Light bulb Captured Solly fleet

The same is true for the SDs. Effectively refit to increase fire control and PD (like only carry CM canisters in the main mags) you would have a moderately effective ship when carrying a pod load. And as the SLN is likely to consider the possibility of installing power outlets, the pods are effectively permanently installed.

The question why are you thinking of doing anything like this? Refitting the SDs would require a military yard, but since you don't have to breach the core armor or much of the outer armor you don't need a full SD yard. But it still seems kind of pointless.

The same is true for the lighter ships. Without the ability to run MDMs the ships is only fit for beating up obsolete pieces of junk, and will get blown to pieces against any ship with MDMs.

At the danger of kicking the dead horse one more time, and yeah, I've read most of the posts in this thread, I thought I'd toss my hat in the ring and let y'all shoot my thinking to shreds.

We all agree that the cost of attempting to repurpose the captured Sollie SD's for offensive usage is not on the list of reasonable responses in the Honorverse. Any of the good guy nations have alot better things to do than sit around figuring how how to resurrect obsolete ships that -- unlike a "metal ship", can't merely be cut to scrap to make metal for new boats.

So my hat is called "planetary defense platform". So here's my layout. Outside Manticore we have what, thirty or forty planets to defend, and yes, there's LACs and system defense pods, yada yada yada to give any attacking force the "mother of all headaches". We also have the SLN preparing to go on an approach of commerce raiding and trying to force the RMN to defend all of that territory. The Mesans are also out there presumably wanting to cause havoc and not be found as well, and finally we'd really really really like to avoid another planetary impact such as hit Sphinx in the Yawata strike.

Keep in mind that these systems don't have the arrays out to ridiculous ranges, and the hyper limit is -- in Sol equivalent distances, just past Mars. It either takes X T-years to build and deploy junction forts (requiring big crews and oh yes, the destroyed space stations which can't build those anymore) or...

Let's assume you put six of the repurposed SD's with no on board attack missiles, CMs only in a cube arrangement around each planet, at energy weapons range of 700km essentially rotating around (aka they are mobile), with greatly reduced crewing who are a) learning how to be naval crews in their native planetary areas, and b) use the SD's defensive weaponry -- as automated as possible -- simply in the shield function, to defend the planet with their energy weapons AND wedges.

Maybe go ahead and augment their sensor coverage, and offensive punch wise, maybe you limpet a whole bunch of DDM pods to the SD's, maybe not because at least then those can't easily be taken out by ballistic missile strikes. Don't bother with attempting to use the outdated SD's for tactical control. .

Now you only need a couple CAs or DDs (Sag-Cs and Rolands) to handle the extended range, worst case scenario fight, at a fraction of the deployment cost.

Thoughts?

Solly SDs, against any modern fleet (read SEM, RH, Andermani,Beowulf, MAlign) are scrap waiting to happen. The ships are completely the wrong type to fight in a modern war and it would be easier and cheaper to build a new SD than to modify/upgrade the captured SDs. The only thing those SDs are a threat against are any system but the ones I listed. Against everything else, junk. You'd get better use out of them as scrap metal or use as training platforms for less developed systems.

SharkHunter wrote:At the danger of kicking the dead horse one more time, and yeah, I've read most of the posts in this thread, I thought I'd toss my hat in the ring and let y'all shoot my thinking to shreds.

We all agree that the cost of attempting to repurpose the captured Sollie SD's for offensive usage is not on the list of reasonable responses in the Honorverse. Any of the good guy nations have alot better things to do than sit around figuring how how to resurrect obsolete ships that -- unlike a "metal ship", can't merely be cut to scrap to make metal for new boats.

So my hat is called "planetary defense platform". So here's my layout. Outside Manticore we have what, thirty or forty planets to defend, and yes, there's LACs and system defense pods, yada yada yada to give any attacking force the "mother of all headaches". We also have the SLN preparing to go on an approach of commerce raiding and trying to force the RMN to defend all of that territory. The Mesans are also out there presumably wanting to cause havoc and not be found as well, and finally we'd really really really like to avoid another planetary impact such as hit Sphinx in the Yawata strike.

Keep in mind that these systems don't have the arrays out to ridiculous ranges, and the hyper limit is -- in Sol equivalent distances, just past Mars. It either takes X T-years to build and deploy junction forts (requiring big crews and oh yes, the destroyed space stations which can't build those anymore) or...

Let's assume you put six of the repurposed SD's with no on board attack missiles, CMs only in a cube arrangement around each planet, at energy weapons range of 700km essentially rotating around (aka they are mobile), with greatly reduced crewing who are a) learning how to be naval crews in their native planetary areas, and b) use the SD's defensive weaponry -- as automated as possible -- simply in the shield function, to defend the planet with their energy weapons AND wedges.

Maybe go ahead and augment their sensor coverage, and offensive punch wise, maybe you limpet a whole bunch of DDM pods to the SD's, maybe not because at least then those can't easily be taken out by ballistic missile strikes. Don't bother with attempting to use the outdated SD's for tactical control. .

Now you only need a couple CAs or DDs (Sag-Cs and Rolands) to handle the extended range, worst case scenario fight, at a fraction of the deployment cost.

Thoughts?

Hi Sharkhunter - welcome to the forums!

