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VB6 Aurora > Newtonian Aurora
Newtonian Aurora - Strategy and Tactics
jseah:
To while away the time and whet our appetites for NA's glorious coming, how about a good game of "Armchair General"?
For the purposes of these scenarios, we will assume neither side as any experience in space combat, so whatever you propose will get accepted. Cloak technology will cost you 20% of your ship tonnage but is known to hide ships from Bug anti-ship sensors (but not anti-missile), and thermal suppression devices make known Bug thermal sensors detect a small ship at only a hundred million km range. Note that the Bugs have this same capability.
Since neither side have experience, this battle will be taken as a proving grounds for theoretical concepts surrounding space war. A number of them have been proposed, but this is the first large combat that either side will face. Your job is to create a defense or attack plan on the scale of single systems.
While we certainly can be more realistic, I would like to keep this limited to what might be acheived in the actual NA game.
Scenario - Defense:
--- Quote ---You are the Admiral of the Human Defense Fleet. Due to recent rising tensions with the Bug Empire, Earth High Command foresees the need to defend a frontier system from attack. They are willing to commit significant resources to protect the important mining colony, home to 400 million souls and a substantial construction/maintenance base.
Without knowing the Bug plan of attack or any of their combat capabilities or doctrines, or even whether a war is going to come at all, you are in charge of detailing and implementing a defense plan to ensure a Bug assault will fail or at least be very costly.
Political requirements indicate that High Command is more willing to lose control of the system than suffer genocide on the colony, do what you must to prevent to the colony from being shelled. Diplomats think that the Bugs will prefer not to attack the colony directly, although they do not understand why. They also know that the Bugs have surveyed this system.
The colony is situated around an orbit just outside the Goldilocks zone and has been terraformed extensively. It sports a 1.3 atmosphere pressure, one civilian shipyard, one naval shipyard and a host of maintenance PDCs. For the purposes of this exercise, you may assume repair and maintenance mineral costs are negligible compared to the colony's output. Fuel is present in large (40 million litres) but not infinite amounts; for every 8 million litres you do not deploy, you may request another 20ktons of ship tonnage (not including fuel).
There is significant civilian traffic (about 4 freighters at any point in time) in roughly the opposite direction the Bugs are expected to arrive from.
There are two other inner system planets. One a mercury-like world, the other a smallish gas giant around Jupiter's orbit distance that has Sorium Harvester stations. You may base a fleet from the gas giant or its moons as fuel is present there. Then there is a largish asteroid belt, you may assume a free asteroid exists in any particular location you need. Then three more outsystem planets, where one is a gas giant without sorium but with a minor unexploited moon system. Outside the hyperlimit, there is a loose collection of asteroids that you may create PDCs on.
High Command is willing to dedicated up to 100 ktons of ship tonnage (not including fuel) to this defense. Since the fleet is a defensive fleet, jumpdrives are optional. (High Command will prefer to save the fleet if forced to retreat) Missiles required to fill 3x the number of magazine space will be provided.
PDCs have a 25% discount if constructed off the colony, have a 50% discount if constructed on the colony.
Your task:
1. Create a defense doctrine within the constraints
2. Summarize the size and capabilities of military vessels needed
3. Describe standard tactics and maneuvers that will be used
Goals in descending order of priority:
1. Do not lose the colony
2. Defend the system against the Bugs.
3. Preserve as much ship tonnage as possible.
--- End quote ---
Scenario - Attack:
--- Quote ---The Bug Queen has created a Commander-class mind, such as you, for the first time in a long while. Bug space needs expanding and humans were nice enough to provide a 'tour' of a border system (as detailed above) that is understood to contain significant human presence and mineral resources.
A fleet is being prepared to claim the system and you will design and lead it. As humans are juicy meat and make good slaves, the Queen would prefer if the humans and infrastructure were left intact; as such, if they surrender, you are required to honour it. However, if required to claim the system, you have permission to bombard the colony, even until all the humans are dead.
Your task is to destroy human opposition in the system so that a ground invasion may be staged to claim the planet (or not if all the humans died). Your fleet will be reinforced if successful for a further push or to repel human counter-attacks; therefore, your fleet is expendable and should fight as long as there is hope of victory. Casualties on the human fleet will weaken their counter-attack, thus destroying ship tonnage is a desired goal. Civilian traffic is to be targeted only once human threats are nullified.
At present projections, you will have 140 ktons of ship tonnage (not including fuel) for this assault. Military intelligence estimates this to be slightly in your favour, but you have what fuel and missiles exist in your tanks and magazines, the humans are likely to have ground depots.
