HMS Escort

[Kadaeux]

Originally Posted by Monkey Boy

Pretty much all missiles used against ships these days have some form of manouver to make them harder to hit, harpoons will stay low, and then pop up to aquire the target just before hitting it, and tomahawks can track any pre-programmed path - not to mention torpedos which can be programed and guided to swim off course and then attack, so as not to give away the ship that fired them (you would naturally attack back along the path the missiles came from.)

Again, missiles with avoidance programming are useless in space.

1: The target can literally scattergun space, even the most powerful nuclear weapons are HARMLESS from anything outside a kilometre.
2: ECM and such become worse than useless as your target will be targetting the missile via optics and heat.
3: Using them to avoid having your initial position fired is a waste as you will give away your position just by being in space let alone firing a missile.

Also, yes the more complicated the missile, the bigger and less you can carry, but also the less likely that it will be fooled by jamming or decoys and so the less you are likely to need. - it is a fine balance.

Jamming and Decoys are worthless in space as the technology exists even in the near future, hell if you're within lightsecond range all they need to do is splash you with an optical laser and that missile won't be jammed or fooled by decoys.

You're best be if you use missiles is to make them simple, Microthrusters for maneuvering, an engine to get close and a blast charge to fire a kinetic warhead. Explosives are a waste in space. As the saying goes, there is no kill like kinetic kill.

[Berkut]

Well you could have a multi stage missile, where the larger part is used to cover range/acceleration, and then the attack part is small and with higher manuverability capabilities.

@MB, I didn't mean the 747 laser, there is another project where it's supposed to be like a CIWS for army bases mounted on trucks. It's much more powerful than the 747 laser and can engage many targets very quickly, like a mortar volley.......Googled it: THEL, Tactical High Enery Laser. It seems optimal range for engagement is around 5km, but that's still pretty good considering it can fire 60 times before reloading. Also consider that apart from the airborne laser this is practically the first use of this technology, and its developing very rapidly.

[Kadaeux]

For point defence you're better of with Trophy Active Defence System

Better, cheaper and faster than current Laser AMS

[Monkey Boy]

@Berkut: I'll look that up, thanks!

@Kadaeux: You know the worst thing about the military?
The acronyms! Now I have to add THEL & TADS to the ever-growing list - it's worse than trying to watch CSI with it's GSR, TOD, etc.

I like the story of the guy who designed the bombing computer in the old A6 intruder - he called it DIANE, I think he said it stood for digital intergrated attack navigation equipment or something like that, however by a staggering coincidence, his daughter's name was Diane! Always come up with a the acronym first then make it stand for something.
Anyone remember the Fourth Protocol novel, where one whitehall highup did not want to be known as the Stratigic Head of Inteligence Targetting!


What about that Australian invention "metal storm"?

[Kadaeux]

Originally Posted by Monkey Boy

@Berkut: I'll look that up, thanks!

@Kadaeux: You know the worst thing about the military?
The acronyms! Now I have to add THEL & TADS to the ever-growing list - it's worse than trying to watch CSI with it's GSR, TOD, etc.

I like the story of the guy who designed the bombing computer in the old A6 intruder - he called it DIANE, I think he said it stood for digital intergrated attack navigation equipment or something like that, however by a staggering coincidence, his daughter's name was Diane! Always come up with a the acronym first then make it stand for something.
Anyone remember the Fourth Protocol novel, where one whitehall highup did not want to be known as the Stratigic Head of Inteligence Targetting!

Naturally you'd come up with the acronym first then make it fit And why not

Originally Posted by Monkey Boy

What about that Australian invention "metal-storm"?

Corrected for you. I feel obliged to defend it because i'm an aussie but in all honesty it doesn't need it. Metalstorm speaks for itself and was in fact the system I had in mind when I mentioned being able to literally shotgun an area of space with projectiles for missile intercept. At a million rounds a minute, solve the ammo problem and you have the most significant contribution to the arms race since the nuclear weapon. (Imagine an APC that could reduce a basic structure to crumbling splinter and dust inside of a minute along with jellying the occupants.)



EDIT: Careful, its not TADS its the Trophy ADS. TADS is a Helicopter acronym. (I'm not able to recall the exact meaning offhand.)

[Berkut]

@Kadaeux, ADS is for defending a tank, same as others that were around for a while like Arena. What I meant wasn't that it defends one truck, but that it's mounted on (from what I remember) 3 trucks, and one unit defends a whole base, esentially its like patriot only for smaller, faster and more numerous targets.

@MB, lol, you know you've watched too much CSI when you read those as full names immidiately when you see the acronyms

Sorry to mods and ninja, I won't submit another off topic post here, we're kinda going off into modern military technology debates, rather than ninja's ship.

[Monkey Boy]

Right you are, back to Ninja's ship...

Ship? What Ship? There's a ship? Oh yeah...S.W.Ninja, come on, how's 'bout an update, save us from ourselves!

[S.W.Ninja]

No need to appologise I thought it was a very relevant discussion as to whether solid shot CIWS are better than missile CIWS. Oooh and that Metal Storm cannon is crazy I watched a vid showing it fire off at 1,000,000 Rounds per minute. Anyways heres an update to the docking arm added a rectractable shield as I figured up front would take a beating from stellar debris

Comments welcome as always.

[Robert Harrison]

I think the ribs look good, it kinda shows that the level of tech is not really advanced like say Trek... (i gather that this ship is near future from the weapons) Like the idea of the forward engines and the docking port.

Not sure about the reaction to the reactive armour,no matter there is not air the explosion would still deflect some of the kinetic energy of the incoming round... but maybe a strap on armour plates like tank crews in ww2 used spare track sections as armour.

Matt

[Monkey Boy]

Hmmm. the shield over the docking port is a good idea, but rather than have a horizontally opening clamshell, why not make use of the space available in the cut-outs in the hull top and bottom?

The camera on the end of the docking arm is a *really* nice touch