Author Topic: Satisfying the Requested Protection Level  (Read 1917 times)

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Offline Prince of Space (OP)

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Satisfying the Requested Protection Level
« on: November 07, 2012, 05:32:02 PM »
Here's one of my recent early game designs:

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Stiletto class Corvette    4,000 tons     67 Crew     687.2 BP      TCS 80  TH 120  EM 0
3000 km/s     Armour 3-22     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 2     PPV 18
Maint Life 2.71 Years     MSP 215    AFR 64%    IFR 0.9%    1YR 42    5YR 629    Max Repair 180 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 7 months    Spare Berths 0   
Magazine 120   

Military Ion Drive 240P/0.56F-TR50 (1)    Power 240    Fuel Use 56%    Signature 120    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 600,000 Litres    Range 48.2 billion km   (186 days at full power)

Size 4 Box Launcher (30)    Missile Size 4    Hangar Reload 30 minutes    MF Reload 5 hours
Missile Fire Control FC115-R100 (1)     Range 115.2m km    Resolution 100

Active Search Sensor MR115-R100 (1)     GPS 14400     Range 115.2m km    Resolution 100

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

It's small enough that I can crank them out fairly fast. A PPV of 18 means one or two of them should keep a star system's worth of rabble quiet. If there's actually an incursion, each corvette can provide its own sensor coverage, which wastes some tonnage, but in the early years of empire building I'm more concerned about making the most of my limited number of shipyards. Of course I'd need to actually load the missile launchers before sending them off to battle, and thus I'd need to design and manufacture said missiles, but that's not really the point of this design. This is just for airshows, and nobody has been smart enough to look inside the empty missile tubes, so the populace continues to feel secure.

However, now that I'm seriously expanding outside of Sol, I'm rethinking my strategy. A Stiletto moored at Ross 128 A-II failed to be regularly maintained because, despite all the mining colonies in the system mass driving their output to the central colony, there was no source of gallicite. In an unexpected reversal of transnewtonian mercantilism, I had to ship 1,000 tons of the stuff from Earth to an exoplanet.

PDCs are looking like an attactive, maintenance-free option. Maybe with missile launchers, or meson turrets, or hangars full of fighters. Before I start designing bunkers, though, I have a question: how does everyone else meet their populations' demands to be protected? Do you make a good faith effort and station destroyers in every system? Do you try to squeak by with as little military presence as possible? Or do you station ground troops on every planet, equipped with small arms and scowls to suppress the unrest? Share your designs and/or doctrines.
 

Offline Erik L

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Re: Satisfying the Requested Protection Level
« Reply #1 on: November 07, 2012, 05:34:02 PM »
PDC of some form on important planets. Garrison troops on others. Fleets are reserved for nodal systems as reaction to incursion, or as expeditionary legions.

Offline SteelChicken

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Re: Satisfying the Requested Protection Level
« Reply #2 on: November 07, 2012, 06:00:09 PM »
Yeah I just use PDC's.   Each colony when its big enough to start sniveling will get a PDC with a brigades worth of garrison troops, a handful of missile launchers and point defense, and a dumping ground for old fighters I dont want to scrap. 
 

Offline Erik L

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Re: Satisfying the Requested Protection Level
« Reply #3 on: November 07, 2012, 07:15:31 PM »
PDCs and troops are much cheaper than ships for garrison purposes. Save your ships for defending against fleets and for smacking those fleets down.

Offline dgibso29

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Re: Satisfying the Requested Protection Level
« Reply #4 on: November 08, 2012, 12:51:55 AM »
I find it interesting that you use a 4kt design for this purpose. From the Corvette designation, I expected to see nothing larger than 2kts.

Have you considered using something similar to this instead?

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Wolf II class Frigate    5,000 tons     128 Crew     1097.4 BP      TCS 100  TH 160  EM 0
3200 km/s     Armour 5-26     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 2     PPV 24
Maint Life 2.12 Years     MSP 274    AFR 100%    IFR 1.4%    1YR 82    5YR 1227    Max Repair 180 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months    Spare Berths 3   
Magazine 208    Cryogenic Berths 200   

160 EP Magneto-plasma Drive (2)    Power 160    Fuel Use 54%    Signature 80    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 505,000 Litres    Range 33.7 billion km   (121 days at full power)

Standard Missile Launch Tube (4)    Missile Size 6    Rate of Fire 30
Missile Fire Control FC28-R20 (1)     Range 29.0m km    Resolution 20
Missile Fire Control FC129-R100 (1)     Range 129.6m km    Resolution 100
Sparrow ASM Mk. 2 (34)  Speed: 21,300 km/s   End: 81.3m    Range: 103.9m km   WH: 12    Size: 6    TH: 248 / 149 / 74

Active Search Sensor MR108-R100 (1)     GPS 18000     Range 108.0m km    Resolution 100

For an additional 1,000 tons of yard space, you get a more durable vessel that doesn't require additional infrastructure to reload its magazines, has more than double the deployment time, and houses its own sensor. Speed is roughly the same, and range, while less, is still more than enough for its purpose.