Do not forget that due to poor gravitational surveying, any jump into the system is likely to be inaccurate to about a 60 degrees arc. Human activities in the system are unknown, except for the one colony.
You may wait for specific astronomical alignments as the Bug assault in general will take place over a period of 20+ years. However, certain rare arrangements will try the patience of the Queen.
Your task:
1. Create an attack doctrine within the given constraints
2. Summarize size and capabilities of military vessels
3. Describe standard tactics and maneuvers that will be used
Goals in descending order of priority:
1. Gain space superiority in the target system and nullify ground to space capabilities of the human colony if any.
2. Destroy human military ship tonnage
3. Preserve as much ship tonnage as possible
4. Gain the colony's surrender
--- End quote ---
Scenario - Round 2:
--- Quote ---The Bug assault has failed. Pick anyone's proposed defense doctrine and attack doctrine that you think will have this result and explain a plausible course of events.
Pick either side and design a doctrine in response to the observations in the battle. You have three times higher ship tonnage for this round, the humans have also doubled their fuel stockpiles (missiles remain the same).
--- End quote ---
EDIT:
My bad, I forgot that fuel fractions in NA are massively higher. The human defense fuel allocation has been increased to account for this.
jseah:
All right, now that I have a bit more time.
Here's my proposed defence plan, resulting from the main Newtonian Aurora thread. Assuming ship performance characteristics around the same level as the examples posted.
A defense in depth, involving having widely spaced small squadrons and PDCs, as well as highly capable combined-arms missile groups. The idea being that each missile ship only needs to get more than 2 missiles through enemy defences (as one hit is expected to be a mission kill at least). If you can trade 1 missile ship for 1 enemy ship, the problem then becomes a matter of who has more ships. IE. whose ships are smaller.
Hence, the ASMs are large and come with escorts and supporting missiles.
Ships & Ordnance:
--- Quote ---Shipkiller ASM
- Fragmentation missile (10-20 tons)
- 50% fuel, 45% engine, 5% bursting charge
- Engine is fuel efficient, low accel (but accel is at least 2x that of ships)
- Range should be system wide
Dual-role AMM
- Small, high acceleration nuke missile (5-10 tons)
- 70% fuel, 20% engine, 5% warhead, 5% thermal sensor
- Engine is not efficient, but when matching the accel of the Shipkiller ASM (on/off), has about the same powered flight range
- Thermal sensor should be able to see a Dual-role AMM on full burn at range of 2 minimum time increments, assuming speed at 40% of max delta-v
Escort Missile (the existence of this missile depends on the ability to shoot missiles at thermal contacts)
- Sensor drone (30-50tons)
- Engine has half accel of Shipkiller ASM, powered flight time half that of Shipkiller ASM
- All excess space mounts a thermal sensor
- Thermal sensor should be able to see a Dual-role AMM on full burn at 1 minute flight time (same assumptions as above), inflate drone size as necessary
Missile System-ship class
- Small, maximum 4ktons full load weight; 25% fuel, accel should displace 1-ship length within 10minutes
- Mounts full-sized missile launchers; ratio: 4x Dual-role AMMs to 1x Shipkiller ASM
- Has exactly 1 escort missile launcher
- Offensive launch = 1 launch from all tubes, including the drone launcher
- Defensive launch = 1 launch from all Dual-role AMM tubes
- Loadout: 1x Defensive launch to 1x Offensive launch; round off with Dual-role AMMs
- Try to have at least 4 launches each, 3 is acceptable.
- Tiny active sensor, Has massive firecontrol with range at least the whole system
- At least 2 years maintenance lifetime
Sensor ship class
- Size 25 active sensor, res 1, in place of weapons
- Same characteristics as Missile system-ship; inflate size as necessary
Scout ship class
- Size 25 thermal and EM sensors
- Same characteristics as Missile system-ship; inflate size as necessary
Missile base PDC
- Same as missile FAC, without engines or fuel
Sensor net PDC
- Has a size 50 active sensor, resolution 1kton
- Has at least 4x Dual-role AMM launchers per 1kton size
Hangar PDC
- Able to house 4x railgun interceptors
Railgun interceptor
- Tiny fighter, mounts a single minimum size railgun and associated firecontrol (100 shots if we're counting); fires 2kg shells
- Accel 2-4x that of Missile System-ship, 25% of delta-v = 10% of Missile System-ship's delta-v
All ships and PDCs have the minimum armour and no shields
--- End quote ---
Strategy:
--- Quote ---Each planet minus main colony gets one missile base PDC (the gas giants get one on a random moon, preferably a moon with CC N/A) and extra missiles = 2x full load; site on moons if the planets have them
If the main colony has moons, one of them gets 4 PDCs; if it doesn't have moons, build a space station with same loadout + maneuvering thrusters (1 tiny engine, able to displace station by 1 length in a day; delta-v to accel/decel 4 times.
