increasingly common to use large transports filled with missiles to launch enormous opening barrages. A single Jafnhár-class transport can carry over 40,000,000 Sledgehammers if completely dedicated to the task, and launch them within seconds (although after this, the transport has only its onboard weapons to defend itself). In effect, the transport is itself a massive missile pod, albeit less expendable. Missiles generally fall under the control of the tertiary weapons officer, although they may be allocated to the primary or secondary weapons officer depending on the tactical situation.

Missiles themselves can be fabricated aboard ship provided sufficient mass and energy reserves are available, which the exception of the Railsplitters, which require larger facilities (or a much longer period of time if relying on smaller shipboard fabrication equipment). Thus, in combat, a ship that has depleted its missile reserves can produce more, although at a lower rate than the maximum rate of fire. They are cheap enough that they are produced in absolutely massive quantities domestically, which allows them to be used so freely and in such large quantities. The limiting factor of production is not the missile components, but the antimatter used for warheads and fuel. With the neutron cannon and the laser system, missiles for the third basic component of an Alliance warship's anti-ship armament. Missiles are considered a key component as the neutron cannon armament of most Alliance warships is forward-only with a relatively limited off-bore deflection capability, requiring ships to rely on auxiliary weapons to provide more flexible coverage.

Recently, however, the Alliance has begun a program to replace all previous ships with a single class, the Paradisio-class battleship, which is significantly larger and more advanced. To supplement the smaller number of warships expected to be fielded, existing ships have been converted to unmanned operation and attached as escorts for each battleship (all ships were already capable of unmanned operation; the conversion was one of assignment rather than any physical change). Thus, to some degree all of the older ships have become missile pods escorting the larger squadron command ship. The Paradisio-class itself also carries a large missile armament, and is large enough that it carries its own onboard complement of Railsplitters.

[Rethan]

Keep in mind, most of these missiles get used on my ships of the line, since (to solve the "range" problem) they are only used in close quarters (i.e. less than thirty miles) so that they can actually get to their destination in a timely manner. So instead of using missiles like torpedos and firing it at medium or long ranges, I use them as a close-range weapons (depending on your definition) like a culverin on a sail-era frigate. If culverins were fired en-masse and split into mini balls if you tried to dodge them.

Emphasis mine.

I just wanted to make sure you knew your missiles for use in interstellar warfare have a range that is less than 4% the operational range of a Tomahawk Cruise Missile - and that's for the lowest range data I can find with a quick google search. When you start looking at the longer range variants, that drops to less than 2% the operational range. Your starships would be hilariously outranged by a modern naval warship. I think you might want to fix your operational doctrine, and also what you view as 'realistic'.

Systems like Feaz's allow missiles to close on the enemy without being shot down, by both overwhelming enemy PD with sheer numbers and ECM distractions. Add in that Feaz's (quite scientifically plausible) missiles don't need to come into physical contact with their target to deal damage, and they can actually take a much less predictable route to their target. There are a host of ways to get your missiles to their target. If you need to close to 30 miles to engage the enemy, your weapon designers and generals need to be ejected out the airlock.

[Vernii]

Now we move on to main portion: space missiles. They are a natural adaption of modern guided missiles in space. But, like modern day missiles, they present a host of problems. I mean, you can try to dodge a guided missile, but a 10,000 ton cruiser can't dodge one? Well, it doesn't need to dodge it, just to destroy it.

For those of you that don't know, the US Navy has been using close-in weapons systems (CIWS; anti-missile guns) for decades. They can either be as missiles (anti-missile missiles, yeah) or as guns, both of which require sensors and a computer, used a lot in FT these days. So this is the only problem, dodging these mother-

Oh wait. What about range? We're dealing with hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles between ships. If you want to fight with missiles, you have to get them there first, and then not get shot down on the way/ Yes, some people use their FTL, or ion drives, or some other level of tech that is cool and everyone loves it except for that guy in the corner whose passion for military realism borders on a psychotic disorder. He also happens to dislike certain major-label science fiction franchises because they aren't "realistic" enough.

I'm "that guy".

This is the Sprint ABM missile in action. 0 to Mach 10 in five seconds, with a range of 40 kilometers and packing a nuclear warhead. It was introduced in 1972. Anyone who is spacefaring should be able to build missiles that can outperform something that was designed forty years ago. Especially anyone with FTL, because if you can generate the energy density to violate space-time and physics then it should be a paltry easy task.

For me, that's how I take on point defenses; engage from long-range using missiles with performance that can be described as "bats flying out of hell", and especially using said performance to engage in corkscrewing and other evasive maneuvers once they enter the enemy's effective PD envelope. Not to mention that electronic warfare platforms generally get seeded into the volleys, and the IVN places high importance on identifying warships that are important to the enemy's PD network (and fleet coordination, very helpfully a lot of NSFT navies seem to like having obvious flagships) and then, if/when those targets are identified, saturating them with said high-performance missiles. For an enemy unit on the receiving end of a Verniian warship at long-range, their point defense is going to be staring down dozens or hundreds of missiles with terminal velocities measured in low double digit %s of the speed of light, and generally none of which are actually attempting anything like a direct impact.

That's the fun thing about bomb-pumped lasers, the engagement options on a target are far more numerous. DEWs/kinetics/etc are all line of sight weaponry and the enemy has been given a predictable path that the weapon is going to take to intersect; even with conventional warheads the enemy still has the advantage of knowing that a missile's terminal attack maneuvers are going to be aimed right at it. With a bomb-pumped warhead though, the missile just has to get within laser range of the enemy.

So here's how I kept my OCD in check and made a missile system that I could work with: missile pods. I'm happy to see some people agree with me already, so here's the general rundown of my missile system.

Sera Missile System]Each missile isn't that large, only about two meters in length, but packed with enough high explosives to make a B-52's payload seem like a BB gun. They are in pods of about eight, packed together on a booster frame that utilizes a chemical reaction to accelerate it to incredible speeds. The kicker here is that once the missile pod's computer detects a lock-on from a missile or a lot of CIWS fire coming to it, the missiles split off of the booster frame and either the CIWS computer is confused or only locks onto one (most likely the booster frame). This tackles the counter-measure problem, since you confuse the hell out of the computer or simply overwhelm it with numbers.

There's a few issues here; 1. Self-preservation systems to fire before destruction are a decent idea, but PD can also involve lasers and they won't see those coming, and missile pods are generally not shielded or armored and therefore potentially vulnerable to being mission killed or destroyed by proximity radiation (by say, fusion/AM charges going off nearby, or being cooked by a superdreadnought's radar arrays sweeping across it). This is especially an issue in close-proximity battles. 2. Any well designed computer system isn't going to be confused by a salvo blossoming from some pods. NSFT is an environment where battles can often thousands of missiles being hurled around in EW saturated battlespaces. Any computer that's put off by something that is expected to happen isn't a well designed computer at all.

[OMGeverynameistaken]

Ben Boys has found himself in that sad, unfortunate valley between the practical, light-second range engagement and the manly 100 foot engagement, as illustrated here:



Ben Boys' engagement range puts him just before the sensual curve which plummets into the sweaty depths of supreme manliness, the range at which it's difficult to tell if you're actually being manly or if your technology is just a bit shit.

Russia, of course, engages at point blank range, preferably actually touching the enemy, so that they can feel the pulsing mass of our manly intent. In a totally non-homoerotic fashion, of course. Which isn't to say that many Russian noblemen aren't flaming satyriacs, but they generally keep that sort of thing off of the battlefield. For the most part. Usually. If their superiors are watching. And aren't in a mood to join in.