I operate these in detachments of 5. They're very, very nice to have around when nothing else is available, and they make great pickets on my outlying colonies - Just plop down 5k worth of maintenance facilities, and they are good to go.

On the other side of the spectrum, I currently have 2 PDC designs I use on my major worlds (And the occasional asteroid conveniently located near a hostile JP).

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Mountain class Planetary Command Center    30,000 tons     518 Crew     6579 BP      TCS 600  TH 0  EM 0
Armour 17-86     Sensors 1/1800     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 80
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months    Spare Berths 26   
Troop Capacity: 5 Battalions    Magazine 448   

Surface-to-Space Missile Battery (10)    Missile Size 6    Rate of Fire 15
Planetary Missile Defense Battery (20)    Missile Size 1    Rate of Fire 5
Missile Defense Fire Control Center FC16-R1 (5)     Range 16.2m km    Resolution 1
Missile Fire Control FC129-R100 (2)     Range 129.6m km    Resolution 100
Lionfish AMM Mk. 2 (208)  Speed: 32,000 km/s   End: 1.3m    Range: 2.5m km   WH: 1    Size: 1    TH: 490 / 294 / 147
Sparrow ASM Mk. 2 (40)  Speed: 21,300 km/s   End: 81.3m    Range: 103.9m km   WH: 12    Size: 6    TH: 248 / 149 / 74

Active Search Sensor MR10-R1 (1)     GPS 180     Range 10.8m km    Resolution 1
Active Search Sensor MR482-R20 (1)     GPS 36000     Range 483.0m km    Resolution 20
Active Search Sensor MR1080-R100 (1)     GPS 180000     Range 1,080.0m km    Resolution 100

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Naval Air Station class Fighter Base    30,000 tons     327 Crew     4437 BP      TCS 600  TH 0  EM 0
Armour 19-86     Sensors 1/180     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 20
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months    Flight Crew Berths 123   
Hangar Deck Capacity 10000 tons     Magazine 1768   

Fuel Capacity 5,000,000 Litres    Range N/A
Planetary Missile Defense Battery (20)    Missile Size 1    Rate of Fire 5
Missile Defense Fire Control Center FC16-R1 (10)     Range 16.2m km    Resolution 1
Slammer SRAM Mk. 2 (270)  Speed: 18,000 km/s   End: 22.3m    Range: 24m km   WH: 8    Size: 4    TH: 180 / 108 / 54
Lionfish AMM Mk. 2 (688)  Speed: 32,000 km/s   End: 1.3m    Range: 2.5m km   WH: 1    Size: 1    TH: 490 / 294 / 147

Active Search Sensor MR10-R1 (1)     GPS 180     Range 10.8m km    Resolution 1
Active Search Sensor MR19-R20 (1)     GPS 1440     Range 19.3m km    Resolution 20

Strike Group
30x F-18 Wildcat Fighter   Speed: 13061 km/s    Size: 4.9
5x K-135 Pelican Tanker   Speed: 9600 km/s    Size: 10

Strikegroup:
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F-18 Wildcat class Fighter    245 tons     5 Crew     88.2 BP      TCS 4.9  TH 32  EM 0
13061 km/s     Armour 1-3     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 1.8
Maint Life 0 Years     MSP 0    AFR 49%    IFR 0.7%    1YR 6    5YR 93    Max Repair 48 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 1 months    Spare Berths 0   
Magazine 12   

64 EP Magneto-plasma Drive (1)    Power 64    Fuel Use 332.63%    Signature 32    Exp 20%
Fuel Capacity 15,000 Litres    Range 3.3 billion km   (70 hours at full power)

SRAM External Rack (3)    Missile Size 4    Hangar Reload 30 minutes    MF Reload 5 hours
Fighter SRAM Guidance Package (1)     Range 25.9m km    Resolution 100
Slammer SRAM Mk. 2 (3)  Speed: 18,000 km/s   End: 22.3m    Range: 24m km   WH: 8    Size: 4    TH: 180 / 108 / 54

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K-135 Pelican class Tanker    500 tons     3 Crew     124 BP      TCS 10  TH 48  EM 0
9600 km/s     Armour 1-5     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 0
Maint Life 0 Years     MSP 0    AFR 100%    IFR 1.4%    1YR 18    5YR 270    Max Repair 24 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.5 months    Spare Berths 3   

32 EP Magneto-plasma Drive (3)    Power 32    Fuel Use 336.02%    Signature 16    Exp 20%
Fuel Capacity 315,000 Litres    Range 33.7 billion km   (40 days at full power)

They might not seem like much, but my first 2 squadrons of Wildcats managed to knock out my next-door neighbours shipyards by staging through the JP with Pelican support. Don't underestimate the value of planet-based strikecraft.

In addition to the PDCs, I plop down a brigade's worth of Mobile Infantry on each world, plus a few Garrison battalions. Does the trick.