- Under no circumstances are there to be any PDCs on the colony with weapons
The main colony gets a Sensor Net PDC (minus missile launchers) + Hangar PDC and attendant fighters
Any tonnage leftover goes to Missile system-ships and Sensor ships (1 squad = 3 missile ships + 1 sensor ship); 2 additional missile PDCs are based for every squad, pick 1 suitable asteroid in the belt and outersystem each to base them, space equally. Also pick one asteroid in the belt or outersystem (alternate) to put one Hangar PDC + attendant fighters.
Every 2 squads and 4 missile PDCs get 1 sensor PDC placed near a missile PDC. Also add 1 scout ship.
Put 5x 1 DSTS equally around the outersystem asteroids, preferably those nearest the hyperlimit. The rest go onto an asteroid approximately in the direction of their expected approach.
Squads are based on a rotating schedule for maintenance/crew leave. 1 is overhauling, 1 stays at home, 1 stays at the fuel refineries, the rest spread out around the expected quadrant of attack. 1 scout ship is overhauling, the rest spread in a ring on the edge of the hyperlimit, preferring the expected quadrant.
All squads and PDCs leave their actives powered down. Only the sensor PDC on the colony has its sensor online all the time.
--- End quote ---
Tactics:
--- Quote ---Upon spotting the enemy on thermal sensors:
If an outersystem planet is in the same quarter as them, fire one Escort missile at them. If they intercept, note the range that the AMM is spotted; if they do not, have the drone follow them. Otherwise use an outersystem asteroid.
All PDCs open fire.
If enemy hangs around the outersystem for more than a few hours, or starts to reverse direction (as if jumping out), all ships begin acceleration towards targets. Try to divide evenly. Attempt to coordinate time-on-target salvoes with the outersystem and asteroid belt PDCs.
If enemy begins heading towards any squadron, it turns away from the enemy. Nearby squadrons and PDCs attempt to braket the enemy by firing salvos.
If the enemy begins heading in-system, squadrons in the line of approach begin accelerating perpendicular to them, heading away. The squadron directly in front of them keeps pace. All squadrons fire at will at targets within powered flight envelope, coordinate time-on-target salvoes.
All squadrons who too far in-system begin to accelerate out-system towards targets that need re-inforcement.
Offensive launch:
Dual-role missiles are fired 10 seconds ahead of a Shipkiller; 1 Escort drone is fired at the target at this time. Each 4 Dual-roles spread out in front of each Shipkiller. All missiles accelerate at the speed of the slowest missile. If incoming enemy missiles are spotted by the Escort drone, Dual-roles are to attempt interception using onboard sensor (firing ship's firecon won't be able to see them)
Each group spreads out enough that they cannot be caught by a single nuclear blast (3-5km between missiles)
All missiles continuously accelerate towards target until the lowest delta-v in the group reaches 20% of max, reserved for course corrections and target movement matching.
Upon reaching target, Shipkillers fragment at maximum distance such at the target profile of the enemy ship is expected to receive at least 4 pieces. Dual-roles attempt to go for contact detonation. Escort drones follow enemy fleets at a respectful distance, favour angles that have incoming friendly missiles (so we can spot outgoing AMMs)
Defensive launch:
Sensor ship turns on Active when an enemy Shipkiller fired from their fleet could travel half the distance to the squadron. Stays Active from there on.
At this time, missile ships also keep 4 Dual-roles per ship in the vector of the enemy ships. These match the firing ship's acceleration to keep directly between the enemy ships and the squadron. Upon detecting enemy missiles, these are to intercept.
--- End quote ---
sublight:
I think the defense in depth is wasteful. Yes it will probably work, but I think we can do better than trading ship for ship. Missile defense will be easier in Newtonian, and the planet we are defending has enough atmosphere to be immune to rail gun shots. If we set up a fortress system properly the worst they can do is blockade our shipping, but with light harassment they'll eventually run out of fuel and become helpless. Assuming the attackers don't get free fuel and maintenance at least.
So, here's my stab at the defense Scenario. This will be extreamly vague since so little is known.
--- Quote ---Memo: Colony Defense
From: General Sublight Hunley (AC)
To: Administrator Goldilocks
Civilian, while I regret I will not personally be able to risk my life in hazards of the coming battle, it is my honor to write the defense tactics on which your life will depend.