Once again, this doesn't pass my basic litmus test - you have to ask why they wouldn't use the Majestic DNs that are sitting in the boneyards, or one of the Sphinx or Gryphon SDs they are retiring first. All those are already upgraded to handle the latest manty ECM and missiles, the RMN crews know the software and how to run and maintain them.
For any RMN planet or RMN ally planet, they would use old RMN tech first for any defensive purpose.
You could argue this for non-RMN worlds, but do they have the ability to man 6 SDs (36000 trained spacers), and do you really want to give away SDs to a 3rd party (even with the hyper drive pulled)?

Zakharra wrote:Solly SDs, against any modern fleet (read SEM, RH, Andermani,Beowulf, MAlign) are scrap waiting to happen. The ships are completely the wrong type to fight in a modern war and it would be easier and cheaper to build a new SD than to modify/upgrade the captured SDs. The only thing those SDs are a threat against are any system but the ones I listed. Against everything else, junk. You'd get better use out of them as scrap metal or use as training platforms for less developed systems.

Hi Zakharra,

Just to play devil's advocate out of boredom... Another way of phrasing your point above is that they are a significant threat against any system but the ones you listed above... which just happens to include most of the human occupied galaxy!

Don

Theemile wrote:
Hi Sharkhunter - welcome to the forums!

Once again, this doesn't pass my basic litmus test - you have to ask why they wouldn't use the Majestic DNs that are sitting in the boneyards, or one of the Sphinx or Gryphon SDs they are retiring first.

NO ONE is saying to use the SLN SD'S FIRST.

NO ONE EVER HAS!

Only You.

A) Please stop posting this dithering "point" ad naseum.

OR

B) Please change your name to Dithering Strawman.



There are plenty of REAL issues for using these ships. Many of whom you have written about. You do not have to make up dithering strawmen.

There are ~170, several kilometer long, hugely strong space craft around. So just weld them nose to tail and turn them into a tower reaching into orbit. Either for base jumping space elevator or simply a tourist atrraction. Besides that they could be set to shoot anything that moves and Kamikazed into the solar system of someone you don't like (Technodyne maybe) to get rid of the SD's and courupt solies at the same time. Other then that they weigh a combined 1 billion tonnes or so, so you could build yourself a rather nice mood if you wanted to.

Relax wrote:

Theemile wrote:
Hi Sharkhunter - welcome to the forums!

Once again, this doesn't pass my basic litmus test - you have to ask why they wouldn't use the Majestic DNs that are sitting in the boneyards, or one of the Sphinx or Gryphon SDs they are retiring first.

NO ONE is saying to use the SLN SD'S FIRST.

NO ONE EVER HAS!

Only You.

A) Please stop posting this dithering "point" ad naseum.

OR

B) Please change your name to Dithering Strawman.



There are plenty of REAL issues for using these ships. Many of whom you have written about. You do not have to make up dithering strawmen.

Yes, sharkhunter was talking about using the Solarian ships first, because if they used the existing obsolete Manticoran ships for the purpose described there would be no need to use the Solarian ships. There are plenty of Manticoran ships available for what sharkhunter described.

How many hundreds of planets are under their influence? How many hundreds more planets will be coming under the GA's influence with zilch for defense? How many GA SD's mothballed again? Not enough. They will need thousands of "fortresses" however one wants to classify the C&C nodes for system defense.

Besides those mothballed SD's will have more important work. Moving, attacking, holding systems till fortresses can be moved in or built. There are potentially thousands of planets needing to be said "Hello" to via a proper Wall of Battle greeting card(RSVP Gift in the mail). Supposedly, Manticore etc has a missile issue as in, not enough. Should have Millions of SDM's in storage, unless militaries have vastly changed in 2000 years. I don't see that ever happening.

Of course Haven is untouched, would it be easier to take existing Haven manufacturing moriarity lines/components and build new? How soon will these system defense net C&C fortresses be needed? How much time to ad hoc coble together an SLN SD into such a node? See, now this, is a very viable point potentially making SLN SD's used as forts irrelevant.

The above dithering strawman withers under 3 seconds of thought. There is a vast hole needing filling(C&C defensive fortresses). Right now SLN SD's are already loaded in the dump truck. Which pile do we toss them in? Recycling, or reclamation yard adjacent to the recycling facility? If you have been around a reclamation yard much, you will note/remember that half the junk in the reclamation yard ends up going to the smelter anyways.

Hmm, scrap prices in Manticore orbit are rather low at the moment... Once the local cloud of scrap is cleaned up, smelted, the smelters will have a voracious appetite as there is a giant building boom going on and Manticores finances are fairly shaky after 20 years of war followed by losing all their infrastructure. Cheap source of scrap will be highly appreciated.

Relax wrote:Should have Millions of SDM's in storage, unless militaries have vastly changed in 2000 years. I don't see that ever happening.

Well, no. One normally stores your missiles in the general vicinity of your major fleet bases. Which all blowed up some time ago. It appears the MAN was not stupid enough to miss obvious high-value targets like munitions depots.

To quote MoH
"I remain confident that the missiles we have deployed are superior to those of any probable enemy, but the ones we already have aboard ship, or aboard ammunition ships assigned to our fleet formations, are all the missiles we have. All we're going to have until we can rebuild our production facilities . . . "