Tiny Attack Craft? [weird idea]

I was wondering if a craft to the following specs and role could be built;

Size:
35 meters long, 10 meters beam, 2.700 - tons
(1/8 of a LAC, size of a pod)

Armament:
1 CM launcher, 40 reloads.
2 PDLCs (1 fore, 1 aft)
2 ghost rider sensor/ECCM suites.

Extra modules:
Up to 6 of the following, externally limpeted;
Ghost Rider drone.
Mk 16 DDM box launcher.
120-ton troop shuttle.

Role:
Manned system patrol.
Junction/station police.
Assault.
Spider-hunter.

Belial666 wrote:I was wondering if a craft to the following specs and role could be built;

Size:
35 meters long, 10 meters beam, 2.700 - tons
(1/8 of a LAC, size of a pod)

Armament:
1 CM launcher, 40 reloads.
2 PDLCs (1 fore, 1 aft)
2 ghost rider sensor/ECCM suites.

Extra modules:
Up to 6 of the following, externally limpeted;
Ghost Rider drone.
Mk 16 DDM box launcher.
120-ton troop shuttle.

Role:
Manned system patrol.
Junction/station police.
Assault.
Spider-hunter.

It would have to mean that few of the LAC systems are about as small as they practically can be for it to be a useful niche between pinnaces and LAC's. It would also have to mean that there is a real need for something to fill these roles in that size range that is not done well enough by existing LAC's, pinnaces, and recon drones.

I am skeptical particularly about how much acceleration the wedge would be able to provide and the compensators handle; if it's as slow as a pinnace, then the system patrol role is too likely to call for a LAC instead. Spider-hunting, if anything can do it, is likely to require speed, stealth, and sensors that are unlikely to be well-enough combined on a manned unit this size.

For assaults, pinnaces and assault shuttles are filling the niche already and the weapons and sensors you specify are optimized for space combat anyway. Junction/station police is a minimal niche and already well covered by pinnaces, or pinnaces and LAC's in some cases.

Now, an unmanned, automated vessel like this to supplement point defenses, the way LAC's do but more expendable and available on smaller units on their own... that bears a bit more interest, but power budget issues are still problematic there.

Question: how are you powering this thing? I'm not sure a LAC fission generator will fit.

Observation: it's the size of a pinnace, but the density of a Manticoran LAC.

I haven't decided what to think about it yet.

SWM wrote:Question: how are you powering this thing? I'm not sure a LAC fission generator will fit.

Observation: it's the size of a pinnace, but the density of a Manticoran LAC.

I haven't decided what to think about it yet.

Pinnaces run 200-300 tons, so this is about 10 times the mass of one at least. I've not tried to calculate and compare densities. By tonnage at least, it's a genuine intermediary between the two types.

JeffEngel wrote:

SWM wrote:Question: how are you powering this thing? I'm not sure a LAC fission generator will fit.

Observation: it's the size of a pinnace, but the density of a Manticoran LAC.

I haven't decided what to think about it yet.

Pinnaces run 200-300 tons, so this is about 10 times the mass of one at least. I've not tried to calculate and compare densities. By tonnage at least, it's a genuine intermediary between the two types.

By size, I meant physical dimensions. The dimensions proposed are very similar to current pinnace classes. As for density, it is clearly the density of a LAC because Belial666 simply divided the size of a LAC by 2 in each dimension and the mass by 8.

The fact that this mass is almost 10 times the mass of a pinnace of similar dimensions is an important part of the point I'm making.

SWM wrote:

JeffEngel wrote:Pinnaces run 200-300 tons, so this is about 10 times the mass of one at least. I've not tried to calculate and compare densities. By tonnage at least, it's a genuine intermediary between the two types.

By size, I meant physical dimensions. The dimensions proposed are very similar to current pinnace classes. As for density, it is clearly the density of a LAC because Belial666 simply divided the size of a LAC by 2 in each dimension and the mass by 8.

The fact that this mass is almost 10 times the mass of a pinnace of similar dimensions is an important part of the point I'm making.

Ahh, thanks. Hmm, peculiar. 35m long, 10m beam, versus a 30.5m long figure for a Condor pinnace. That pinnace's fuselage at least looks to be maybe 5m across though, so this thing would be much, much thicker. Even using 'beam' suggests it's not supposed to have wings like a pinnace, or at least, the 10m is referring to the main hull's width. My very rough figures suggest this would make for about 5 times the volume of the pinnace, or "just" twice its density.

I'm no techie, but my guess is that it probably can be built. But my question would be "why bother? The thing as specified can't be cheap and there are already more capable designs out there to fill it's presumed roles.

Don

Trying to figure out where this ship would fit, mission wise between our known tiny atmosphere capable craft (pinnaces, assault shuttles), etc. that are also big enough to popgun a freighter, and the available LACs which can do several things REALLY REALLY well, both independently and as fleet operational units.

Then "back of the envelope" calculate the crewing/ capability/ mass and size requirements for the Tiny LAC. That said, I haven't figured out a below the LAC capability that isn't a kamikaze mission in space, aka toast against even a Saganami era DD much less anything else that is newer.

But let's say, 3 crew (rest is automated), no atmospheric capability, fits against a "mission module" that could do one of the roles adequately for a short period of time, not uber quick, say a "PT Boat in Space" role. Doable at what size? How launched and recovered, etc.

SharkHunter wrote:Trying to figure out where this ship would fit, mission wise between our known tiny atmosphere capable craft (pinnaces, assault shuttles), etc. that are also big enough to popgun a freighter, and the available LACs which can do several things REALLY REALLY well, both independently and as fleet operational units.

Then "back of the envelope" calculate the crewing/ capability/ mass and size requirements for the Tiny LAC. That said, I haven't figured out a below the LAC capability that isn't a kamikaze mission in space, aka toast against even a Saganami era DD much less anything else that is newer.

But let's say, 3 crew (rest is automated), no atmospheric capability, fits against a "mission module" that could do one of the roles adequately for a short period of time, not uber quick, say a "PT Boat in Space" role. Doable at what size? How launched and recovered, etc.

I think Belial intended this craft to be unmanned (not counting external modules).

SWM wrote:

SharkHunter wrote:Trying to figure out where this ship would fit, mission wise between our known tiny atmosphere capable craft (pinnaces, assault shuttles), etc. that are also big enough to popgun a freighter, and the available LACs which can do several things REALLY REALLY well, both independently and as fleet operational units.

Then "back of the envelope" calculate the crewing/ capability/ mass and size requirements for the Tiny LAC. That said, I haven't figured out a below the LAC capability that isn't a kamikaze mission in space, aka toast against even a Saganami era DD much less anything else that is newer.

But let's say, 3 crew (rest is automated), no atmospheric capability, fits against a "mission module" that could do one of the roles adequately for a short period of time, not uber quick, say a "PT Boat in Space" role. Doable at what size? How launched and recovered, etc.

I think Belial intended this craft to be unmanned (not counting external modules).

I could see some used for something in this range that's unmanned, but that does not seem to be consistent with the roles assigned to it: patrol, police, assault, spider-hunting. You need bodies and judgment for such.

Unmanned smaller-than-LAC units could have a role in stealthy find-and-poke missions (like Mistletoe), remote point defense supplement, remote decoy drone, perhaps a more capable recon drone usage. Some of the systems would lend themselves to that sort of use. But it does not fit the missions listed.