However, let this not worry you. With a proper defensive plan the planet can be easily defended with a minimal risk of any population deaths. Saving the shipyards will be slightly harder. Unlike the planet, they will be vulnerable to rail gun attack: and unlike ships they lack the propulsion to dodge. Saving the shipyards will require two small tugs. At the first sign of bug activity, the tugs will accelerate the yards out of low orbit and into an escape trajectory out of system. If the initial burn is completed and the tugs enter emissions control before the the bugs close to sensor range, then the yards can safely hide in the outer system undetected until the conflict ends.
However, to gain time for this to work the bugs must be detected immediately on entry. For that purpose I urge you to mass produce Deep Space Tracking Stations so we can detect the jump flairs of the arrive bugs. Construction of DSTS is so essential that I am willing to sacrifice PDC production tonnage to build more of them if necessary.
Our first construction priority will be for an active scanner PDC. The PDC should have active scanners of resolution 1 and 36. If research costs are no objective I should like a 500-ton resolution 1 scanner, and a 5,000-ton resolution 36 scanner. Pinpointing every bug ship within 1 billion km of the colony would be extraordinarily beneficial. Next, we shall need at least one anti-ship missile PDC, and at least one anti-missile missile PDC.
Laser Warhead missiles will be our weapon of choice. The plan will be to ripple-launch laser warhead missiles 5 seconds apart, three missiles for every ship in a task force. Wait for results, and repeat as necessary. If the bugs charge in their forward momentum will hinder their own anti-missile missiles, and if they move slowly we have more time to bombard them with nuclear death.
Also, we will need four hunter-killer task forces. One task force each for defense of the colony and harvesters: two task forces lying in wait in the outer system. Lastly, we will have one jump ship. If the defense fails the last hunter-killer team alive will hyper home with intelligence on what went wrong.
This gives us:
1x Emergancy Exit Jump Ship, capable of taking 4 small-ships FTL.
2x Shipyard Tugs
1x Noisy Cricket PDC with a fire control, our Stupidly Large 36-resolution Scanner, and 4x AntiShip Missile Tubes.
2x Anti-Missile-Missile Bases w/ Large Resolution-1 Scanner (one for the colony, one as close to the gas giant as possible)
4x Hunter-Killer Squads (all with stealth tech)
1x Sensor Ship
1x Mine Layer (twin missile tubes, large magazine)
1x Anti-MissileMissile ship
Each hunter killer will also have a small rail gun.
Any remaining construction will be used to build even more PDC missile bases: Two anti-missile bases per anti-ship base, two colony bases per gas giant base. The missile bases will have very large magazine capacity, since the quantity of missiles available will be more important than the rate we fire them at.
Plan of Defense:
When the Bugs show up Team Gas Giant will will be under emissions control. Resolution 1-scanners are difficult to see on passive sensors. The hunter killer team will be in extended orbit to since sitting in an obvious location can get you killed. If the sorium harvesters aren't protected inside the gas giant, half of them will move to extended orbit as well. We have to keep the fuel flowing as long as possible, but we can't risk loosing them all to rail guns either. The hunter-killer team there will try to ambush any Bugs that investigate: starting with hopeful long-range rail-gun pot-shots, and following with missiles.
Hunter-Killer-Colony will also take up an extended orbit. Their job is to launch rail-gun rounds at any charging enemy, or to make a rail-gun attack charge if the Bugs try a slow approach.
The out-system Hunter-killers will launch sensor drones at any bug emergence locations outside of Earth scanner range to discover how many bug ships entered. These Hunter killers will try to find and slay any bug tankers/resupply ships that might try to stay behind, and will also try to flank the bugs. The Hunter-killers are harassment ships they'll flee from any serious fight or when even half their amo is expended. After all, it will be much easier for the defenders to refuel and reload than the attackers.
If the hunter-killers in orbit are ever close to being in active scanner range, they will shift to a slightly higher or lower orbit every half hour as an anti-rail gun dodging tactic.
--- End quote ---
Shininglight:
A quick question, does the colony planet or the gas giant fuel station have any orbiting bodies? That can factor in my Idea for the system defence and attack. Also does anyone know if sitting "on the darkside" of a planet could have any effect on scanner systems or should I assume it doesn't also are gravity "slingshots" viable for gaining extra speed for interception of a target in system?
All of those would help me figure out a defence or attack layout.
jseah:
While we certainly can be more realistic, I would like to keep this limited to what might be acheived in the actual NA game. I don't think we're about to get sensor degradation in the presence of planets. And slingshot maneuvers only work well if your speed is around the same as orbital speed of the planet you are slingshoting around, NA delta-vees are far too high.
I suppose we can assume the main planet does *not* have a moon and both gas giants have many moons.
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