Yeah that's rough, I guess you are probably gonna have to take your licks from any AMM those stations have.
Does the Federation have any plans to invest in energy weapons tactics? It doesn't seem like this use of missiles is long term sustainable.
Funny you should say that...
As you will see in 2144 the Republic begins to question its chosen strategy. Of course, a lot of things happen in 2144.
Kurt
Okay, now I'm responding to my own posts. That says something about me, but I'm not sure what. A demonstration of efficiency? Independence? Or a cluttered mind?
Anyway, to expand on the above situation encountered by the Republic, they were shocked that the Dregluk were able to put up a wall of defensive fire that was able to stop their missile attack in its tracks. The Federation, and its successor the Republic, had played around with gauss cannon turrets, but had never been too impressed with the results and so by this point they have been completely phased out of the fleet. With their successful use by the Dregluk, the Republic is going to have to reassess their effectiveness. After all, the Dregluk were able to stop a massive salvo of war-winning ASM's launched mostly from box launchers. I can't overstate this. The Bludgeon IV and Thunderbolt IV are the pinnacle of ASM technology as far as the Republic is concerned. They have demolished the Dregluk fleet and driven them back to the Dregluk home world with these missiles, and to have them fail now, in such a dramatic way, is going to cause a big reassessment.
The Republican Fleet's next attempt will be to try and launch a coordinated attack, timed so as to ensure that the Thunderbolt and Bludgeon ASM's, which have different speeds, will arrive at the target simultaneously in an attempt to overwhelm the planet's defenses. This is cheap and easy, as it just means building and transporting enough missiles, not fundamental changes. However, if this attack fails then it is back to the drawing board.
Building more missile ships to launch a larger salvo is problematic, as the Earth's economy can't support the current expenditure of missiles. Sending more ships to support the next offensive is possible, but would mean stripping the home system of mobile units, which isn't politically viable and probably just not smart in general. In any case, it isn't clear that it would work anyway. Were the Dregluk defenses at their limit and close to failure? Or did they have plenty of reserve capacity? There is no way to know at this point.
One thing is sure, Earth's economy is creaking, and TN resources are going to start running out. The Republic has been effectively blockading the Dregluk in their Home System for some time now, but the Republic's leaders are beginning to worry that a day of reckoning for their economy is approaching. If their economy tanks, and they can't build enough missiles to supply their fleet, how long until Dregluk ships return to the Solar System?
Kurt
